Editing Paregoric (section)

==Dosage==
Paregoric is sometimes confused with [[Laudanum]], because their chemical names are similar: Camphorated Tincture of Opium (Paregoric) vs. Tincture of Opium (Laudanum).  However, Laudanum contains 10 milligrams of morphine per milliliter, 25 times more than Paregoric. Confusion between the two drugs has led to overdose and death in patients.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wharton |first=Francis |date=1855 |title= A Treatise on the Law of Homicide: To Which is Appended A Series of Leading Cases on Homicide, Now Out of Print, or Existing Only as Manuscript|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CYQsAQAAMAAJ&q=Paregoric&pg=PA144 |publisher=Philadelphia: Kay & Brother, 17 & 19 South Fifth Street, East Side |page=144 |quote="Upon an indictment for the manslaughter of a child, it appeared that the child being ill, the mother sent to a chemist for a pennyworth of paregoric; the chemist's apprentice delivered a phial, with a paregoric label on it, but with laudanum in it; and the mother, supposing it to be a paregoric, gave the child six or seven drops, which killed it. The laudanum bottle and the paregoric bottle stood side by side. " }}</ref>  Thus the term "Paregoric" should be used instead of "Camphorated Opium Tincture", since the latter may be confused with Laudanum.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/psn/printer.cfm?id=224 |title=FDA Patient Safety News: Show #27, May 2004 |access-date=2010-11-30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104165527/http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/psn/printer.cfm?id=224 |archive-date=2011-01-04 }}</ref>
[[Image:Paregoric.jpeg|right|thumb|Bottle of Paregoric]]

The differences between Tincture of Opium (Laudanum) and Camphorated Tincture of Opium (Paregoric) are important and should be kept in mind when administering either of these drugs.  Care and caution should always be taken in administering doses of Tincture of Opium, such as the use of a dosage syringe or other suitable measurement device, and by pharmacists in preparing Paregoric from Laudanum, and to note that the dosages noted here refer to Apothecaries weight and fluid measure.  In particular, "the difference between a minim and a drop should be borne in mind when figuring doses.  A minim is always a sixtieth part of a fluid drachm regardless of the character of the substance, while a drop varies from a forty-fifth to a two-hundred-and-fiftieth part, according to the surface tension of the fluid."<ref>''The Art of Compounding'', by Wilbur S. Scoville and Justin L. Powers.  6th edition.  Philadelphia: P. Blakiston's Son & Co., Inc., 1937, page 16.  The normal drop counter "shall have an exit with an external diameter of 3 millimeters, and shall discharge drops of distilled water at 15°C, of such a size that 20 drops shall weigh 1 gram."</ref>  Tincture of Opium (Laudanum) and Camphorated Tincture of Opium (Paregoric) each have 50.9 drops per gram; 50.0 drops per cc; 185.0 drops per fluid drachm; and 3.10 drops per minim."<ref>''The Art of Compounding'', by Wilbur S. Scoville and Justin L. Powers.  6th edition.  Philadelphia: P. Blakiston's Son & Co., Inc., 1937, page 18.</ref>  The importance of these distinctions is evident in view of the dangers of erroneously relying upon more general descriptions of Apothecaries' fluid measures, which typically list 60 minims per fluid dram, and 8 fluid drams per fluid ounce (480 minims).<ref>''Arithmetic of Pharmacy'', by A. B. Stevens.  6th edition, revised and enlarged by Charles H. Stocking and Justin L. Powers.  New York: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., 1926, page 2.</ref>