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 Tony Stark 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 Tony Stark rolling his eyes and taking a deep breath.
Trade names all well and good until you start traveling. Also you’re less likely to find cheaper generics if you only know the brand names.
I use the American brand names when talking about meds on the internet.
I’ve never taken trade-name Tylenol, Benadryl, Advil (without pseudoephedrine), Xanax, Effexor, Prozac nor Klonopin.
But those are the names I’d use when discussing them to “blend in”. If I start talking about panado or rivotril I may cause confusion. The API names are also just a fucking mouthful.
As a non-American, I have never heard any of those “trade-names” and wouldn’t know what you’re talking about.
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.
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.
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.
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.
do you know why theres no aspirin in the jungle?
cause parrots eat em all
Y’see, I would have said “parrots ate 'em all”. It still works.
I do. I extend it beyond medicines as well. Corporations have spent lots of money for their brands to be household names. They don’t control my language.
Specifically to medicine, I will note that the generic name actually carries information that the brand name does nothing for. Lisinopril and enalopril are the same medication class, act similar. Amlodipine, nimodipine, nicardipene are all the same class. Those generic names have important meaning.
Oh, you want facial tissues? Why didn’t you ask?
Sure, here’s some acetaminophen and ibuprofen.
Don’t you mean bleach wipes?
Paracetamol
Aspirin
Ibuprofen
What? That’s what they’re called
Isn’t Paracetamol a brand name for acetaminophen?
Edit: just googled it, apparently they’re both generic names for the same thing (like aspirin / acetylsalicylic acid)
In my country we mostly use the generic names, save for very few exceptions, and even then they are used interchangeably with the generic name.
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.
TIL that Tylenol is just how americans call paracetamol
I mean, Americans call facial tissue “Kleenex” we’re pretty bad at accepting corporate brands as a stand-in for “the standard.”
I mean even nos capsules are called whippets and ZIP and stick is velcro
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.
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)
Tylenol for example doesn’t exist in Latin America
it absolutely does, what?
that said, agreed
If you use the brand name for everything, eventually it will become the generic name.
Tell that to the copyright lawyers
People have lost trademark rights because it’s too ubiquitous.
Aspirin was literally the brand name by Bayer but lost it.
What if I call it Tylenol but always buy the generic anyway?
tell me you’re student without telling me you’re a student
haha, no…I’m just autistic
Good on you for including a written description of the image but… “picture of the actor Tony Stark”?
what about “antihystamine”? or is that too generic?
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.
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
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.
stop taking benadryl. it’s been obsolete for decades and has really nasty side effects.
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
![[OC] Anyone else insist on using the generic name for all meds?](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/6f334501-aaf9-46be-9396-c4b8c0616870.png){kind=link}