{"id":17241,"date":"2020-08-01T12:31:45","date_gmt":"2020-08-01T16:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/?p=17241"},"modified":"2020-08-02T04:26:28","modified_gmt":"2020-08-02T08:26:28","slug":"merthiolate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/merthiolate\/","title":{"rendered":"First-Aid History: Taking A Look Back At An Old Antiseptic Merthiolate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today we take a look back in history at an old first-aid antiseptic, Merthiolate (sometimes mistaken for other words like <a href=\"https:\/\/bushcraftusa.com\/forum\/threads\/when-did-metholiade-fall-out-of-favor.66843\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">metholiade<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Everyone seems to have a go-to remedy for minor scrapes or cuts. But such remedies have varied over time, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.webmd.com\/drugs\/2\/drug-76035\/hydrogen-peroxide\/details\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hydrogen peroxide<\/a> and iodine to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.medicalnewstoday.com\/articles\/rubbing-alcohol-uses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rubbing alcohol<\/a>, adhesive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/topics\/engineering\/adhesive-bandage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">bandages<\/a>, and over-the-counter ointments.<\/p>\n<p>But treatments like these weren&#8217;t so always popular. In fact, there were some treatments that were previously popular but have fallen out of favor in more recent years. Thiomersal is one of those treatments.<\/p>\n<p>But what is thiomersal? If you&#8217;re old enough, you might remember it as Merthiolate (or Metholiade). Both it and the related Mercurochrome were common antiseptic treatments in the U.S. during the 1950s and 60s. But whatever happened to it?<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/merthiolate\/#The_Origins_of_Thiomersal\" title=\"The Origins of Thiomersal\">The Origins of Thiomersal<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/merthiolate\/#Development_into_Merthiolate\" title=\"Development into Merthiolate\">Development into Merthiolate<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/merthiolate\/#Questions_About_Safety\" title=\"Questions About Safety\">Questions About Safety<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/merthiolate\/#Decline_As_Antiseptic_And_Use_In_Vaccines\" title=\"Decline As Antiseptic And Use In Vaccines\">Decline As Antiseptic And Use In Vaccines<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/merthiolate\/#Conclusion\" title=\"Conclusion\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Origins_of_Thiomersal\"><\/span>The Origins of Thiomersal<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/merbromin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Merbromin<\/a>\u00a0was a chemical compound developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It\u00a0consisted\u00a0of carbon, hydrogen, bromine, mercury, sodium, and oxygen atoms, and was found to have antiseptic properties.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/pin\/716494621959650103\/\" data-pin-do=\"embedPin\" data-pin-width=\"medium\" data-pin-terse=\"true\" rel=\"noopener\">1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>It was eventually <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straightdope.com\/columns\/read\/2518\/what-happened-to-mercurochrome\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">marketed as\u00a0Mercurochrome<\/a>\u00a0&#8212; an over-the-counter brand that\u00a0diluted\u00a0merbromin with water and\/or tincture (alcohol) &#8212; a treatment for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.woundsinternational.com\/uploads\/resources\/03983a959705d34a896ec163f7fc34d9.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">small cuts or open wounds<\/a>. This product was widely used in the United States in the postwar years, and it was most notable for its sharp\u00a0sting\u00a0and tendency to leave red or brown\u00a0stains\u00a0on the skin.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/vaccine_safety\/committee\/topics\/thiomersal\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Thiomersal<\/a> was a\u00a0related, and possibly\u00a0derivative\u00a0compound developed by the American pharmaceutical developer Eli Lilly and Company. The compound contained carbon, hydrogen, mercury, sodium, sulfur, and oxygen atoms.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Development_into_Merthiolate\"><\/span>Development into Merthiolate<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In 1929, Eli Lilly and Company trademarked thiomersal as Merthiolate. It began to market and sell Merthiolate as an antibacterial treatment, also as a vaccine preservative.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Merthiolate was similar to Mercurochrome in that it was a mercury-based antiseptic treatment that gained popularity in US households during and after World War II. It also stung (some sources say even\u00a0worse\u00a0than Mercurochrome) and tended to leave red marks on the skin.<\/p>\n<p>Many Americans of the Baby boomer\u00a0generation\u00a0(and earlier) remember Merthiolate as an antiseptic staple of bathroom medicine cabinets. But now, it is virtually\u00a0unknown\u00a0to later generations &#8212; for a few reasons.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Questions_About_Safety\"><\/span>Questions About Safety<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The use of Merthiolate came into\u00a0question\u00a0in the 1970s. By that time, organic mercury poisoning (like from seafood consumption and environmental waste) was well-known &#8212; that it caused damage to the kidneys, brain, and developing fetuses &#8212; and made an\u00a0ethylmercury-based treatment like Merthiolate subject to review.<\/p>\n<p>The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began to review over-the-counter antiseptics in 1978. Over the next decade, Eli Lilly and Company stopped putting thiomersal in its over-the-counter products (ending the practice in the mid-1980s), including the antiseptic Merthiolate.<\/p>\n<p>Nowadays,\u00a0Merthiolate, and its <a href=\"http:\/\/www.indexjournal.com\/lifestyles\/columnists\/curiosity-corner\/mercurochrome-not-banned-but-gone\/article_ba56f7d8-f558-5594-9e77-ee2a59e91194.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">counterpart\u00a0Mercurochrome<\/a>, are more likely to contain the compound Benzalkonium chloride &#8212; an ammonium\u00a0compound\u00a0&#8212; as an active ingredient.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Decline_As_Antiseptic_And_Use_In_Vaccines\"><\/span>Decline As Antiseptic And Use In Vaccines<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In\u00a01998, the FDA ended the &#8220;Generally Recognized As Safe&#8221;\u00a0status\u00a0of thiomersal, due to pharmaceutical companies&#8217; non-submission of corresponding health studies. The FDA also determined that it would subject companies intending to use thiomersal to lengthy review processes.<\/p>\n<p>This may have been the end of\u00a0thiomersal\u00a0in over-the-counter Merthiolate, but the compound continued to be used as a vaccine preservative, well into the 1990s, at least in the United States. Thiomersal is still used\u00a0internationally\u00a0(though in very small amounts) in many vaccines.<\/p>\n<p>Some believe the use of the compound in vaccines causes autism in infants. In 2011, however, the World Health Organization (WHO) deemed that &#8220;there is no evidence to suggest the amount of thiomersal used in vaccines poses a health risk&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing this controversy, the\u00a0FDA\u00a0has suggested both that thiomersal is not harmful in the amounts used in current vaccines, and that the compound is not present in most vaccines recommended for use in the United States. Furthermore, the FDA states the use of thiomersal has &#8220;markedly declined due to reformulation and development of new vaccines.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Though once a wide-spread treatment for small cuts and abrasions, Merthiolate and thiomersal have a greatly-reduced status as over-the-counter antiseptics. However, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.andalusiastarnews.com\/2012\/04\/18\/obviously-merthiolate-affected-me\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pain Merthiolate brought<\/a> is likely not so easily forgotten.<\/p>\n<p>So if you&#8217;re wondering where Merthiolate went, look for members of your generation who remember it, too &#8212; they will probably have some pretty powerful memories, to say the least.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today we take a look back in history at an old first-aid antiseptic, Merthiolate (sometimes mistaken for other words like metholiade). Everyone seems to have a go-to remedy for minor scrapes or cuts. But such remedies have varied over time, from hydrogen peroxide and iodine to rubbing alcohol, adhesive bandages, and over-the-counter ointments. But treatments\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/merthiolate\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":17315,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17241"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17241"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17365,"href":"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17241\/revisions\/17365"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesurvivaljournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}