# Paregoric

**Elixir paregoricum*; camphorated tincture of opium*

**Known today as.** Opium, [camphor](https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/camphor), benzoic acid, and anise oil in spirit.

Kind: Compound  
Poisoning: Opioid poisoning (https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/poisons/opioid)

> **Caution.** Contains opium.

## What was it used for?

For coughs, diarrhoea, and the pains of teething infants; its Greek name means “soothing.”

## What does modern science say?

Still made in the United States, as a controlled drug on prescription, chiefly for diarrhoea; it was formerly given to newborns in opioid withdrawal.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **morphine**: about 0.4 mg per millilitre
- **camphor**: 
- **benzoic acid**: 

**Mechanism.** A weak opium, one twenty-fifth the strength of laudanum; it slows the bowel, and a 1944 study held it expectorant by a reflex from the stomach.

**Dose.** The adult dose is 4 mL, about 1.6 mg of morphine. Children are very susceptible to opium, and confusion with laudanum, twenty-five times stronger, has caused fatal overdoses.

**Standing.** A Schedule III controlled drug in the United States, still made for diarrhoea.

## What did the older authorities say?

**Jacob Le Mort.** The Leiden professor of chemistry is credited with the first version, early in the eighteenth century, as an elixir for asthma.

## Sources

- Wikipedia contributors. “Paregoric.” *Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia*. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paregoric (read 2 October 2026).
- Langenfeld, S., et al. (2005). Therapy of the neonatal abstinence syndrome with tincture of opium or morphine drops. *Drug and Alcohol Dependence* 77: 31–36.
- *British Pharmacopoeia*, camphorated opium tincture.

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*Paregoric.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-10-03. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/paregoric

Historical description, not medical advice.