# Outdated medicines: anyone remember these? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 31, 2011, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831 "2011-05-31T08:39:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/61 "2011-06-02T00:12:46Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > What she needs is a Balsam Specific. Balsam specific?! Oof! While we’re burning money, why don’t we give her a curative galvanic belt too. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/62 "2011-06-02T07:05:54Z")
> [@](#): > > that stuff is magic, but has been subsequently banned in Ireland and the UK. Yeah, magic stuff always gets banned. I fondly remember paregoric too. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/63 "2011-06-02T17:45:01Z")
Does anyone still torture small children with chewable charcoal pills? They were my grandfather’s favorite heartburn cure (bastard has never HAD heartburn). They were the only thing he’d give me when I was visiting him and suffering. He also thought I was lying though. Not only did they NOT help with the heartburn, they also caused a lifelong aversion to any food with an even slightly squeaky texture (fish) and the sound of walking on snow (which sounds remarkably like chewing charcoal). I have finally learned to deal with chewing Tums but it still makes me gag. My grandfather still thinks I’m lying about the heartburn, even with a proven GERD diagnosis. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/64 "2011-06-02T20:07:01Z")
I was given [Tetracycline](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetracycline) when I was a young kid. Turns out, when you give Tetracycline to little kids before their dentin has hardened, it causes permanent staining of the teeth. I have gray bands on my teeth that no amount of professional (in the dentist’s office) bleaching will fix. I have spent ridiculous amounts of money to try to mitigate the Tetracycline damage; nothing has worked. Pretty much my only option at this point is to have all my perfectly healthy but not pretty white teeth ground down to nubs and capped. Which, of course, is insanely expensive and insurance won’t cover it because it’s cosmetic. Instead, I just have to suck it up whenever I post a pic on the interwebs and some jackass feels compelled to point out that I do not have straight white pretty teeth. As if I hadn’t noticed. I tend to cover my mouth when I laugh or smile, if I can. I don’t think people give that stuff to kids anymore. It’s still in use, but not for children. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/65 "2011-06-02T20:15:10Z")
They still do. It’s the only antibiotic that my nephew can take (so far) without a trip to the ER. He also had stains on his teeth but I don’t remember if it was from that or from something else. I do know that it cost my sister over $400 to get it fixed. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/66 "2011-06-02T20:37:18Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Belladonna is still sold in homeopathic remedies, or was as of a few years ago when I last noticed it in a Whole Foods market. Hmm. Why would they adulterate a homeopathic remedy with an ingredient that actually has an effect? ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/67 "2011-06-02T20:57:39Z")
> [@horsetech](#): > > I think Donnatal - which is those three anticholinergics with a barbiturate - is still available by prescription, but don’t quote me on that. It was at one point commonly used for GI problems as an anti-spasmodic and such, but for the most part it has been supplanted by individual drug preparations, synthetic anticholinergics (e.g., ipratropium and glycopyrrolate), and even other classes of drugs entirely. It is, or at least is for the moment. Who knows about its fate? > [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Hmm. Why would they adulterate a homeopathic remedy with an ingredient that actually has an effect? Because the more dilute you make it, the more potent it is! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/68 "2011-06-02T21:54:54Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > I remember the headache powder Stanback from when I was a kid in the 40s. All the drugstores had advertising signs reading “Snapback With Stanback”. I haven’t seen it in years. Do they still make it? [Yes](http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=stanback&ic=48_0&Find=Find&search_constraint=976760). ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/69 "2011-06-03T11:07:50Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Well, the American diet of the 50’s wasn’t exactly known for copious amounts of fiber… Compared to now was it worse? People don’t go for daily laxitives for kids any more, and you often hear laments about the lack of fiber in kids’ diets. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/70 "2011-06-03T19:37:56Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Hmm. Why would they adulterate a homeopathic remedy with an ingredient that actually has an effect? IIRC one of the principles of homeopathic medicine, in addition to “like cures like”, is that only extremely small amounts of any active ingredient are used. There may be a bare smidgen of actual belladonna in there–but such an infinitesimal amount that the manufacturer could just as well have glanced obliquely at the belladonna jar from across the room and left it at that, for all the effect it has in the finished product. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/71 "2011-06-03T21:46:40Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Compared to now was it worse? People don’t go for daily laxitives for kids any more, and you often hear laments about the lack of fiber in kids’ diets. Yes, it was worse. I had a nice post with cites and everything, but my computer hates me, and I’m too lazy to recreate it. So I’m just going to say yes, and IIRC, dietary fiber was at an average of 11g per day in the 50’s (down from somewhere in the 20’s at the turn of the century) and didn’t begin to increase until the late '60s. 'Sides that, we now think that not everyone needs to poop everyday, and increasing fiber and bowel retraining are better first lines of intervention for constipated kids, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/72 "2011-06-04T15:51:05Z")
> [@Ace309](#): > > Balsam specific?! Oof! While we’re burning money, why don’t we give her a curative galvanic belt too. Don’t forget about Smeckler’s Powder! ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/73 "2011-06-09T17:29:15Z")
Don’t make fun. ---
**Author:** ![Orionizer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orionizer/32/4442_2.png) [@Orionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orionizer)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/74 "2011-06-10T17:27:14Z")
Do they still make St. Joseph’s children’s aspirin? I thought I heard they took it off the market a few years ago b/c of Rye Syndrome or something. Used to take that all the time when I was young. I also remember Stanback from when I was young, though I never had to take it. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/75 "2011-06-10T17:42:48Z")
> [@Orionizer](#): > > Do they still make St. Joseph’s children’s aspirin? I thought I heard they took it off the market a few years ago b/c of Rye Syndrome or something. Used to take that all the time when I was young. > > I also remember Stanback from when I was young, though I never had to take it. They’ve taken the word “children’s” off the label, and are now marketing it as low dose aspirin for cardiac patients on daily aspirin therapy. > **[Low Dose Aspirin Products | St. Joseph Aspirin](https://www.stjosephaspirin.com/products/)** > > St. Joseph offers 2 low dose Aspirin products ideal for doctor-approved adult Aspirin regimens. Learn more about our safety coated and chewable Aspirin now. ---
**Author:** ![Orionizer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orionizer/32/4442_2.png) [@Orionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orionizer)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/76 "2011-06-10T17:50:01Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > They’ve taken the word “children’s” off the label, and are now marketing it as low dose aspirin for cardiac patients on daily aspirin therapy. > > [Low Dose Aspirin Products | St. Joseph Aspirin](http://www.stjosephaspirin.com/products/) Thanks for the info! ---
**Author:** ![TookaDooka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@TookaDooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TookaDooka)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/77 "2025-09-04T04:00:36Z")
The AIDS epidemic gave that one a knockout punch. A college roommate bought a box to help her lose weight. She ate it all in one sitting ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/78 "2025-09-04T07:13:58Z")
Still existing but not exactly a household word: So-Fas-Co/“Red Oil” was always around when I was a kid. [Spec-T](https://www.si.edu/object/spec-t-lozenges%3Anmah_1215801) was used by my grandmother for her laryngitis. Also they used to buy Vaseline Jelly and powdered sulphur, blend them together, and smear them on the skin to treat something, but I don’t remember what. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/79 "2025-09-04T12:32:25Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > We apparently used codeine before it was restricted to prescrfption dispensation. I still use codeine cough syrup. I had a nasty reaction to the common drug in OTC cough syrup, once, and have managed to talk doctors into prescribing codeine ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831/80 "2025-09-04T13:29:41Z")
The huge Dristan pills in the big, brown glass bottle. An antihistamine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outdated-medicines-anyone-remember-these/583831.md?page=5)