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 🤦♂️
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
![[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}