Americans have a long history of falling for elixirs that claim to be benign, but in fact are packed with addictive substances.

For example, in the 1830s McMunn's Elixir of Opium was touted for “nervous irritability,” as well as rabies and tetanus, and Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup — a morphine and alcohol concoction — was touted for fussy kids.

Today, we have kratom, a plant with active compounds mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, which affect the same opioid brain receptors as morphine, causing sedation and pleasure as well as decreasing pain when taken in large enough doses.

Hence, it's potentially addictive.

The Food and Drug Administration says kratom is illegal to sell as a medical remedy for pain, cancer, or whatever else occurs to the vendor.

They also caution that kratom-associated deaths (44 to date) seem to happen when it's combined with illicit drugs, opioids, benzodiazepines, alcohol, gabapentin, and over-the-counter medications such as cough syrup, or when it is contaminated with undeclared (and lethal) ingredients.

In addition, the heavy metals lead and nickel have been found in kratom, and there was a 2018 alert for a multistate outbreak of salmonella infections from contaminated kratom products.

If you're trying to manage chronic pain, see a pain management specialist, take up a stress management technique such as deep breathing or guided imagery, and explore physical therapy and an anti-inflammatory diet.

If you think kratom will alleviate pain or some other disorder you have, think again. It will only dull you to your symptoms — and then you'll end up with a more advanced, and untreated, medical problem.