133年前的醫生怎麽看失眠症（Insomnia）

Ordinary cases of insomnia can be divided into three classes: Senile, toxic and psychical.   In the senile form of the affection, the disorder depends on degeneration of the cerebral arteries, and is difficult to cure; in the toxic abuse of alcohol, tea or tobacco, and ceases upon the removal of the cause; in the psychical it arises from continued and excessive mental strain, grief, anxiety, worry, etc and is usually successfully treated by full doses of bromides conjoined with tinctures of ergot and cod liver oil.  If the insomnia be serious, it must be stopped at once by hypnotics, preferably by opium.

Queen's Hospital, Birmingham - Dr Sawyer
British Medical Journal, Volume II for 1877, July 14 1877, P47.

[回家路]

Hi, Thanks for asking!
In the early 19th century, alcohol and opioids were used as sleeping medications. Now we don't use it for sleep anymore because we have Benzodiazepines and Sedative-hyponotic drugs like Ambien etc to treat insomnia, and they are better options. I believe opiums works, and patients who take opioids like pain medications who feel sleepy and drowsy.

[欲千北]

請問回家醫生，opium 真的對失眠普遍有效嗎？效果如何？