Interesting ketamine facts (by Ray)

Apropos of our brief discussion of ketamine (or K, as it's better known) in our session of Tuesday, November 29, I thought the pharmaceutically less well informed among us might like to know some intriguing facts about this much-maligned drug.

First, it is used mainly as a cat and horse tranquilizer. Since Mister Ed was one of many TV shows I used to watch in my early years, I've often wondered if Ed ever said, in that unmistakable voice of his, "Wiiiilbur! I need a buuuump!" Such a potentially hilarious remark would, alas, never have made it to the small screen. It would have been quite the snorter to the drug cognoscenti of the day.

However, ketamine is now also used, quite legitimately, on prepubescent children, usually in a dosage of approximately 30 mg, as a mild sedative to quiet them down just enough for a doctor or a med student to insert stitches, remove stitches, put drops in the eyes, remove foreign objects from the eyes, probe the ears, poke around the anus and other carnal cavities, et cetera.

Hmmmm. . . . Sounds like a precursor for something in later years, especially if there happens to be a catchy dance beat coming over the Musak system at the time of the examination.

Ray