Most medicines and over-the-counter products have names that sound like unintelligible strings of chemical jargon, or sound like they were born in a focus group. But a few familiar drugs and products have names with interesting origins. Let’s take a look at the etymologies behind your medicine cabinet’s holdings.
1. Premarin
The controversial hormone replacement therapy drug gets its name from the same place it takes its estrogen: pregnant mares’ urine. Particularly astute readers will have realized that to get pregnant mares’ urine, you need pregnant mares. Wyeth, the subsidiary of Pfizer that produces Premarin, works with ranchers to maintain a steady supply of pregnant mares. The foals to which these mares give birth are one of the unwanted byproducts of Premarin production, which has raised concerns from animal rights groups. Now non-profit groups like the Pregnant Mare Urine Foal Acquisition Network, Inc. work to help get these unwanted foals into good homes.
2. Tylenol
Pharmacists and physicians refer to the drug we know as Tylenol by the abbreviation “APAP,” which comes from the chemical’s formal name, “N-acetyl-para-aminophenol.” The name “Tylenol” also traces its roots back to this chemical name but with different emphasis; it comes from stressing “N-aceTYL-para-aminophENOL.”
3. Listerine
The stout mouthwash bears the name of famed 19th-century surgeon Joseph Lister, but he didn’t invent the product. Instead, Dr. Joseph Lawrence and Jordan Wheat Lambert of St. Louis created the first batch in 1879. They didn’t have any intention of making a mouthwash; the pair had hoped to create a general-purpose antiseptic. They named their creation in honor of Lister, who was a longtime advocate of sterile surgical procedures.
Listerine didn’t become a mouthwash until 1895, and even then it wasn’t a smash hit right away. At various points it was marketed as a floor cleaner, a cure for gonorrhea, a cold remedy, a dandruff cure, and an aftershave tonic.
4. K-Y Jelly
Johnson & Johnson’s personal lubricant brand got its start as a surgical lubricant in 1904. Since the lubricant had a natural water base, medical professionals loved that it was easier to clean up than its petroleum-based competitors. Although the product became popular, no one’s quite sure where the initials “K” and “Y” came from, not even Johnson & Johnson. On the brand’s website, the company admits, “The origins of the brand name ‘K-Y’ are unknown. Two popular myths are that it was created in Kentucky, hence ‘K-Y,’ or that the letters represent the key ingredients used to make the lubricant. Neither of these is true. The name continues to remain a bit of a mystery.”
5. Rolaids
The antacid best friend of the upset stomach takes its name from its iconic packaging. Although you can buy them in bottles now, Rolaids originally came in foil-wrapped rolls, a marketing decision that persists even today.
6. Heroin
The highly addictive street drug probably isn’t in your medicine cabinet today, but when Bayer introduced the product in 1895, it was designed as a less addictive substitute to morphine, which was widely abused at the time. The name “heroin” came from the German heroisch, because of the drug made users feel heroic, euphoric, and strong.
7. Morphine
The drug that heroin was designed to replace takes its name from Greek mythology. The name “morphine” is an allusion to Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams.
8. Codeine
The pain-suppressing alkaloid is derived from the opium poppy, so it’s only natural that the opiate takes its name from the Greek word kodeia, which literally translates into “poppy head.”
9. Carmex
The wildly popular lip balm in the yellow pot gets its name from Carma Labs, the site of its invention. While hearing “Carma Labs” conjures up images of white coats and teams of top-flight scientists, the actual labs were a bit humbler than that. In fact, the “lab” was really a kitchen; inventor Alfred Woelbing perfected his balm in 1937 while working on his family’s stove. Woelbing and his wife made and packaged Carmex in their kitchen and sold it out of their car’s trunk for an amazing 20 years until Carma Labs got a proper home in the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa in 1957.
10. Aspirin
As you might remember from your high school chemistry classes, aspirin is also known as a compound called acetylsalicylic acid. The acid is found naturally in the flowers and leaves of the Spiraea ulmaria, so according to some sources, the name “aspirin” is a combination of the prefix a- for “without” and the name of the plant, to stress that the pills are produced chemically without using the plant.
The Oxford English Dictionary, on the other hand, posits that the word “aspirin” comes from the German name for acetylsalicylic acid, acetylierte spirsäure.
11. Vicks
The maker of VapoRub and Nyquil traces its roots back to Greensboro, NC, in the 1890s. Pharmacist Lunsford Richardson began mixing up home remedies at his shop, but he needed a name for marketing his concoctions. After seeing an ad for a company called Vick’s Seeds he decided to name his brands Vick’s Family Remedies in honor of his brother-in-law, Dr. Joshua Vick. While Richardson initially sold 21 family remedies, one of them was particularly popular; Vicks Croup and Pneumonia Salve was the forerunner to what we now know as Vicks Vaporub.
12. Bengay
Contrary to what you might have thought, there was never a creative doctor named Ben Gay. French physician Dr. Jules Bengué realized in the late 19th century that menthol and methyl salicylate provided a nice warming, pain-killing sensation when rubbed on the skin. In 1898, Bengué brought his product to America with a twist on his own surname as Ben-Gay.
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For some reason it really bothers me when people use Carmex as a lip balm. It’s meant for use on cold sores. One of the main ingredients is salicylic acid, which is a drying agent. (It’s often used in acne medicines too) When people use it on their lips, they get hooked on it as their lips get more and more chapped! Ok . .. I’m dismounting the soapbox…
posted by nancy pants on 8-3-2010 at 1:55 pm
Thanks for that bit of trivia, Nancy!
A bit off-topic, but speaking of getting hooked on things, is it possible for your hands to become addicted to lotion? I’m a compulsive lotion user and I HAVE to use it every time right after I wash my hands or I have the most uncomfortable feeling. My boss told me that the skin in my hands has lost its natural ability to produce moisture, so now I’ve become hooked on lotion.
Maybe you genius MF writers can whip up an article on this? :)
posted by Laura on 8-3-2010 at 2:07 pm
While most of you remember “acetylsalicylic acid” from high school chemistry, I remember it from Louis Tully’s party in Ghostbusters. You can get 600 tablets of that for the same price as 300 of the name brand. That makes good financial sense, good advice . . .
posted by Gozar on 8-3-2010 at 2:24 pm
“I get cold sores sometimes, so I put Carmex on them. I don’t know if it helps, but it does make them shiny and more noticeable!”
-Mitch Hedberg
posted by Bert on 8-3-2010 at 3:16 pm
@ nancy pants
Actually, I’ve had multiple doctors urge me NOT to use Carmex on cold sores because the salicylic acid actually further irritates the site in the way you mentioned.
It’s been around since 1937, apparently, so it had time to flourish in spite of current medical recommendations.
For cold sore relief, you are much better off using a topical cream with an anesthetic like lidocaine and if you want to speed up the healing process, Abreva (docosanol) is the only treatment available over the counter (I’ve had good luck with it, others see no difference.)
Hey, if I help people feel better I don’t mind talking about mouth herpes!
posted by Lynnie on 8-3-2010 at 3:46 pm
Im addicted to Carmex. Its all everyone used when I was in high school, and I can’t break the old habit.
I had got a rash on my lips (not lip herpes/ cold sores) when I tried using a different lip balm, and the only thing that dried it up was Carmex.
Not peroxide, or medicines, or the freakin’ doctor appointment. Just $1.89 Carmex.
posted by chrystani on 8-3-2010 at 4:11 pm
In the case of tylenol, I like how the two other names (paracetamol and acetaminophen) sound completely different but both come from the full chemical compund name para-acetylaminophenol.
posted by foreigner on 8-3-2010 at 4:43 pm
Laura – I would check the ingredients in your lotion. Stuff like mineral oil, parabens, artificial color/fragrance, etc, are actually *drying* to the skin. Other contributing factors could be if you wash your hands too frequently (maybe in too hot water?), overuse anti-germ stuff like Purell, or if your handsoap has the aforementioned ingredients.
posted by tona b. on 8-3-2010 at 7:27 pm
I work in a dental office and we recomend Listerine like crazy. I would love to post a copy of this on our public bulletin board. People are so stuffy these days they’d take it to seriously. Oh well, their loss.
posted by Anne on 8-3-2010 at 9:47 pm
Vicks VapoRub is the BEST! I always use it at the first sign of being sick. My kid hates it though. It works!
posted by Kelly on 8-4-2010 at 1:37 am
Also…for cold sores, fever sores and the like…Abreva is the best medicine. It accelerates the life of the virus. As for hand cream, the Neutrogena Norwegian formula is the best. I have gotten both cold/fever sores as well as long bouts of eczema during my entire 45 years of life and seem scores of doctors. Those are the two best OTC products on the market.
posted by Kelly on 8-4-2010 at 1:41 am
I like the apocryphal story of the woman who was asked by tne nurse how her hospital stay was going… “And how is the food?” “Oh, it’s fine, but I don’t much care for the Kentucky jelly, I put on my morning toast, it’s just got no flavour at all!”
posted by Mare on 8-4-2010 at 8:03 am
BTW – new recommends on the Vicks is that you’re not supposed to use it on kids anymore – some of them it makes the nasal membranes swell to the point of suffocating them. My mom used to just put it on a Kleenex and tuck it into my pillowcase.
posted by Mare on 8-4-2010 at 8:05 am
I can attest to the Carmex being bad for you. I had a doctor tell me not to ever use it again, because it actually caused my lips to sunburn and swell 5 times their normal size. I looked like a puffer fish.
posted by Tinkerschnitzel on 8-4-2010 at 10:14 am
Marylin Vos Savant said in her column that using lotion did not stop your body from producing natural moisture. I tend to believe things she tells me.
My boyfriend gets cold sores. He takes lycine supplements to help with keeping them away. If he does happen to get one he uses Abreva.
posted by Brit on 8-4-2010 at 11:20 am
Johnson speaking to Johnson:
We can’t call our new product sex jelly-we’ve got to come up with a better name!
‘K…why?
posted by angi on 8-4-2010 at 2:36 pm
There is a difference between “lotion” and “moisturizer.” Usually if I use a “lotion” (usually it’s a smelly gift, not something I would get myself), my hands will feel even drier after using it. So far, if I stick with a cheap moisturizer, it works fine.
posted by Shasta on 8-4-2010 at 5:21 pm
ive heard that putting starting fluid on cold sores works. worth a try.
posted by dirk alan on 8-5-2010 at 12:14 am
For a cold sore you could take heroin. It doesn’t cure it, but you won’t care about the cold sore anymore.
I’ve never heard of Carmex.
posted by Tdave on 8-9-2010 at 12:23 pm
I remember reading once about how Bayer came out with both Aspirin and Heroin at roughly the same time. Of the 2, they thought that Aspirin was more dangerous.
posted by TheBear on 8-9-2010 at 6:39 pm