Fish: Re: [tropical fish club] Mercurochrome ? You Can't get it anymore....

Hi Ray,

Yes, I know about the red alcohol in thermometers. That is why I was surprised when the pharmacist told me they weren't sold anymore because they were 'dangerous.' In my comment I used the phrase 'mercury thermometers' because a) that is what many people still call them and b) it was consistent with the terminology in the article. You are always on the ball!

Beverly
Peace, please!

--- On Tue, 2/8/11, Ray <sevenspringss@wmconnect.com> wrote:

> From: Ray <sevenspringss@wmconnect.com>
> Subject: Re: [tropical fish club] Mercurochrome ? You Can't get it anymore....
> To: tropicalfishclub@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2011, 4:16 AM
> Hi Beverly,
>
> You may be pleased to know that not all glass thermometers
> are mercury thermometers. Mercury thermometers are the
> ones with silver in the tube. The more common (and
> less expensive) glass thermometers that are filled with a
> red liquid or either ethanol alchohol or a mixture of this
> alchohol and mineral spirits, with a red dye added.
>
> Ray
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In tropicalfishclub@yahoogroups.com,
> beverly pardue <bmpardue@...> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Robert, thanks for posting this! Yes, it makes me
> feel old but so many things do these days. I still say,
> "roll down the car windows," for instance. I won't miss
> mercurochrome but I do prefer the standard glass
> thermometers over the digital. I'm holding on to mine until
> it breaks and I hope that won't be any time soon.
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Beverly
> >
> > Peace, please!
> >
> >
> > --- On Mon, 2/7/11, Robert Mace <agentid44@...>
> wrote:
> >
> > > From: Robert Mace <agentid44@...>
> > > Subject: [tropical fish club] Mercurochrome ? You
> Can't get it anymore....
> > > To: tropicalfishclub@yahoogroups.com
> > > Date: Monday, February 7, 2011, 2:38 PM
> > > Got this from doing a search for
> > > "Mercurochrome" so please read the
> > > whole letter for your answer...Sorry this sorta
> long...
> > > Robert Mace
> > >
> > > I had skin surgery recently and was told to
> apply
> > > Mercurochrome to aid
> > > in scarless healing. The product, once widely
> available, is
> > > sold by only
> > > one vendor in Boise, and I'm told they
> manufacture their
> > > own. Another
> > > pharmacist told me they were not allowed to
> handle or sell
> > > it. What
> > > happened to this antiseptic that I grew up with?
> > >
> > > --- David Young, Boise, Idaho
> > >
> > > You're dating yourself, pops. Few under age 30
> have ever
> > > heard of this
> > > stuff. 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. A few
> traditionalists
> > > complained:
> > > Whaddya mean, not generally recognized as safe?
> Moms have
> > > been daubing
> > > it on their kids' owies since the Harding
> administration!
> > > But the more
> > > reasonable reaction was: It's about time.
> > >
> > > For many years the FDA, faced with the task of
> regulating
> > > thousands of
> > > pharmaceuticals and food additives, many of which
> long
> > > predated federal
> > > oversight, has maintained the so-called GRAS
> (generally
> > > recognized etc)
> > > list, originally compiled as a way of
> grandfathering in
> > > products like
> > > Mercurochrome that had been around for ages and
> hadn't hurt
> > > or killed a
> > > noticeable number of people. Recognizing that
> from a
> > > scientific
> > > standpoint such a standard left a lot to be
> desired, the
> > > FDA has been
> > > whittling away at the unexamined products on the
> GRAS list
> > > over time.
> > > Mercurochrome and other drugs containing mercury
> came up
> > > for scrutiny as
> > > part of a general review of over-the-counter
> antiseptics
> > > that began in
> > > 1978, and for good reason--mercury in large
> enough doses is
> > > a poison
> > > that harms the brain, the kidneys, and developing
> fetuses.
> > > While no
> > > one's offered evidence of mass Mercurochrome
> poisoning, the
> > > medical
> > > literature contains scattered reports of mercury
> toxicity
> > > due to use of
> > > the antiseptic, and these days the burden of
> proof is on
> > > drug
> > > manufacturers to show that their products'
> benefits
> > > outweigh the risks.
> > > In the case of Mercurochrome and many other
> > > mercury-containing
> > > compounds, that had never been done.
> > >
> > > The FDA initially proposed clipping
> Mercurochrome's GRAS
> > > status in 1982
> > > and asked for comment. Hearing little, the FDA
> classified
> > > the antiseptic
> > > as a "new drug," meaning that anyone proposing to
> sell it
> > > nationwide had
> > > to submit it to the same rigorous approval
> process required
> > > of a drug
> > > invented last month. (This took place in
> 1998--nobody's
> > > going to accuse
> > > the FDA of rushing to judgment.) It's not out of
> the
> > > question that a
> > > pharmaceutical company will do so
> someday--published
> > > research on
> > > Mercurochrome, though hardly abundant, suggests
> the stuff
> > > is reasonably
> > > effective. However, the approval process is
> time-consuming
> > > and expensive
> > > and any patent protection Mercurochrome might
> once have had
> > > surely
> > > expired long ago. For the foreseeable future
> those yearning
> > > for that
> > > delicious Mercurochrome sting will have to look
> somewhere
> > > else.
> > >
> > > Other notes from the mercury wars, as long as
> we're on the
> > > subject:
> > >
> > > * Already illegal in some states and
> > > municipalities, mercury fever
> > > thermometers appear to be headed for
> > > history's dustbin. The U.S.
> > > Senate approved a federally mandated
> > > phase-out in 2002, although
> > > the bill didn't make it through the
> > > House. Even in jurisdictions
> > > where mercury thermometers are still
> > > legal, many drugstores are
> > > dropping them in favor of the digital
> > > electronic type, which are
> > > unarguably safer--although you don't
> > > get to play with those cool
> > > quicksilver globules when they break.
> > > * Despite two decades of controversy and
> > > threatened legislative
> > > bans, amalgam ("silver") tooth
> > > fillings, which are half mercury,
> > > are still a mainstay of dentistry.
> > > Although some health activists
> > > claim the mercury leaches out of the
> > > fillings and into the body,
> > > the FDA in a 2002 statement reaffirmed
> > > the mainstream view, to
> > > wit: "No valid scientific evidence has
> > > shown that amalgams cause
> > > harm to patients with dental
> > > restorations, except in the rare case
> > > of allergy."
> > > * Thimerosal, a mercury-containing
> > > preservative in vaccines, is
> > > suspected of causing autism and other
> > > neurological disorders in
> > > children. A recent review by a panel
> > > of prominent scientists found
> > > no evidence for the much-publicized
> > > autism link; nonetheless
> > > thimerosal is no longer used in most
> > > vaccines, flu shots being the
> > > chief exception.
> > > * More than 30 years after the alarm was
> > > first raised, mercury
> > > accumulation in fish remains the chief
> > > source of exposure to the
> > > toxic metal in the U.S. The FDA
> > > advises that pregnant women, women
> > > who may become pregnant, nursing
> > > mothers, and young children avoid
> > > shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and
> > > tilefish entirely and limit
> > > consumption of albacore tuna (canned
> > > white tuna and tuna steaks)
> > > to 6 ounces (one meal) per week.
> > > Canned light tuna, shrimp,
> > > salmon, pollock, and catfish are said
> > > to be OK for up to 12 ounces
> > > per week. Some say even these
> > > guidelines, particularly the one for
> > > albacore, are too permissive. I'm not
> > > one to encourage the
> > > paranoids, but when you look at some
> > > of the brain-damaged
> > > decisions that get made in this
> > > country, often you can't help but
> > > think somebody's mom ate too much
> > > fish.
> > >
> > > --- Cecil Adams
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been
> removed]
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------
> > >
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> >
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