Alcohol Used to Be Prescribed by Doctors to Cure All Sorts of Things

5) To Calm the Nerves

Brandy was often given to calm the nerves, cure madness, or to warm someone who was suffering from hypothermia. Even today a tipple of something strong is given to people who have just come in from the cold or who are out in it and to people who are upset. In the modern era we know that alcohol only worsens hypothermia by acting as a vasodilator which causes more heat lossand a false feeling of warmth. And we also know that alcohol should not be used as a way to treat anxiety.

Back in the old days, brandy was seen as a calming drink and restorative for many ailments. There was even some question about authentic brandy as some doctors thought that faux brandy or other kinds of alcohol could prove unsuitable to the task.

4 For Cold and Flu

Many people these days still will have a shot if they feel like a cold is coming on. But, alcohol couldn’t kill cold germs inside the body unless the blood alcohol level were at lethal levels. However, there is some evidence that a hot toddy with whiskey might help with the symptoms of a cold, when used in moderation.

Since alcohol is a diuretic there’s no way that anyone suffering from flu symptoms should be drinking any alcohol. But, even in cases of cholera, alcohol was historically administered, so it’s no wonder they thought it could cure the flu.

3) As a Stimulant

We often think of alcohol as a depressant, something that makes people groggy and sleepy. But, in the 19th century it was given as a stimulant- a way to keep the heart pumping in emergency situations. One medical case from 1899 indicated a full revival of a female patient after having been given an intravenous mixture of hot saline and brandy!

There’s no way a doctor would inject alcohol into a patient’s veins these days, but modern research suggests that alcohol is both a stimulant and depressant at various stages of metabolization.

2) As an Anesthesia

There was a gruesome period in history when patients would be given something alcoholic to drink before a surgery or amputation. As we know today, alcohol thins the blood making one bleed more when cut, which is not ideal for surgery.

But, in cases where opium, ether, or chloroform were not available (or sometimes in combination with these drugs) some wine or brandy was given to prepare the patient for the surgery to come (most often an amputation). Certainly this was true on battlefields where proper medical supplies were not always available, but where amputations were a certain outcome of medical attention. Alcohol was given to help people heal from surgery as well.

1) As a Sedative for Children

The so-called “soothing drops” of the 19th and early 20th centuries were intended to settle wrought children and to calm teething babies. Many caregivers, unaware of what they were really giving to these kids, were delighted that the children went right to sleep. However, these drops were heavy with alcohol and also often contained cannabis oil or opium. And dosing was a problem, too. According to some package directions, children would have been dosed with many times what was actually needed.

The drops gained a reputation as being lethal, so much so that they became known as “baby killers.” But, alcohol wasn’t seen as the enemy. Mothers continued to rub brandy, rum, or whiskey on teething babies’ gums or to mix a little alcohol into the child’s milk. Alcohol was seen as a comforting and healing elixir well into the 20th century. While no amount of alcohol is considered safe for babies in the modern era, historically children were often given wine or brandy for a host of reasons.