Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Medication names that make no sense

Can someone tell me why:

Betamethasone is under Betamethasone and

Hydrocortisone is under hydrocortisone and

Westocort seems to start with a "W" and is called Westcort but

Triamcinolone is called Rx Triamcinolone. Weird. A little hard to find.

I think unfortunately in the database that is an old particular tradename .......at least you found it. At least AC made it so that if you type triamcinolone it finds it even if it is in the middle of the name.

I think it is like 'Why is the sky blue?' It just is.

Not positive about this, but I think....

Betamethasone...should be betamethasone (generic)

Hydrocortisone... is correct (also generic)

Westcort... "seems to start with a W"...Bert, what would you prefer that it start with? I am not sure what WestOcort is, but Westcort seems right to me.

Rx Triamcinolone refers to the prescription form of the medication. It also comes in an OTC form, so this helps you differentiate.

Bert, I am only writing this in the hope that you can sleep a little better at night. :-)

Whether Betamethasone starts with a capital or not, it is still spelled betamethasone unlike say Zoloft and sertraline. It is easy to find and makes sense.

Hydrocortisone is correct

WestOcort is the oral version of Westcort for mouth lesions. I think you miss the point. It should start with a W, becauese it is named "W"estcort, not Rx Westcort.

Rx Triamcinolone seems like a very silly way to designate a brand name. To the best of my knowledge Kenalog and the brand name of Triamcinolone cream are not over the counter. I am under the impression the Hydrocortisone 0.5% and 1% are the only ones and that Hydrocortisone 2.5% are not.

Obviosly, betamethasone is a generic especially as specified in the script writer, but having obvious generics such as sertraline makes more sense.

This is all according to my PhD pharmacist. He is not aware of Rx preceding Triamcinolone as Lexi-Comp and ePocrates is not.

Again where the misunderstand is is not that I am wondering why Westcort is spelled Westcort, those are comparisons.

I only wrote the question to ask why Rx preceded Triamcinolone and since unless it is called Kenalog or other brand names it is always generic, Rx seems rather superfluous and ridiculous to me.

I slept fine.