Rem Cough Syrup (Top voted first)

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Info on a cough syrup called REM.It was manufactured, I believe by Maryland Pharmaceutical around the 1940's. I think it had a blue bottle with a orange circle with the name REM printed on it

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The box states "The Maryland Pharmaceutical Co. Baltimore, MD." Also makers of REL for head colds. This medicine was recommended for coughs and throat irritations resulting from colds. Soothes the irritated membranes of the throat. Quick Relief or money refunded. Average contents 3 FL. OZ. The exclusive REM formula contains Alcohol 1%, Benzyl alcohol 1/5%, Chloroform 1/2%, Squills, Ipecac, Lobelia, Wild Cherry, Blood Root, Herehound, White Pine, (All extracted by REM's special process), Tar, Tolu, Menthol, Glycerine, Ammonium Chloride, In a syrup base epecially prepared to make REM cling to the throat. IMPORTANT: In case of persistent cough, or high fever, it is advisable to consult a physician.

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4

I have a bottle of it and the original box in pristine condition. I could post a picture of the box that includes all the ingredients.

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2

my mother use to give to to us in the early 60's.

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6

When I posted about my memories of REM I had forgotten about a replacement I had found--until a neighbor had a cough that went on forever, and he didn't want to take anything with the usual chemicals.
I remembered that I had used (successfully) a Chinese syrup (they legally can't call it a 'cough medicine' but it definitely worked for me, and when I gave him my bottle, it worked a charm for him. He had been fighting the cough for a couple weeks (with various treatments, teas, herbs, etc) and less that a week with this and he stopped coughing.
I live in Los Angeles so it's easy to find but I see it's also available at Amazon, it's called:
Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa Oral Demulcent Sore Throat Syrup
If you go to Amazon just do a search for Chinese cough syrup...
You can do a search and find out what herbs, etc are in it...

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9

REM was manufactured by the Maryland Pharmaceutical Company, owned by my grandfather and great uncle here in Baltimore. The bottle was clear with a blue label with an orange circle. Originally, the company made concoctions to druggist specifications but eventually devised a proprietary line. The memory that the formula changed as some ingredients fell into disfavor may be correct. The company was bought out (by Block Drugs, as I recall) in the late 1950s.

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3

I used it in the 1980s and it worked well. I don't tolerate the chemical ones. I remember REM had ipecac, lobelia, squills and other things...I just remember those because ipecac was used as an emetic and when I looked up lobelia and squills they were listed in an herbal book as good for coughs.
I wish I could find the accurate recipe for this, which is why I came across this post.

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16

I wish REM was still available, the ingredients may have sounded like witches brew and the taste was not great, but it worked. To me that's all that mattered.
If anyone know's of a similar cough remedy, I would love to know about it. Thank you.

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17

Was given REM as a child in the early 1960s .it worked fantastic! By the late 60s it was gone like so many other great products.

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21

They really NEED to make REM again.

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27

Rem was the last OTC cough syrup in the USA to contain codeine. Under pressure from doctors and pharmaceutical companies, seeking scripts from expensive physician visits just to get simple cough relief, in conjunction with control freak social do-gooders, it was banned under the Reagan Administration in 1982. Just say NO!

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28

I took R.E.M. Many times as a child in the 50's. It contained alcohol and chloroform but had a better taste than Cheracol which I think contained charcoal as it tasted like it!

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36

In the 60's, my parents used to have a long, rectangular, dark navy blue, REM branded, cardboard box full of boxes of REM cough drops. They came in a flat, rectangular box like chiclets, only thicker. 10 or 12 to a box I think. I remember them being kind of chewy as I never had the patience to suck on them because I ate them like candy. They had REM in raised letters on each dark cherry colored, round lozenge. My parents never said a word about me taking them from their closet and they never ran out, even though I ate them ALL OF THE TIME! They probably had some ingredient in them that parents liked the effects of on their kids. I'm 62 now and wish I had a thousand boxes! I wonder what those "beneficial" ingredients were and why such an effective "medicine" is no longer around. Does anyone else remember REM cough drops?

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1

I'm sorry, but I can't find any information on this, which really isn't very surprising for that old of a product.

There were also many differences back then for what were considered pharmaceutical products.

Does anyone have information on this?

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7

Please Post a picture of it or email me one. thank you!! :))

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8

Yes you are right. My Mother-in-Law kept it in the house all the time. It had a horrible taste, but it did the job. I was like a little boy when she would come up to our apartment with that bottle. She'd say shut up and take it you'll feel better in the morning, she was right, but I have to say I'll never forget that taste. Later on it was taken off the shelf. Then when it came back it wasn't the same. Must have been something in it that wasn't "Kosher", once they removed what ever it was it never helped any more. My wife and I were married in 1972 and it was on the shelves then. Would probably help with the Flu problem we're having right now. LOL

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10

used rem in 1940's in brooklyn ny

worked beautifully for cough suppression

not around now, i never see it

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11

Hi,is good niños jiom pie pa pregnancy?

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12

Patrick, I am a museum curator working on an exhibition about health and healing. Our museum has a copy of a memoir (apparently written in 1926) by Sidney Hollander, an owner of the Maryland Pharmaceutical Company, in which he describes inventing and marketing REM. I would love to borrow your bottle of REM with box to display in the exhibition. How can I get in direct touch with you?

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13

Hi - my husband is Sidney Hollander's grandson, Robert Kunreuther (his mom Emily is a Hollander). I found your post when looking for REM items on the web. My husband would love to get a copy of the memoir that you mentioned in your post. Is it something you would be willing to photocopy or scan and send? We don't really have any REM memorabilia other than a photo of a huge sign that REM put in Time Square. Also - not sure if you still are interested in other REM product - but ebay has two REM ad reproductions for sale.

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14

Thanks for your reply, Anita. We'd love to share the memoir with you. You can find my email at {edited for privacy} and we can arrange it.

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