Brands

Milton

Milton has been used by hospitals and in homes for many years and has a fascinating history.

Milton was named after the poet, John Milton (1608-1674), as Milton was first manufactured in the house in London where the poet wrote “Paradise Lost”, an epic poem that is considered to be one of the greatest English literary works.

The Milton Pharmaceutical Company was founded in 1916 and the original Milton Fluid was first used as a disinfectant during the First World War, and was taken into the trenches to treat skin burns.

After the war, the Milton Fluid continued to be used as a general antiseptic, disinfectant and food preservatives, as well as being used in hospital surgical procedures.

In England during the last 1940’s there was a widespread outbreak of gastroenteritis, which led to the death of 4,500 babies under the age of 1 year. The outbreak was traced back to poorly cleaned baby feeding equipment. Sterilising baby bottles at the time involved boiling water on the Aga.

Following a request from the Ministry of Health, on the BBC, to develop a better method of sterilising baby feeding equipment, which would be effective on killing germs, Milton pioneered a new approach to sterilising baby bottles.

It was then that the Milton Method was born and it has been credited for saving many babies lives over the years!