In the late 1950s to the early 1960s, a drug called thalidomide was put on the market by the German pharmaceutical company Chemie Grьnenthal, who discovered the chemical accidentally while attempting to find an inexpensive way to manufacture antibiotics. After some testing on animals, who were subjected to extremely high doses of the drug, the company concluded that the drug was harmless and had no side effects. They were wrong.

Chemie Grьnenthal began distributing free samples of the drug in 1955 without further research or clinical trials done on the drug. Epilepsy patients began taking thalidomide to prevent seizures, and they reported experiencing deep sleep and calming and soothing effects after taking the drug. Other side effects were reported but these were dismissed as negligible. On October 1, 1957, doctors in West Germany began prescribing thalidomide user the brand name of Contergan to their female patients to combat the nausea and vomiting coupled with insomnia associated with morning sickness during pregnancy. Its use gradually spread worldwide, selling under a variety of brand names such as Distaval Asmaval, Distaval Forte, Tensival, Valgis, Valgraine and others. Thalidomide was also marketed as a powerful hypnotic sedative.

Pregnant women began reporting certain side effects while taking the drug, such as sleepiness, drowsiness, constipation, skin rash, severe headaches, stomach aches, peripheral neuropathy (numbness and pain in your arms, hands, legs and feet), nausea and vomiting, giddiness or nervousness at higher doses, shivering, buzzing in the ears, depression or mood-swings, and a general sense of illness. Within a year, women who had taken the drug during pregnancy began reporting the births of babies with a myriad of birth defects, more commonly phocomelia, which presents itself in short, malformed, flipper-like arms and legs. Other birth defects include missing limbs, incomplete fingers or toes, fused appendages, deafness, blindness, disfigurement, cleft palate,and malformations of the eyes and ears, heart, genitals, kidneys, digestive tract (including the lips and mouth), and nervous system. In some cases the mothers had only taken one thalidomide tablet; it was later determined that a single dose can have disastrous side effects on a fetus especially when taken at a critical point within the first trimester of pregnancy. This is because the drug is a teratogen, causing congenital deformities as it passes through the placental barrier between mother and fetus.

Initially, Chemie Grьnenthal refused to acknowledge the growing number of cases of thalidomide deformities and deaths in newborn babies; however, its disastrous side effects were gaining widespread media attention. Articles in several highly regarded medical journals began detailing the drug’s numerous side effects. In the United States, the drug had been repeatedly denied approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The officer in charge of the application, Frances Kelsey, felt that there was not enough data on thalidomide’s teratogenic effects based on her earlier work on the effects of a drug called quinine. Kelsey wanted more extensive studies on its effects on human metabolism especially during pregnancy, as well as the drug’s chemistry, pharmacology and stability from Richardson-Merrell, the pharmaceutical company waiting for FDA approval for the sale of thalidomide under the name Kevadon.

By the time thalidomide was withdrawn from markets worldwide, it was too late for the victims and families affected by this medical disaster. It has been estimated that some 10,000 infants were born with deformities as a side effect of the drug, with about half of that number or less surviving into adulthood because of the high mortality rate among victims.

The most common treatment for cramps would be stretching the afflicted muscle, though soft massage has also been known to help. Since some cramps are caused by poor circulation, heat is often applied. The heat has the effect of improving circulation in the given area, which can help alleviate the problem in most cases. Heat can also help alleviate the problem if it was caused by prolonged exposure to lower temperatures, but this is not always the case. A lack of oxygenation is also listed among the possible causes, though it is generally accepted that this is among the rarer ones. Certain minerals, or the absence thereof, have been tied to the problem as well, with potassium being the most notable. Potassium has been known to help prevent cramps, so nutritionists often advise foods such as bananas, prunes, and potatoes to people who regularly have this sort of problem. According to findings, potassium aids in preventing all forms of cramps.

There are several types of cramps, one of them affecting smooth muscles in the internal systems of the body. Among the potential areas of this are the uterus, the heart, and the intestine. Several other internal organs may experience sensations of this sort. This type is sometimes considered to be closely related to menstrual cramps, but the two are not necessarily caused by the same factors despite the similar physical sensations caused. This variety occurs in muscles that the person does not have direct control over. Predominantly, this occurs to internal organs, but involuntary muscle tissue may also be affected, depending on the circumstances.

Perhaps the most common form would be the nocturnal leg cramps. These occur with random frequency in people and are often best alleviated by stretching the muscle in question until the pain subsides. The duration can vary, with some lasting a few minutes while others only register in the brain for a few seconds before disappearing, though the muscles tend to be sore for some time afterwards. The cause of this has yet to be determined, though some have suggested that a lack of certain minerals, prolonged sitting, and dehydration to be potential causes.

Due to the apparently random nature of the problem, cramps can often be used as a plot device in murder-mystery story or a convenient excuse to get out of doing something. It is worth nothing that using it as an excuse is often ill-advised because as random as the nature of the problem can be, the duration is about as fickle. Most of the time, attacks of this problem last for no longer than a few minutes and, thus, can only prove to be a minor reprieve.