Mercurochrome

My Grandma used Mercurochrome on my brother and me. I still remember it. She had an old jar of it in her bathroom cabinet. It was so old, I doubt she even bothered with an expiration date. Do you remember Mercurochrome? One can still buy it but it doesn’t contain mercury. I noticed the no mercury is listed as an antiseptic and germicide. I am thinking this could be more effective than the triple antibiotic cream I have.

I was reading an article about Mercurochrome the author said:

What I find funny is that this was banned because it contained mercury, which is considered toxic. The fact that it was toxic was precisely why it was a good antimicrobial agent! Rubbing alcohol, iodine, hydrogen peroxide, and every other agent we use is toxic too. How else would you kill bacteria? In small, properly dosed amounts, any antimicrobial agent would be less toxic to the host than to the microbes - it’s a matter of killing the germs without killing yourself.
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Mercurochrome-not-available-in-the-US

In recent years we see nasty bacteria that we try and kill with fancy topical creams but are they really as good as the stuff we used to use? I worry about staph infections that can be deadly. Staph was around prior to banning Mercurochrome but not as much. I am not saying the banning of Mercurochrome is to blame for the rise in staph but it does make me wonder. Please note: there is still mercury in fish. And pregnant women are discouraged from eating too much fish.

Here is some Mercurochrome that you can order from Walmart. It is mercury free but I am considering getting some to put in my cabinet. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sanvall-Mercurochrome-1-Oz-By-Sanar-Naturals-Mercuro-Cromo/55484422

 

My Aunts used it on us kids many decades ago. Never had a problem from it. Back then kids played hard outside, we got cuts and scrapes, which soon had that red coating.
Nowadays I use Povidone Iodine in much the same way. It stains too.

 

Yes I remember that and the iodine , as well as some of my grandparents remedies that were used , but I don't remember their names. Some were just concoctions they whipped up , but they worked. Got a bad cold and fever once , grandpa mixed up a hot toddy. Said boy , drink this , get under them covers and don't come out til morning. Next morning I was brand new. Kerosene poured over some pretty bad road rash from a bicycle wreck . But they all worked. Today , with all the labels of bad chemicals from the earlier days , in my opinion , the medical companies make plenty of money pushing their pills and cures , that I feel do nothing but lighten the load in your wallet , and little to cure your ailments.

 

Iodine is good stuff too, you need to buy it before they ban it...

Rancher

 

Yep , I forgot about that one,,

 

Mom called it "Monkey Blood" so we gladly accepted it on all our cuts.

 

My Grand Parents had all sorts of "Cure All's" in the bathroom cabinet. Bactiean was the one I always remembered, that stuff had an unmistakable smell and it BURNED! We had Iodine and Iodine Soap ( which you really need to get stocked up on ASAP while you still can) and we had many others that were used depending on the severity of the situation! They had One that got used once in a while, really nasty stuff they had to pin you down with two or three people and "Treat You" with, I don't know what it was, don't remember the name, but Boy did that shit burn bad for a hour or more, and it smelled like methanol and pine, but boy did that stuff work. Grand dad also had a jar of stuff that looked and smelled like Roofing Tar, that was used for burns and really deep cuts or serious road rash. I remember it had a offical product name and came in a tin can with lable and all that, but I cannot tell you what it was! I got a really bad road rash on my palm, Gramps put some on and wrapped it in tin foil and told me not to take it off for a few days! I swear I was healed inside a week and no scars or any thing! I bet you cannot find that stuff any more!

 

Yep! My grandmother had it and used it but think she preferred using iodine on us because, if I remember correctly, iodine burns a hell'va lot more. LOL! I am still a great believer in iodine and have lots of bottles in the car, truck and home. I don't have Mercurochrome but I wonder if it is even worth stocking since it no longer contains mercury? Also, what can it do that Iodine can't?
I ask because I honestly don't know... I do know iodine has numerous uses plus it is dirt cheap.

 

I keep a few bottles around. Great stuff!

 

Fell off a boat in the yard and got impaled on a engineer stake my brother found me when he got off work pulled me off mom scrubbed the wound out with a tooth brush because it had lead base paint on it flushed with water and they put the macureachrome on it I don't know which hurt the most the impaleing the being unimpaled the srubbing or the medicine.

 

Great stuff and fond memories too. Need to find some.

 

Did your brother laugh at you?

 

I remember mercurochrome, my best friend got into a fight with his twin and got his hand raked by his twins nails. His mother put mercurochrome on the cut and then found out he was allergic to mercury, the twin definitely won that fight. I always thought it was good stuff

 

No I been stuck there for over an hour and he knew how my parents were I think he felt bad for me.

 

The sell it in europe,butt now its basically a rebranded povidone iodine solution.
Prove you cant trust brands read the label.

 

Mercurochrome -
Didn't Paul Simon write a song about that?

 

O, FFS.

No, don't use Mercurochrome.....for anything. Just because people survived it 50+ years ago doesnt make it good medicine.