# mercurochrome **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 19, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027 "2010-03-19T16:31:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kathleen\_Hunn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a88e4f/32.png) [@Kathleen\_Hunn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kathleen_Hunn)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/1 "2010-03-19T16:31:20Z")
* * * I want to purchase the antiseptic Mercurochrome. The sites I tried under that listing led nowhere. If anyone has an address, please post it. thanks k hunn ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/2 "2010-03-19T16:37:02Z")
> **[What happened to Mercurochrome?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343653/what-happened-to-mercurochrome)** > [@](#): > > In 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared that Mercurochrome, generically known as merbromin, was “not generally recognized as safe and effective” as an over-the-counter antiseptic and forbade its sale across state lines Good luck! I may have a bottle in the back of a drawer someplace. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/3 "2010-03-19T16:39:02Z")
[I think you’re going to have a very hard time with that.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2518/what-happened-to-mercurochrome) Dammit! Anyway you’re better off going with a legal alternative. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/4 "2010-03-19T16:41:16Z")
I remember hating that stuff as a kid - probably lead to me leading a much safer life - wouldnt take risks of injury when that stuff was involved! ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/5 "2010-03-19T16:41:55Z")
Yeah, the general rule with the FDA is that “mercury = BAD” in all it’s forms, even when there is no contact with a patient, like old bulb thermometers and sphygmomanometers. And I can tell you that as a biomed tech, the older mercury sphygmomanometers (which you can still find in some older clinics and doctor’s offices,) are more accurate and reliable. I’ve never had to calibrate one (Hell, you can’t even really calibrate it! That’s the point, it’s calibrated for life!) They either work perfectly, or they don’t work at all…which means a leak somewhere (generally at the top of the tube, cause otherwise mercury would leak out.) I think the main reason for banning the sale of those, though, isn’t asmuch about patient safety as it was enviromental concerns. because if there was a leak or it broke, most people would just throw them away. Edit: Is there any particular reason hydrogen peroxide, iodine, or _shudder_ alcohol won’t work for your antiseptic needs? (I shudder at the alcohol because I’m assuming it will be used on open wounds…as bad as iodine stings, I (personally) find alcohol to sting a lot worse!) ---
**Author:** ![Ispolkom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47774/32.png) [@Ispolkom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ispolkom)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/6 "2010-03-19T16:48:36Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Edit: Is there any particular reason hydrogen peroxide, iodine, or _shudder_ alcohol won’t work for your antiseptic needs? > (I shudder at the alcohol because I’m assuming it will be used on open wounds…as bad as iodine stings, I (personally) find alcohol to sting a lot worse!) When my mother was patching us up 40 years ago, she swore by hydrogen peroxide, while every other kid on the block got mercurochrome. I can’t tell you why she kept to this practice (was it cheaper?), but it seemed to work just fine, and we found the foaming impressive. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/7 "2010-03-19T18:41:30Z")
I don’t know anything about anything, but I heard about [Mercuroclear](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001V9DHOK/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000LM6GAA&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0WDJDXTV14662M0NQMGK) from a friend. I’m sad that it doesn’t have the glass bulb and cotton swab dauber I remember from youth. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/8 "2010-03-19T18:49:15Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > …(I shudder at the alcohol because I’m assuming it will be used on open wounds…as bad as iodine stings, I (personally) find alcohol to sting a lot worse!) If I’m not mistaken, what we refer to as Iodine is really a tincture of Iodine, meaning that there is some Iodine dissolved in alcohol. That means that the fact that Iodine really burns is probably mainly due to the fact that it is delivered in alcohol. In other words, Iodine stings because it’s mainly alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/9 "2010-03-19T22:50:05Z")
Was mercurochrome the stuff that was red out of the bottle, but turned bright vivid orange on contact with water? We had some of that in our first-aid kits in Boy Scouts. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/10 "2010-03-19T22:57:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Was mercurochrome the stuff that was red out of the bottle, but turned bright vivid orange on contact with water? We had some of that in our first-aid kits in Boy Scouts. Yes. I also fluoresced strongly under UV. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/11 "2010-03-19T23:59:54Z")
Cuz I still have some and it is still ouchless. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/12 "2010-03-20T00:48:57Z")
> [@Ispolkom](#): > > When my mother was patching us up 40 years ago, she swore by hydrogen peroxide, while every other kid on the block got mercurochrome. I can’t tell you why she kept to this practice (was it cheaper?), but it seemed to work just fine, and we found the foaming impressive. Possibly a lot of the other mothers didn’t think the peroxide was safe. Many people have a lot of trepidation about it, even in the 3% medicinal solution used as an antiseptic (they’d be right in higher concentrations - can you say “Kursk”?). The foaming may actually have been part of it, or the fact that it could bleach things - mother might well think “I’m not putting THAT on my kid”. You get that reaction from a few people every time the perennial ear wax discussion comes up - “I’m NOT putting hydrogen peroxide in my ears! …”). Note that the 3% peroxide bottle has directions on it for gargling with it. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/13 "2010-03-20T01:28:16Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I also fluoresced strongly under UV. Used the full-body dip, did you? 🙂 > [@DocCathode](#): > > Cuz I still have some and it is still ouchless. Your “ouchless” comment prompted me to look up the “ouchy” version – merthiolate – which I was surprised to learn is thimerosal. ---
**Author:** ![MitzeKatze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@MitzeKatze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MitzeKatze)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/14 "2010-03-20T03:05:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Was mercurochrome the stuff that was red out of the bottle, but turned bright vivid orange on contact with water? We had some of that in our first-aid kits in Boy Scouts. Am I the only one here who knew it as “monkey’s blood”? Did my mom (or we ask kids) make that up? Of course we never had monkey’s blood and only knew of it from the neighbors and evil baby sitters. My mom preferred good old alcohol (or peroxide when she was sick of hearing us complain about the sting). ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/15 "2010-03-20T04:21:09Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I don’t know anything about anything, but I heard about [Mercuroclear](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001V9DHOK/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000LM6GAA&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0WDJDXTV14662M0NQMGK) from a friend. I’m sad that it doesn’t have the glass bulb and cotton swab dauber I remember from youth. Is this the same stuff? If so, is Amazon selling it illegally? > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > [What happened to Mercurochrome? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2518/what-happened-to-mercurochrome) > > > [@](#): > > > > In 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared that Mercurochrome, generically known as merbromin, was “not generally recognized as safe and effective” as an over-the-counter antiseptic and forbade its sale across state lines ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/16 "2010-03-20T04:24:21Z")
I was gonna post a bit earlier about the ‘Monkey’s blood’ name but got distracted. When I was a kid (~late 60s to 70s), that little bottle of stained-anything-red sat upon kitchen windowsill at every household of every friend. Practically all the mothers wasted no time in smearing any tiny abrasion liberally with the wounded kid showing off the repair with its ‘coolness’ factor. The rest of the kids often wanted their own bit of color, like matching stuff on all our hands or whatever 😃 With hindsight now, it seems that the bottles just slowly disappeared. I did not realize the situation (obviously). If I am remembering correctly, I saw, just yesterday, on a shelf in a pharmacy here in town a few ‘typical’ bottles of Mercurochrome. I was kind of surprised, hence the memory, I guess. I’m going to go there tomorrow to see if I saw it correctly - knowing what I know now anyways 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/17 "2010-03-20T04:34:31Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Is this the same stuff? If so, is Amazon selling it illegally? The answer is, no, it’s not the same stuff. The active ingredients are Benzalkonium Chloride and Lidocaine, both legal OTC medications (and neither is a mercury compound): [http://www.shop.com/Humco+Mercuroclear+1+Ounces-41355161-p+.xhtml](http://www.shop.com/Humco+Mercuroclear+1+Ounces-41355161-p+.xhtml) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/18 "2010-03-20T12:22:58Z")
Get some Iodine. ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/19 "2010-03-20T13:15:33Z")
Mercurochrome is still available here in Japan, if you don’t mind a really long trip to the drug store. Good luck taking it back with you, though. I picked up nifty little bandages that are pretreated with Mercurochrome. I was skeptical at first, having had parents who were against the stuff, but it turns out they are great for all of life’s little boo-boos and ouchies. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027/20 "2010-03-21T04:15:09Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Yes. > I also fluoresced strongly under UV. Don’t we all? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome/533027.md?page=2)