While there are many potential causes of leg cramps there is on indisputable treatment for leg cramps that just about everyone has heard of: quinine.  Quinine is the bitter substance found in tonic water, bitter lemon and in many drinks containing gin, but it’s perhaps best known as a surefire way to prevent and treat muscle cramps, especially in the legs.

Natural quinine that can help ease leg cramps is still found in authentic tonic water.

Quinine is a bitter tasting chemical substance that was first used in Europe in the middle 1600’s.  Originally the substance of quinine was first obtained from the bark of the cinchona tree which is only found in Ecuador and Peru.  Today most quinine is actually made synthetically and not harvested from cinchona trees.  Quinine was originally used to cut the fevers suffered from malaria, because it relaxed the muscled which caused shivering.

Quinine is a muscle relaxant which not only reduces shivering which aids in breaking a fever, but it also helps with cramping muscles in the leg, foot and other parts of the body.  Scientists do not yet know exactly how quinine works to relax muscle cramping, but they are  still studying the issue even today.

The FDA has approved quinine for some medical uses, but muscle leg cramps is not one of them.  In 2006 all but one brand of quinine was banned by the FDA for leg cramp treatments due to a reporte 23 deaths in the previous 20 years.  Quinine is still prescribed for the treatment of malaria, but it is no longer easily available for treating leg cramps in the United States due to the risk of death.  Qualaquin is the only brand of quinine still used in the United States and while it is supposed to only be used for malaria treatments, there are still some doctors who do not follow the advice of the FDA and who do prescribe it for leg cramps.

Using quinine for leg cramps is no longer recommended because of the high chance of serious side effects or even death.  Leg cramps are considered to be a “nuisance” medical condition and not serious enough for the associated but low risk of death associated with quinine.  The FDA still suggests using quinine for malaria because malaria in itself is a life-threatening illness.  Quinine has a number of side effects as well including giving you a weak pulse, increasing your chances of an irregular heatbeat, fever, nausea, hearing and vision problems, headache, irritability, drowsiness and even fainting.

This means that most Americans who suffer from leg cramps will have a difficult time getting a presciption to quinine from their doctor in order to prevent their leg cramps.  Ordering quinine from online “pharmacies” is definitely not recommended due to the high chance of impurities or total fraud.  Even reputable online drug stores do not know where all their vendors and suppliers get their products.

There are, however, a few ways you can still get quinine in your diet if you need relief from muscle cramping.

How To Get Quinine

There are some consumer products, mostly liquid drinks, which contain small amounts of quinine in them.  The most obvious drink is authentic tonic water.  There are a number of companies that now produce tonic water “type” drinks, so you’ll want to check the bottle to make sure that the tonic water you choose has quinine listed as an ingredient.  Another way to make sure the tonic water you have contains quinine: hold the tonic water under a blacklight.  Quinine is flourescent chemical and will “glow” under a blacklight!

Studies have shown that drinking beverages with a small amount of quinine in them can, in some cases, decrease the frequency of night time leg cramps, though when muscle cramps did strike they were still just as painful.  It’s been written that it takes about 325 milligrams of quinine before sleep is recommended, but some people found lower doses to be just as effective.  The problem, of course, is that most consumer beverages don’t list the specific amount of quinine in them and the amount varies from one beverage type to the next.

Other drink makers around the world also put quinine into their beverages.  In Canada a carbonated chinotto soda called Brio also contains quinine.  For some individuals a single small glass of tonic water with quinine is they need to avoid leg cramps, but for other people more might be needed.

If you don’t like the bitterness of tonic water, here’s a neat trick:  Pour yourself a glass of tonic water and take a sip. It’s awfully bitter.  Now drop in a quick pinch of common table salt.  Stir and take another sip.  The bitterness should be greatly reduced!  It turns out that salt actually reduces the bitter taste of most things, including tonic water!

Another option is to try the higher end premium tonic waters like Q Tonic which can be ordered online.  It’s made with real agave and quinine so you’ll get the better taste as well as the quinine to help prevent leg cramps.