The Brompton Cocktail

Episode 421

26th July 2022

In the late 1800s, Dr. Herbert Snow observed cancer patients and considered that a mix of different medications might do the trick for slowing down its progress. The Brompton Cocktail, as it was called, was mostly cocaine and morphine. Though used for a long time for pain relief, the cocktail proved to have its problems – but maybe not for the reason you would think.

Episode notes

In the late 1800s, Dr. Herbert Snow observed cancer patients and considered that a mix of different medications might do the trick for slowing down its progress. The Brompton Cocktail, as it was called, was mostly cocaine and morphine. Though used for a long time for pain relief, the cocktail proved to have its problems – but maybe not for the reason you would think.

Music: “Medicines” by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

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About the show

Dr. Sydnee McElroy and her husband Justin welcome you to Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine. Every Friday, they dig through the annals of medical history to uncover all the odd, weird, wrong, dumb and just gross ways we’ve tried to fix people over the years. Educational? You bet! Fun? We hope!

Send topic suggestions to sawbones@maximumfun.org and follow @Sawbones on Twitter.

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