Welcome to (Quack) Antique Medications Series Two!!
Part Two - Howell's Cocoa & Quinine Syrup
This bottle came with it's original box casing, but as you can see from the picture below, it is a little worse for wear. The casing is made from a very thin, cardboard stock and every time I move it around a few more little pieces come off or tear. The colors are of course faded from time and it's covered in what I assume are, oil smudges from peoples hands over the years.
The bottle itself is in good condition. There are no major scratches or dents. The ribbed parts on the sides of this super thick, brown, glass bottle are all intact. There is a very visible seem where the glass was sealed together down the middle of the ribbed area and there is an imprint of a small polygon with a symbol in it and the numbers 747 then a sideways 3 (or maybe it's supposed to be an m?) on the bottom of the bottle. The lid is a white screw top with no discernible markings on it - but it does have a little rust spot on one side.
In all of my research on this bottle and medication, I was unable to find another pictured online. I also could not pinpoint the symbol nor the numbers to any certain decade/era. I did however find a claim filed against The Howell Co., INC in which I was able to determine that this casing around the bottle was not printed and distributed until after 1942. See below under the For Shame section to see how I came up with that conclusion.
Per the casing, this medication contains a solution of:
Alcohol (4%)
Quinine Sulphate (1 Gr. per teaspoon full)
and
Chocolate Syrup
This particular bottle is still 75% full of the medication and when I turn it upside down you can clearly see chunks of something inside (I am assuming it's the chocolate syrup but really it's anyones guess...). Interestingly enough the chocolate syrup is only an ingredient because the taste of quinine is unpalatable to most people - it's sole purpose is to mask the taste of the main medication.
Per the casing:
You should Shake Well Before Using
and
take One to two teaspoonfuls followed by cold water
It does not indicate anywhere how long between doses.
The current directions for this medication for both adults and children according to Drugs.com is:
648mg every 8 hours for 7 days when treating uncomplicated malaria.
When you look at the ingredients below, you'll note that this bottle contains 1 Gr (gram) per teaspoon of quinine... that's just under double the dose that a person should be taking at one time every 8 hours (!) and if they take two teaspoonfuls, thats almost 4 times the amount they should be taking!! Overdosing on this medication can be fatal or cause lifelong severe side effects like blindness.
Quinine is used to treat uncomplicated malaria officially and only for patients whom are allergic, or have become resistant, to the preferred malaria treatment medication Chloroquine. People used to treat leg cramps with quinine (some still do) however, that is not an approved diagnosis for using this medication according to the food and drug administration due to to its severe side effects.
On July 9th, 1942 the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana filed a claim against The Howell Co., INC for mislabeling the ingredient dosages of Quinine on its medication casings. The US Attorney stated that the medications' quality fell below that which it purported and it contained not more than 1.65Gr per teaspoonful when the label was stating 2 Gr per teaspoonful. On July 22, 1942 The Howell Co., INC pleaded nolo contendere and was fined $90.
The casing that I have only states 1Gr per teaspoonful - so that is why I believe the casing, and subsequently the bottle, was made and distributed later then 1942.
I hope you have enjoyed this next installment of the (Quack) Antique Medications Series!!
Leave me a comment on what you thought!
Check out Series One Here:
(Quack) Antique Medications: Part One - Bromo Quinne Laxative cold Tablets - February 26, 2020
https://nicolieoliesmeanderings.blogspot.com/2020/02/antique-medications-part-one-bromo.html
(Quack) Antique Medications: Part Two - Calomel and Sodium Bicarbonate - March 7, 2020
https://nicolieoliesmeanderings.blogspot.com/2020/03/quack-antique-medications-part-two.html
(Quack) Antique Medications: Part Three - Hien Fong Essence - March 20, 2020
Check out Part One of Series Two Here:
(Quack) Antique Medications Series Two: Part One - DeWitt's Liniment - April 28, 2020
Disclaimer: This, and all the other medications I will go over in this series two, all came from one of my Correctional Officers 💖 He very nicely donated them to me to write about on the blog!!
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