Metamizol Sodico

Once upon a time, when nuclear power was in it's infancy, some proponents predicted that eventually nuclear power would be so cheap that it would be too cheap to meter. And then there are the perennial stories about inventors who have designed and built cars that get 200 miles per gallon, or run on water, and all these really great ideas have been suppressed by the oil companies, who are in cahoots with the car manufacturers. I'm not buying these stories (well, not in this post anyway).

This morning daring daughter calls and I find out she was a little under the weather yesterday. Her house mother gave her a Metamizol Sodico pill to make her feel better. Her Spanish has improved, but it still wasn't up to figuring out just what this pill does. Someone told her it was an antibiotic for her stomach. Well, let's see what I can find out.Google Translates Metamizol Sodico as Metamizole Sodium, and a search turns up a Wikipedia page, which makes for some interesting reading.

First line from the Wikipedia article says: Metamizole sodium or dipyrone is a powerful analgesic and antipyretic. So it's not an antibiotic, it's more like aspirin or ibuprofen. This drug has been banned in several countries because of some reports that it is dangerous, but there are some other studies that refute these claims. They make it look safer than aspirin.

The problem is that's it's really cheap, which means there isn't a lot of money to be made by making and selling it, so it's in the drug companies interest to see that it gets banned so they can sell more expensive stuff where they can make money. Now there's a conspiracy theory for you!