History Of Feen-a-mint
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Feen-A-Mint was originally formulated with White Phenolphthalein when it was first introduced about 110 years ago. Then in the 1930's it got reformulated to Yellow Phenolphthalein. Originally available as a chewing gum laxative, over the years it also got manufactured in other forms such as chocolate mint "cookie" and pills (which also contained Docusate Sodium). Today, Feen-A-Mint is formulated with Bisacodyl for the North American market and with Sodium Picosulphate for other countries.

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Re: David (# 1)

Hated it, lol. My mother made me use this if I sneezed growing up...lol it was nasty. Haven't seen it in many years I'm 48 now.

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Thanks for the helpful feedback Ken. I appreciate your time and knowledge on the subject!

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In the USA, Bisacodyl (stimulant laxative) and Docusate Sodium (stool softener) are generally available as OTC medicines everywhere. Sodium Picosulphate is not available to the USA market for reasons unknown to me, but is widely available in other countries. Bisacodyl does work, but does sometimes causes cramps and the time it takes to work varies from as little as 6 hours to as much as 14 hours. I use Bisacodyl laxatives once in a while and they take 12 to 14 hours to work for me and I get some cramps. Laxatives containing Phenolphthalein are not available in the USA anymore, but can be ordered from Mexico under the Similaxol and Gentilax brand names. I have used both of those and they work very well in 6 to 8 hours without any cramps too. I see those laxatives for sale all the time. Remember, Phenolphthalein has been safely and effectively used as a laxative since 1895 (well over a 100 years for sure) by billions of people without any problems.

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Just wanted to say thanks for sharing the background of Feen-A-Mint. I understand this is a type of laxative, however I'm also curious to know how others with personal experience might feel about its efficacy in comparison with each respective country's version of Feen-A-Mint (e.g. Bisacodyl vs Sodium Picosulfate vs Docusate Sodium vs Phenolphthalein) and how its formula/efficiency evolved over the years... Does one substance work better or worse than others for its indicated use?

According to NIH, a prescription is "sometimes needed" for Bisacodyl; whereas Docusate sodium is reportedly available OTC; and Sodium Picosulfate allegedly requires a prescription. I imagine that the reason for these discrepancies is dose related?

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