Chloral HydrateYou know how in those old movies, people would slip a "Mickey Finn" into a drink to knock someone unconcious? It was supposed to be chloral hydrate. Chloral hydrate is a sedative and hypnotic drug. The scientific name is trichloroacetaldehyde monohydrate, 2,2,2-trichloro-1,1-ethanediol, and is has been sold under the tradenames Aquachloral, Novo-Chlorhydrate, Somnos, and Noctec. This material has been around for over a century and a half. Indeed, it's about the oldest synthetic drug. It was used for the short-term treatment of insomnia and as a sedative before minor medical or dental treatment. It has been largely displaced by the development of benzodiazepine receptor agonists and newer hypnotics. It is sold as a syrup and doctors rarely prescribe it these days. It finds it greatest use as a "second-line" agent for elderly patients. It is also used as in veterinary medicine as a general anesthetic. In therapeutic doses for insomnia it is effective within sixty minutes, it is rapidly metabolized into trichloroethanol and trichloroacetic acid. Higher doses can depress respiration and blood pressure. An overdose is marked by confusion, convulsions, nausea and vomiting, severe drowsiness, slow and irregular breathing, cardiac arrhythmia and weakness. It may also cause liver damage. It is moderately addictive. Chronic use can cause dependency and withdrawal symptoms. Chloral hydrate is a schedule IV controlled substance in the United States.
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AntihistiminesBenzodiazepinesThe Z-DrugsOther DrugsMost Prescribed Sleeping Pills RelatedPrescription Drugs and Their Effect on Sleep
"Sleep hath seized me wholly" (William Shakespeare – Cymebline)
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