Mercurochrome

[Mercedes Benzene]

Chemical name: Merbromin.

Does anyone use it? I came across it on the net recently while doing some research, only to discover that the US banned it's sale in the late 90s.

 

Can you buy it where you live?

Is it used regularly?

Do you feel safe using it?

[Turtle]

Chemical name: Merbromin.

Does anyone use it? I came across it on the net recently while doing some research, only to discover that the US banned it's sale in the late 90s.

 

Can you buy it where you live?

Is it used regularly?

Do you feel safe using it?

 

I haven't tried to buy it in a while, but I have a couple vials still in a First Aid kit. I used it it the old days on cuts; maybe that's what happened to me!?? :eek: Probably wouldn't use it except in an emergency.:lol:

 

Nurse!

[jungjedi]

i think it was used in an old photo emulsion technique.like a bromide printing out process maybe more than a century ago

[Turtle]

i think it was used in an old photo emulsion technique.like a bromide printing out process maybe more than a century ago

 

Picture this; Turtle has Merthiolate, not Mercurochrome. Here's a scan of my bottle >>> (Thimerosal!!!?? )) Nurse!!!!!

[C1ay]

Turtle has Merthiolate, not Mercurochrome.

 

It's another mercury laden product the FDA would like to get rid of....

[Mercedes Benzene]

Very interesting. Another mercury compound used as an antiseptic.

What was our infatuation with mercury compounds?

Was it all just rather snake-oil-salesman-esk, or did we actually have evidence that they served their purpose well?

 

In any case, I wish I had some.

Thanks for sharing Turtle.

[Mercedes Benzene]

Rep to a Hypographer who can find me an organomercuric tincture such as the one Turtle mentioned above.

You can give me a location, or take a picture of it on a store shelf.

 

Is swan even a brand anymore?

Edit: stupid me. The brand isn't Swan. It's Lilly. d'oh.

[C1ay]

Rep to a Hypographer who can find me an organomercuric tincture such as the one Turtle mentioned above.

You can give me a location, or take a picture of it on a store shelf.

 

Is swan even a brand anymore?

Edit: stupid me. The brand isn't Swan. It's Lilly. d'oh.

 

It won't be in the U.S. From an old news item:

 

In the 70 years since thimerosal/Merthiolate was developed, the FDA never required Eli Lilly to conduct clinical studies of its safety, despite ample evidence of its toxicity and its highly allergic properties. In fact, the FDA today still refers to the 1931 Powell and Jameison study on its Web site as indication of the “safety and effectiveness” of thimerosal as a preservative. Thimerosal/Merthiolate was widely used in over-the-counter products, including ointments, eye drops, nasal sprays and contact lens solution. In 1998, the FDA finally banned Thimerosal for use in OTC products—18 years after it began a safety review of mercury-containing products. It took another year before the CDC and the FDA would ask manufacturers to remove thimerosal from childhood vaccines. Eli Lilly stopped making Merthiolate-containing products in the mid-’80s but still profits from licensing agreements with pharmaceutical companies around the world.

 

More...

[Mercedes Benzene]

Hmmm... well that's annoying. I was really hoping something would exist OTC.

[C1ay]

It does in other countries, just not in the U.S. ...

[Mercedes Benzene]

Now this is curious:

Walgreens carries a product called Merthiolate First Aid Antiseptic....

yet it's "mercury free".

Its active ingredient is Benzalkonium Chloride, which is an antiseptic, but I find it funny they still call it by its old name... which is rather misleading.

 

Merthiolate First Aid Antiseptic | De La Cruz | Walgreens

[Guest chendoh]

If you have a boo-boo use Neosporin for cuts, and silvadine for burns.

[C1ay]

Its active ingredient is Benzalkonium Chloride, which is an antiseptic, but I find it funny they still call it by its old name... which is rather misleading.

 

Not really. Fresca used to have saccharin in it for sweetener but they changed to aspartame in the '80s like many other products. Am ingredient change doesn't suggest that there needs to be a change in the name of a product. Eli Lilly built a following on the Merthiolate brand as an antiseptic. It's still marketed as an antiseptic, just with a different active ingredient. Think of all the cold medicines that used to have pseudoephedrine. They're still around, just not with pseudoephedrine.

[Turtle]

Very interesting. Another mercury compound used as an antiseptic.

...

In any case, I wish I had some.

Thanks for sharing Turtle.

 

look for old first aid kits at garage sales, fleamarkets, thrift shops etcetera. you'll find not only the merthiolate & mercurochrome, but a dandy suite of other intersting chemicals. :D :(

[Boerseun]

Interesting...

 

Back in the day, every kid had knees and elbows with bright red patches stained by mercurochrome from their latest bike crashes and general balancing failures that comes with insisting on a bipedal gait.

 

I haven't seen it around for close on twenty years, coming to think of it. Not too sure if its been banned over here, or just superceded by newer and cheaper antiseptics.