Mercurochrome: Remember when you were a kid and you cut yourself? Your mother would put mercurochrome on the wound so it wouldn't sting, like iodine. Watching TV last night, I learned...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Remember when you were a kid and you cut yourself? Your mother would put mercurochrome on the wound so it wouldn't sting, like iodine. Watching TV last night, I learned why we no longer use mercurochrome. It contained mercury. We were putting mercury into open wound!

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

jerryc41 wrote:

Remember when you were a kid and you cut yourself? Your mother would put mercurochrome on the wound so it wouldn't sting, like iodine. Watching TV last night, I learned why we no longer use mercurochrome. It contained mercury. We were putting mercury into open wound!

Yep.

tradio Loc: Oxford, Ohio

I found an unopened bottle of that the other day. I remember how it stained everything it touched.

TheShoe Loc: Lacey, WA

jerryc41 wrote:

Remember when you were a kid and you cut yourself? Your mother would put mercurochrome on the wound so it wouldn't sting, like iodine. Watching TV last night, I learned why we no longer use mercurochrome. It contained mercury. We were putting mercury into open wound!

My parents used Merthiolate which contained no mercury.

druthven

Merthiolate did sting because it contained alcohol and acetone.

foodie65

jerryc41 wrote:

Remember when you were a kid and you cut yourself? Your mother would put mercurochrome on the wound so it wouldn't sting, like iodine. Watching TV last night, I learned why we no longer use mercurochrome. It contained mercury. We were putting mercury into open wound!

And some of us live to tell the tale

mikee

jerryc41 wrote:

Remember when you were a kid and you cut yourself? Your mother would put mercurochrome on the wound so it wouldn't sting, like iodine. Watching TV last night, I learned why we no longer use mercurochrome. It contained mercury. We were putting mercury into open wound!

I think I still have some...if you want it.

Here's another anti-vacc piece of ammo for you. They used to preserve vaccines with Thimerosal, and also used it for a preservative in contact lens overnight sanitizing solution. It also has mercury in it. Was used for decades. Yup, you either injected it or put it in your eye!!

druthven

As a practicing dentist for 58 years I have placed thousands of silver amalgam fillings which contain mercury. we even used to combine the silver with mercury in a mortar and pestle using a squeeze cloth to remove the excess mercury bare handed. Don't worry about the mercury vapor being released from any silver fillings as it is less than in the air you breathe in a normal city.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

jerryc41 wrote:

Remember when you were a kid and you cut yourself? Your mother would put mercurochrome on the wound so it wouldn't sting, like iodine. Watching TV last night, I learned why we no longer use mercurochrome. It contained mercury. We were putting mercury into open wound!

And we lived through it!!

buckbrush Loc: Texas then Southwest Oregon

TheShoe wrote:

My parents used Merthiolate which contained no mercury.

Found this site which shows Merthiolate does in fact contain mercury?

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002678.htm#:~:text=Merthiolate%20is%20a%20mercury%2Dcontaining,in%20contact%20with%20your%20skin.

OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

Like drinking water from a soft hose, Lead was used to make it soft and we drank from it.

mudduck

I work in the Alcon Labs, the largest eye medicine manufacturer in the world, when I started in the 80's a lot products had thimerisol in them as preservative, the usual amount was 1/4 of 1 percent.

Terkat

Hi Jerry,

At 72 years of age I remember both items very well. I would always hope we were out of Iodine because, as you say, it really did sting quite a bit more than the Mercurochrome.
Thanks for the nice memory.

All the best,

Terry

srron Loc: Courtice,On.

Funny how so many substances were approved for use only later to be found potentially harmful.

Pass-Go Loc: Brunswick Oh

jerryc41 wrote:

Remember when you were a kid and you cut yourself? Your mother would put mercurochrome on the wound so it wouldn't sting, like iodine. Watching TV last night, I learned why we no longer use mercurochrome. It contained mercury. We were putting mercury into open wound!

If it doesn't sting it's not working!!!!!!!!