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[OC] Anyone else insist on using the generic name for all meds?

Image: 4 panels organized in a rectangle following a sequential order like a comic strip. The first panel is of a man with a very serious face stating, "Hey man, got any diphenhydramine?" The second panel is a grainy picture of the actor Robert Downey Jr. with a slightly inquisitive face and saying, "What's that?" The third panel is an identical copy of the first image and saying, "Benadryl the allergy medicine." The fourth and final panel is a grainy picture of Bobby rolling his eyes and taking a deep breath.

Edit: Tony Start -> Robert Downey Jr. I didn't know that Tony Stark was a character Robert Downey Jr. played 🤦‍♂️

Heavybell ,
@Heavybell@lemmy.world avatar

I live in Australia. Over here it seems to be an even toss-up between Panadol, Panamax, or paracetamol when people are talking, in my experience. Nurofen (ibuprofen) doesn't get the same treatment tho, people usually use the generic name for some reason.

PriorityMotif ,
@PriorityMotif@lemmy.world avatar

Does anybody else get bothered by the term meds being used for OTC stuff? I always associate "meds" and "medication" with anything prescribed by a doctor. OTC I just call by whatever name it is, like ibuprofen or Tylenol. "meds" is vague because you don't want to tell people what your medical condition is but it still implies that there is something more serious going on or it really is too hard to say the name of the medicine. Taking OTC isn't really a big deal so there's no reason to be vague.

BananaTrifleViolin ,

Generic drug names are widely used in the UK and europe - we don't have US style advertising. There are brands but they don't cut through in the same way when generics are so widely known and mandated for prescriptions coming from the NHS too.

Benadryl isn't even a specific drug, it's just a brand with different drugs in different countries (cetirizine in the UK). I'd just say "antihistamine".

Also brand name drugs are largely a scam - pharmaceuticals are heavily regulated and generics are the exact same drug. Save yourself some money, learn the generic names and buy those. Otherwise you're just paying the drugs company for their advertising and the big price mark up for their profit as a "premium" brand.

trigonated ,

Here in Portugal the prescriptions even say how much the generic medicine should cost, so that you immediately know if the pharmacy is trying to sell you more expensive medicine.

pingveno ,

generics are the exact same drug

Yes but. From what I've heard, sometimes when switching to a generic, there might be subtle differences in manufacturing that affect how an individual absorbs it. For something minor - an off the shelf pain killer - probably not a problem. For someone where it's imperative that they maintain a certain blood level of the drug, some caution is a good idea.

FluffyPotato ,

I don't think I even know what the brand names are, like only active ingredient names are on the packaging here.

sadbehr ,
@sadbehr@lemmy.nz avatar

Yo gimme some of that Dihydrogen monoxide.

FiniteBanjo ,

Ew, gross, anticholinergic allergy meds? I'll stick to my third generation Cetirizine Hydrochlorides, thanks.

BackOnMyBS OP ,
@BackOnMyBS@lemmy.world avatar

I didn't know we could be all snobby about allergy meds, but I learn something new everyday.

TheRealKuni ,

There’s good reason to be snobby about antihistamines. Second and third generation antihistamines are straight-up better than first generation. No drowsiness and they last longer.

Diphenhydramine, for example, is pretty terrible. The FAA doesn’t let pilots fly for 60 HOURS after taking diphenhydramine because of how impairing it can be without the user realizing. Extended use of anticholinergics has also been linked to dementia, IIRC.

TheRealKuni ,

I’m a Fexofenadine Hydrochloride man myself, but I respect any second generation antihistamines and beyond.

(Actually, depending on whom you ask, Cetirizine is sometimes categorized as second generation despite its late arrival. Not sure why.)

saigot ,

Benadryl can also be acrivastine or cetirizine

Underwaterbob ,

Yes! I live in Korea, and I have no idea what the local brand names are. If I want some Advil, I have to ask for Ibuprofen pronounced "Ee Boo Pro Pen". Tylenol is Tylenol here, though.

retrieval4558 ,

I'm a prescriber in the US and the name that people will commonly use varies by drug and by region. It's also influenced by whether that medication is even available generically due to patents (if that's the right legal word) on medications being decently long when they first come out.

I agree it's a mess

lseif ,

what about "antihystamine"? or is that too generic?

BackOnMyBS OP ,
@BackOnMyBS@lemmy.world avatar

To me, it's not specific enough because it doesn't identify the active ingredient.

Pinklink ,

Antihistamine is the type of drug, or it’s “family. It describes what is does biochemically. That’s like using “antibiotic” when you are looking for doxycycline.

Syn_Attck ,

Antihystamine is very specific. Antihistamine is quite generic and it depends on whether you want to treat allergies or schizophrenia. Here is a list from Wikipedia of the most common type of antihistamines (targeting the H¹ receptor)

List of H1 antagonists/inverse agonists

Acrivastine
Alimemazine (a phenothiazine used as antipruritic, antiemetic and sedative)
Amitriptyline (tricyclic antidepressant)
Amoxapine (tricyclic antidepressant)
Aripiprazole (atypical antipsychotic, trade name: Abilify)
Azelastine
Bilastine
Bromodiphenhydramine (Bromazine)
Brompheniramine
Buclizine
Carbinoxamine
Cetirizine (Zyrtec)
Chlophedianol (Clofedanol)
Chlorodiphenhydramine[12]
Chlorpheniramine
Chlorpromazine (low-potency typical antipsychotic, also used as an antiemetic)
Chlorprothixene (low-potency typical antipsychotic, trade name: Truxal)
Chloropyramine (first generation antihistamine marketed in Eastern Europe)
Cinnarizine (also used for motion sickness and vertigo)
Clemastine
Clomipramine (tricyclic antidepressant)
Clozapine (atypical antipsychotic; trade name: Clozaril)
Cyclizine
Cyproheptadine
Desloratadine
Dexbrompheniramine
Dexchlorpheniramine
Dimenhydrinate (used as an antiemetic and for motion sickness)
Dimetindene
Diphenhydramine (Benadryl)
Dosulepin (tricyclic antidepressant)
Doxepin (tricyclic antidepressant)
Doxylamine (most commonly used as an over-the-counter sedative)
Ebastine
Embramine
Fexofenadine (Allegra/Telfast)
Fluoxetine
Hydroxyzine (also used as an anxiolytic and for motion sickness; trade names: Atarax, Vistaril)
Imipramine (tricyclic antidepressant)
Ketotifen
Levocabastine (Livostin/Livocab)
Levocetirizine (Xyzal)
Levomepromazine (low-potency typical antipsychotic)
Loratadine (Claritin)
Maprotiline (tetracyclic antidepressant)
Meclizine (most commonly used as an antiemetic)
Mianserin (tetracyclic antidepressant)
Mirtazapine (tetracyclic antidepressant, also has antiemetic and appetite-stimulating effects; trade name: Remeron)
Olanzapine (atypical antipsychotic; trade name: Zyprexa)
Olopatadine (used locally)
Orphenadrine (a close relative of diphenhydramine used mainly as a skeletal muscle relaxant and anti-Parkinsons agent)
Periciazine (low-potency typical antipsychotic)
Phenindamine
Pheniramine
Phenyltoloxamine
Promethazine (Phenergan)
Pyrilamine (crosses the blood–brain barrier; produces drowsiness)
Quetiapine (atypical antipsychotic; trade name: Seroquel)
Rupatadine (Alergoliber)
Setastine (Loderix)
Setiptiline (or teciptiline, a tetracyclic antidepressant, trade name: Tecipul)
Trazodone (SARI antidepressant/anxiolytic/hypnotic with mild H1 blockade action)
Tripelennamine
Triprolidine
lseif ,

the more you know :-)

reattach , (edited )

Good on you for including a written description of the image but... "picture of the actor Tony Stark"?

Edit: or are these descriptions automatically generated?

BackOnMyBS OP ,
@BackOnMyBS@lemmy.world avatar

I wrote it myself. What's wrong with it??

crazybrain ,
@crazybrain@lemmy.spacestation14.com avatar

Robert Downey Jr. is the actor that plays the fictional character Tony Stark (who is also know as Iron Man).

BackOnMyBS OP ,
@BackOnMyBS@lemmy.world avatar

oohhhHHHHhhh!! I knew something was off! I was so confused, lol. I thought there was an actor names Tony Stark that looked a lot like Robert Downey Jr. I don't watch super hero movies, so I didn't know about that Tony Stark character.

This is hilarious. If some users didn't depend on the caption to participate in the conversation, I'd leave it the way it is. However, I'm going to edit it to properly reflect the content without being confusing.

Thanks for the clarification!

Retrograde ,
@Retrograde@lemmy.world avatar

This is adorable

prime_number_314159 ,

Robert Downey Jr is the name brand, Tony Stark is the generic name. Hollywood producers certify there's no functional differences between the two products.

janus2 ,
@janus2@lemmy.zip avatar

i just cracked up out loud

kyle ,

What if I call it Tylenol but always buy the generic anyway?

robotica ,

ITT: Americans who can't fathom generic medicine names

Tylenol isn't the medicine, paracetamol is. I love having grown up in a European country which mandates pharmacies to very clearly inform you, not just in some fuck ass place, but repeat to you 3 times, that there is a cheaper generic version which does the same thing.

wyrmroot ,

This is probably the worst example to choose, because in the US the generic name is acetaminophen. This is a case where the brand name actually unites understanding of a drug whose chemical name differs by location.

That being said, I still agree with the spirit, let’s stick to referring to the drug and not the brand.

robotica ,

Touché, though I love knowing names like paracetamol or acetaminophen, ibuprofen, diclofenac, acetylsalicylic acid etc.

I can't come up with many names because I don't remember every single drug, but when I see a drug, I always read the chemical, never the brand, and I'm glad for my country and my parents for that.

TheRealKuni ,

I particularly like knowing acetylsalicylic acid because knowing that name helps you understand why really old bottles of Aspirin smell like vinegar: the acetic acid and the salicylic acid have begun to separate, and acetic acid is the active ingredient in vinegar!

DillyDaily ,

This is a case where the brand name actually unites understanding of a drug whose chemical name differs by location.

Except we don't have Tylenol in most countries where it's called paracetamol.

We have Panadol, Panamax, Calpol, Herron and Hedanol.

If it wasn't for ER, Scrubs, Greys Anatomy and a bunch of other American media, I'd have no idea that Tylenol and acetaminophen are the same thing as Panadol and paracetamol.

Standard Tylenol and standard Panadol are different dosages too. Regular strength Tylenol is 325mg, standard Panadol (and every other paracetamol brand I've seen for adults) is 500mg, which is the "extra strength" of Tylenol.

TheRealKuni ,

Standard Tylenol and standard Panadol are different dosages too. Regular strength Tylenol is 325mg, standard Panadol (and every other paracetamol brand I've seen for adults) is 500mg, which is the "extra strength" of Tylenol.

We have enough liver problems in the US without pushing more acetaminophen/paracetamol on people. 😅

JudahBenHur ,

do you know why theres no aspirin in the jungle?

cause parrots eat em all

rmuk ,

Y'see, I would have said "parrots ate 'em all". It still works.

JudahBenHur ,

do you pronounce it ceet or cet in the actual drug name

robotica ,

I know it as "ceet", but my language pronounces that part as "tset".

JudahBenHur ,

portugese?

lithuanian?

robotica ,

Lithuanian, you got it right!

JudahBenHur ,

it is weird- I mean I also picked portugese and that had nothing to do with anything

cazssiew ,

In France there are plenty of people who ask for Dafalgan or neurofen but have no idea what paracetamol or ibuprofen are.

robotica ,

Yeah, there are clueless people everywhere, but I'm still glad that it's easy to get generic medicine.

To be fair, you cannot force people to buy generic, let people make their own, though preferably informed, decisions.

JoYo ,
@JoYo@lemmy.ml avatar

stop taking benadryl. it’s been obsolete for decades and has really nasty side effects.

tenchiken ,

Got names? Most of the other options I've found have other nasty side effects or don't help.

Being serious... I'd love to finda working alternate

retrieval4558 ,

For allergies? Most people should start with a second generation antihistamine like Allegra or Claritin, they shouldn't cause the same sedation like Benadryl does.

If you're using benadryl for sleep, atarax can be a bit better, but if it is just sleep, I'd stop using any of them. It can be habit forming, fuck up your sleep hygiene, and long term use of anticholinergic medication may increase your risk of dementia in the long run.

This is incredibly generic advice and you should talk to your doctor about any concerns you have.

Ironically I know I just used a bunch of brand names but that's what I refer to them as off the top of my head ¯_(ツ)_/¯

dustyData ,

Medicine schools in anywhere except USA. Farmacists, medics, nurses, life rescuers, hospitals, social workers. They're all encouraged to use the active components of medicines and not commercial brand names. Specially because there are differences in regulations and sometimes the commercial names don't carry the same formulation in other markets, or are US specific. Tylenol for example doesn't exist in Latin America. But you can find many other brands and presentations of paracetamol as acetaminophen.

lunarul ,

I was going to say. That was just common practice in my native country. We did use the most common brand names sometimes, but even then we used them interchangeably (if we asked for Nurofen we really meant ibuprofen and didn't care if we got another brand; like asking for a kleenex)

uzay ,

TIL that Tylenol is just how americans call paracetamol

SnotFlickerman ,
@SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I mean, Americans call facial tissue "Kleenex" we're pretty bad at accepting corporate brands as a stand-in for "the standard."

DriftinGrifter ,

I mean even nos capsules are called whippets and ZIP and stick is velcro

Gabu ,

Nah, velcro is called velcro - the inventor of "loop and hook fasteners" called them velcro strips. The fact that the brand wanted full control of the name after the fact is irrelevant.

Cort ,

I think genericide should be more common in today's world. And everyone can work together to achieve it

Monstera ,

Tylenol for example doesn't exist in Latin America

it absolutely does, what?

that said, agreed

fernandu00 ,

Of course Tylenol exists in LatAm! At least in Brazil it does..but we buy paracetamol because its cheaper

dustyData ,

Case in point. The pharmaceutical market in Brazil doesn't look anything like the one in Colombia, Venezuela or Ecuador. Because each country has their own sanitary regulations body.

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