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 🤦♂️
what about “antihystamine”? or is that too generic?
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 Triprolidinethe more you know :-)
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.
To me, it’s not specific enough because it doesn’t identify the active ingredient.
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.
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.
tell me you’re student without telling me you’re a student
haha, no…I’m just autistic
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.
Fun fact, Aspirin is still registered to Bayer in most of Europe
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.
In that case I’d be happy to clarify
Tylenol: Paracetamol. Widely used non addictive pain medication. According to Wikipedia some German trade names are: Captin, Benuron, Enelfa.
Benadryl: Diphenhydramine. Allergy medicine. They kinda just throw it in every cold medicine, it feels like. Can’t find specifically what trade names they use in Germany.
Advil: Ibuprofen. Pain medication. Other trade names usually just prefix a random word with “Ibu”
Xanax: Alprazolam. Anxiety medication. Surprised you haven’t heard of this. American hiphop turned it into a household name at this point.
Effexor: Venlafaxine. Antidepressant.
Prozac: Fluoxetine. Antidepressant. Called Fluctin in Germany?
Klonopin: Clonazepam. Anxiety medication. Think they also call it Rivotril in Germany.
Interesting. Diphenhydramine (US name Benadryl) is apparently banned as a medication in Germany, thats why you couldnt find any trade names…
Paracetamol and Ibuprofen (thats what they are commonly called here) are relatively common, the others I dont know. But dont you need a prescription for the last four?
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)
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?
Corporations have spent lots of money for their brands to be household names.
Corporations are terrified of their name becoming genericized, though. At least in the US, a company can lose it’s protection of the use of their name if they don’t fight it being used for things that are not their product. For example, “Dumpster” used to be a trademarked name for a large outdoor garage bin. It became so popular that every large outdoor garbage bin was called a dumpster, and now everyone making and selling them can call it a dumpster without getting sued
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.
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)
Of course Tylenol exists in LatAm! At least in Brazil it does…but we buy paracetamol because its cheaper
Tylenol for example doesn’t exist in Latin America
it absolutely does, what?
that said, agreed
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 think genericide should be more common in today’s world. And everyone can work together to achieve it
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Benadryl can also be acrivastine or cetirizine
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
Ew, gross, anticholinergic allergy meds? I’ll stick to my third generation Cetirizine Hydrochlorides, thanks.
I didn’t know we could be all snobby about allergy meds, but I learn something new everyday.
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.
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.)
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