A history and modern uses of Quinine

Williams Kherkher - Quinine Attorneys Providing you with Background

If you have taken quinine and have suffered from the side effects that have been linked to it, you need help on several fronts. You'll need immediate medical attention as well as legal help. However, before you contact a quinine attorney at Williams Kherkher, we'd like to give you a bit of background on this substance so that you can understand the intended uses of quinine. Below is a brief look at the history and intended purpose of this substance, but if you need immediate legal help, contact a quinine attorney at Williams Kherkher for a free initial consultation.

Quinine - A Brief History

Quinine comes from the bark of the cinchona tree, which naturally resides in the northern Andes Mountains in South America. It was first discovered by outside forces in the early 17th Century, when European missionaries and explorers discovered that natives had been using it to cure several maladies.

These European explorers brought quinine, which was a powder-like substance, back to Europe, where it was rejected until later in the 17th Century, when a doctor secretly used quinine powder to cure King Charles II of England and the son of King Louis XIV of France of malaria. After the means to these cures became public, quinine became an accepted medication all over the world.

Quinine - Modern Uses

Quinine continued to be used to cure malaria, and it reached its apex of prevalence in the 20th Century, especially during World War II, when malaria-carrying mosquitoes posed a serious threat to allied troops in both the European and Pacific theatres. Millions of doses of quinine had to be smuggled to troops, as enemy forces controlled the sources of quinine in both Europe and in the Pacific regions.

However, when pharmaceutical companies began to expand their reach to the worldwide market later in the 20th Century, several different forms of quinine began to hit the market, and these substances were marketed for different uses. One of them was an over-the-counter and sometimes unauthorized line of products containing quinine used for treating leg cramps, and this is one of the many uses that has led to the current legal controversy.

If you have used quinine and suffered as a result, you need to contact a quinine attorney at Williams Kherkher for a free consultation, as many of these latest uses of this substance have proven to be quite dangerous and pose an unreasonable risk to those who ingest it.