Monkey’s Blood (Mercurochrome) for those boo-boos
Remember when you were a kid, and you would were out roughhousing with your friends. Maybe you are running along the sidewalk when suddenly you trip and scrape your knee. You pop up, survey the damage, and realize that the whole course of your day has changed.
You have been wounded.
So you run home to your parents for evaluation. How serious will it be? According to your older sister, they are probably going to amputate, but you learned a long time ago not to trust her medical opinion. So you go to Mom.
Best case scenario? She wipes it down and sends you on your way. Worst case scenario? She takes you to the bathroom and pulls out the Monkey’s Blood, more commonly known as Merthiolate or Mercurochrome.
Mercurochrome was this rich, bright reddish antiseptic that was a common disinfect from the late 1910s to the 1990s. While it worked as an antiseptic, it also dampened the pain of the injury, which I can only assume was a side effect of the tremendous burning sensation you got when Mercurochrome was applied. It was like a bottle of lava that filled me with both dread and fascination.
Why do they call it Monkey’s Blood?
You might think that the term Monkey’s Blood has a complicated origin, but the answer is very simple. It is called Monkey’s Blood because it is read. Weirdly, other red things like fruit sauces also carry this moniker in different regions.
On the upside, it stained your skin reddish orange for days. So all my friends knew I had been injured without me having to draw attention to just how tough I was.
If they only had seen my crying in agony as my Mother touched the Mercurochrome wand to the wound. But that secret is between me, my Mom and her trusty bottle of Mercurochrome.
And Mercurochrome ain’t talking anymore.
On October 19, 1998, citing potential for mercury poisoning, the Food and Drug Administration reclassified merbromin from “generally recognized as safe” to “untested,” which effectively halted its distribution in the United States.
It was later banned in other countries, but in the majority of the world you can still buy it over the counter. In the US, a few non-Mercury containing products have been released with similar names. I do not miss Monkey’s Blood and if it endangered my health in any way, I am glad it was taken off the market. But I have to admit, a small part of me takes pride in having survived repeated use of this dreaded liquid.
Here is an ad for Rexall from the Fifties that mentions Mercurochrome. Not only could you get a 1/2 ounce bottle for 25 cents, but you could also get a band-aids that were pre-treated with Mercurochrome.
No, I remember quite well: Mercurochrome was soothing when applied to a wound, Merthiolate was the one that burned like lava when applied to a wound.
It's odd what they raise a fuss about and largely do not. Since the deregulation of the food industry to extreme in the early 1990s, we've seen unprecedented food recalls previously unknown since the establishing of those regulations earlier in century. And now? Consumer Reports issued the results of a study in 2024 that damns our food for the unforeseen future.
Due to microplastics having become pervasive throughout the entire food chain, 99% of all food in the U.S., is now contaminated, this includes many organics. These microplastics have been found in cadavers, and even having crossed the blood brain barrier. Scientists have found we're all walking about with roughly 1 tsp of the stuff just within our brains. The higher the fat content of the food, the likelihood the higher the presence, due to leaching from packaging.
This is the cause of the massive rise in hormonal disruptive conditions, neurological disorders, and various cancers just to name a few conditions. And unlike the rest of the western world who have all increased in longevity, the U.S., has for the first time since tracking, has lost years. We are now living into the late 60s and early 70s, while the EU has gone up into the early 80s, and parts of Asia, into the mid to late 80s. That and Americans begin to experience the onset of age related conditions as early as twenty five years before death, while they, only five. And our media is not reporting this but doing the opposite. So, even if you decide to eat a Mediterranean diet, it won't matter. You're still eating food largely produced here and in nations where food regulations are weak, and thus the contaminates abound.
Sadly, since these plastics are now throughout the entire food chain, from the water, the land, being ingested by animals and within plant life, there is no way to eradicate it and no amount of money can do so. We're stuck with it. But hey! At least our corporations are making record profits due to all that deregulation! We should be so very happy and proud, making the ultimate sacrifice for our wealthy and their companies! ;)