Medicinal And Recreational Drug Use In The 20th Century

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Medicinal and Recreational Drug Use in the 20th Century
The 20th century spawned several cures for illnesses which have plagued mankind since the beginning of time. According to The History Channel’s website, in the 1800’s the average life expectancy was between 40 and 50 years old, but with the advances that medicine made in the 20th century those ages rose to nearly 80.
In 1929 Dr. Alexander Fleming published his discovery of a drug called penicillin. Penicillin is a mold considered an antibiotic which prevents germs from reproducing. Fleming noticed that when coexisting with a colony of germs in a Petri dish the colony would not grow. This was a huge breakthrough in medical science for the 20th century. In 1938 Howard Florey, Ernst Chain and Norman Heatley refined the drug to make it usable for humans and to prevent infections from becoming dangerous. This so-called “Miracle Drug” prevented thousands of deaths during the Second World War by quickly killing bacterial infections soldiers got while in battle. Penicillin has also cured thousands of cases of pneumonia which until the time of antibiotics was a deadly virus. Amoxicillin is another form of penicillin which is often prescribed for infections of the tonsils or throat. In 1943 Selman Waksman discovered Streptomycin which was the first antibiotic effective against tuberculosis (TB). The chance of dying from a bacterial infection today is only 1/20 of what it was in the early 1900’s because of the difference antibiotics.
Over the counter drugs (OTC) are drugs that do not require a prescription to obtain. Generally such drugs are less powerful with smaller chances of side effects. Some common OTC drugs are often pain relievers (Antipyretic analgesics) such as Tylenol. Tylenol’s main ingredient is Acetaminophen which is found in fever reducers and pain relievers. Acetaminophen was approved by the FDA in 1951. Although side effects of this drug are not likely, t...