Dover's Powder

Dover's Powder, a compound powder of opium and ipecacuanha, Pulvis Doveri, Pulvis Ipecacuanhae opiatus, Pulvis Opii et Ipecacuanhae compositus. According to Formula VII, Dover's Powder consists of a mixture of powders: opium 10 parts, ipecacuanha root 10 parts, and potassium sulfate 80 parts. Dover's Powder is light brown in color, has an opium odor, and contains 1% morphine. The original composition of the powder, proposed by the English physician Thomas Dover in 1734, was somewhat different. Dover's Powder combines the effects of opium and ipecacuanha: it reduces pain sensations, decreases the irritability of the respiratory center and to some extent the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, as a result of which the patient coughs less frequently but more strongly, breathes less frequently but more deeply, and general well-being improves. Potassium sulfate was added to the preparation to prevent constipation from opium. Dover's Powder is prescribed for dry catarrhs of the respiratory tract and diarrhea in powders and tablets, in doses from 0.25 to 1.0 several times a day. The highest single dose is 1.0, the highest daily dose is 4.0. Due to the presence of morphine, Dover's Powder can be prescribed to children only in exceptional cases. Morphinists, deprived of morphine and opium, sometimes abuse Dover's Powder.