Laudanum, or more correctly TINCTURE OF ÒPIUM, is the most generally used of all the preparations of opium. It is obtained by macerating the sliced or powdered drug in dilute spirit, and filtering.
It is of a deep brownish-red colour, and possesses the peculiar odour and smell of opium. One of the greatest objections to it is that it is liable to great variations of strength. When the tincture of opium is ordered a definite strength is always obtained, but under the name of laudanum various compounds are sold, and the former term should therefore alone be used. Laudanum is a powerful anodyne and soporific, but is more liable to cause headache than the solution of one of the salts of morphia. Its general action and its uses will be described in the article OPIUM. The dose for an adult varies from ten minims to a drachm. To children (as is the case with all opiates) it must be given with extreme caution. One minim, or about two drops, has been known to prove fatal to an infant. See POISON.