ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Brompton cocktail

Okay, so a Brompton Cocktail is actually a pretty scary thing that grown-ups use in hospitals when they’re really, really sick and in a lot of pain. It’s not something that you or I should ever take or play with because it’s very powerful medicine and can be very dangerous if we don’t use it properly.

So, you know how when you get a little cut or a bruise, your mommy or daddy might give you some medicine to help make the pain go away? Well, sometimes, grown-ups get really, really, really sick and nothing else seems to make the pain go away. That’s when they might use something called a Brompton Cocktail.

A Brompton Cocktail is a special mixture of different medicines that doctors use to help very sick adults feel better when they’re in a lot of pain. It usually has three things in it: morphine, cocaine, and alcohol. All of these things are very strong and can make a grown-up’s pain go away quickly. But they also make the grown-up feel very strange and not like themselves.

Sometimes, when a grown-up is very, very sick and there’s not much else that can be done to make them feel better, they might ask for a Brompton Cocktail. But remember, only grown-ups who are very sick and under the care of a doctor should ever use something like this. You should never try to make a Brompton Cocktail or take one yourself because it could be very dangerous.
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