Poisoned as a baby

When I was about sixteen months old, my stomach was pumped after having swallowed an entire bottle of paregoric.

Oddly enough, for years, I never bothered to inquire about what paregoric actually was. It was just one of those family stories that was retold from time to time without much thought.

I never bother to question any of it.

A few years ago, I finally did.

After some research, I learned that paregoric, also known as “camphorated tincture of opium,” is a medication known for its “antidiarrheal, antitussive, and analgesic properties.”

It’s principle component is powdered opium. In other words, it’s a narcotic.

When I swallowed the bottle in 1972, it was a Schedule III drug, available over the counter, but just two years later, it would be reclassified as a Schedule II drug, available by prescription only.

Why was this bottle left out for me to swallow? And why was it in our home in the first place?

It turns out that paregoric was also used as a household remedy in the 18th and 19th centuries to calm fretful and misbehaving children, often resulting in their death. It was rubbed on the gums of babies who were teething to ease the pain, but in some cases, babies were given the medication orally, even though it was not recommended and could be lethal.

After some questioning, my father confirmed that this is exactly what was happening in our home. He and my mother would administer paregoric to me by the spoonful in order to calm me when I was an infant.

Apparently I was a difficult baby, which I know is quite surprising.

It’s too bad I was too young to recall any of this. Being served a narcotic by the spoonful at an early age, followed by my accidental overdose and subsequent stomach pumping would probably make for a good story.

If only I could remember any of it.

I told my friend about my paregoric overdose recently, and he suggested that I stop asking questions about my childhood. “Stop turning over rocks.” he warned. “You don’t have a sunshines and rainbow life. You’re not going to find anything good.”

Another friend asked, “What are the longterm effects of micro-dosing narcotics as a baby?”

But he was just being a jerk.