Anti-vax panic

[kengr]

While looking up something else, I discovered that the "thimerisol" that so many folks are scared of in vaccines (and isn't even *in* them anymore, anyway) was widely sold under another name...

Merthiolate.

Yeah, the stuff that was widely used for *decades* as a topical antiseptic.

*That* is one of the things people are panicking over.

What was I looking up? Merbromin, better known by the trade name Mercurochrome. Another widely used topical antiseptic.

Why is neither sold in the US any longer? Because they got moved from the "generally accepted as safe" category (used for things that'd been in widespread use for a long time before FDA regs covered them) to "untested" (meaning nobody has done the extensive and expensive tests that the FDA requires for "new" drugs).

They got moved solely because they contain mercury.

It's unlikely that they'll get the tests done because it'd be horrendously expensive and since any patents expired a long time ago, anybody who paid for the testing would be out the money without being able to get it back from sales, since everybody else could under cut their prices because the *other* companies wouldn't have to pay off the testing costs.

I didn't check for thimerisol, but merbromin is still sold over the counter in every country except the US, Germany and France. So it's *obviously* horribly dangerous.

Comments

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[seawasp]

Thimerosol as a *topical* antiseptic is rather different than an INJECTED preservative. In my particular case, I'm highly allergic to the stuff; it used to be used as a preservative in contact lens solutions and when I became sensitive to it I was then no longer able to use contact lenses. (my current eye infection feels very much like what it felt like to have that reaction, except it won't go away just because I stop putting something in my eye.

[stickmaker.livejournal.com]

Decades ago (so long ago I don't remember the source; sorry) I read a report on a study which compared the effectiveness of Mercurochrome, Merthiolate and tincture of iodine. The iodine won hands-down in both safety and effectiveness.

I remember my maternal grandfather favored Mercurochrome, and he died in his mid-Eighties, so it can't be good for you. :-^)