Maybe a rose would smell as sweet, but would a Pediatrician prescribe less Adderall if it had a different name?
How do medicines get their names?
You would think that the name would have something to do with what the medication does, but that often isn't the case. Can you tell what Vantin does by its name? How about Zadiator?
It used to be easy to understand a medication's name. Take for example penicillin, which was originally derived from the Penicillium mold.
Or Lasix, which supposedly got its name because it lasts six hours.
Most drugs are likely named because it is thought to help with its marketing.
Take these names for medicines used to treat ADHD:
ADDerall ~ attention deficit disorder (ADD)
Concerta ~ helps you concentrate?
Focalin ~ helps you focus?
I'm not sure what other ADHD medicines, like Ritalin, Metadate or Strattera are supposed to mean though.
Asthma medicines also usually have names that help you understand what they are used for, such as:
Singulair
Advair
Aerobid ~ sounds just like air-o-bid
Azmacort ~ sounds like asthma-cort
Maxair
Pulmicort ~ pulm is derived from the latin pulmo or lung.
Other asthma medications use derivatives of the suffix -vent, which comes from the latin ventus or wind. These include Flovent, Sevevent, Proventil, and Ventolin.
Allergy medicines usually don't make as much sense. What does Allegra mean? Or Claritin and Zyrtec? I guess they are supposed to describe how you might feel when you are taking them:
Allergra ~ from the latin alacer, which means cheerful. Or maybe it is from the words other meaning, brisk or fast, which is supposed to mean that it works fast?
Claritin ~ is it supposed to sound like clarity, to mean that you will be thinking clearly if you take it, unlike what happens when you get drowsy taking older antihistamine medications, like Benadryl?
Zyrtec ???
Clarinex ~ the next Claritin
Can you guess what these medications are for? (answers below)
Prevacid
Pepcid
Ah-Chew
Flumadine
Zolair
Tamiflu
Does it matter what drug companies name their new medicines?
Probably not.
It does make it easier for patients to understand what the medication is for when the name makes sense though. If you are taking multiple medicines, it can help to remember that one medicine is for asthma with a name like Advair.
Most importantly, I think that drug companies need to avoid creating new drugs that have a name similar to one that is already being used. When you have two medicines like Zyrtec and Zantac, it is easy for doctors, pharmacists and patients to get confused.
Important disclaimer: The information on keepkidshealthy.com is for educational purposes only and should not be considered to bemedical advice. It is not meant to replace the advice of the physician who cares for your child. All medical advice and information should be considered to be incomplete without a physical exam, which is not possible without a visit to your doctor.
