Stored in the medicine cabinet of Leopoldo Arús Gálvez.

2025.1

1980s

Maker Cuban pharmaceutical manufacturer (state pharmaceutical industry); specific producer not named on the visible faces. Regulatory markings: “Reg. Med.: 0293” (medical registration) and “NC 26-30:82” (Norma Cubana / Cuban standard reference). Date Circa 1980s (tentative; inferred). The Cuban-standard reference “NC 26-30:82” most plausibly cites a 1982 norm, indicating manufacture in or after 1982 and pointing to an early-to-mid 1980s date — within the collection range. This is an inference from the standard reference, not a printed manufacture/expiry date; lot “5001” is a batch code, not a date. Confirmation welcome. Place of Origin Cuba (Cuban prescription pharmaceutical; Spanish-language regulated labeling; Cuban-standard reference).

Box front: “VENTA POR RECETA MÉDICA / 8 mL / HOMATROPINA 2% / Colirio,” formula (homatropine hydrobromide 2 g per 100 mL; boric acid; benzalkonium chloride; purified water q.s.). Box back: “CONTRAINDICACIÓN: Glaucoma / Manténgase alejado del alcance de los niños / Protéjase de la luz / Precio: $1.00.” Box side: “Reg. Med.: 0293 / NC 26-30:82 / Lote: 5001.” Bottle label: brand, “Colirio,” “CONTRAINDICACIÓN Glaucoma,” “Protéjase de la luz,” “Reg. Med…,” “Lote 5001.”

Fair

Homatropine hydrobromide is an anticholinergic used in ophthalmology to dilate the pupil and temporarily paralyze accommodation (for eye examination, and to treat certain inflammatory eye conditions); the labeled glaucoma contraindication follows from its pupil-dilating action. The complete survival of box, labeled bottle, dropper, formula, regulatory markings, and even the printed state price (“Precio: $1.00”) makes this an unusually full record of a Cuban medicine of its era, and the fixed printed price is itself documentary evidence of the state-controlled pricing of the period.

Date-range note (1959–1990): In range (inferred). The “NC 26-30:82” Cuban-standard reference points to a 1982 norm and thus an early-to-mid 1980s manufacture, within 1959–1990 — distinct from the Otomicol drops (whose “5-93” suggested a 1993 date and a likely out-of-range status). The date here is inferred from the standard reference rather than a printed production date; provenance or a clearer date marking would confirm it.