Afrin

Afrin may refer to:

Places

Products

Afrin, Syria

Afrin (Arabic: عفرين‎ / ALA-LC: ʿAfrīn or ʿIfrīn; Kurdish: Efrîn‎) is a district as well as a town in northern Syria. As a district (mantiqah) of the Syrian Arab Republic, it is part of the Aleppo Governorate. However, since 2012, the Syrian government has lost control of the district, and as the capital of Afrin Canton (Kurdish: Kantona Efrînê‎) it is now part of the de facto autonomous region of Rojava. The total population of the district as of 2004 was recorded at 172,095 people, of whom 36,562 lived in the town of Afrin itself. The town and district are named for the Afrin River. The town of Afrin is located next to a bridge of the Aleppo road.

History

About 8 km south of the town of Afrin, there are the remains of a Neo-Hittite (Iron Age) settlement known as Tell Ain Dara. The Afrin valley was part of Roman Syria, until the Muslim conquest in 637. The Afrin river was known as Oinoparas in the Seleucid era, in the Roman era the name became Ufrenus, whence the Arab vernacular ʿAfrīn, ʿIfrīn, adopted as Kurdish Efrîn.

Afrin (nasal spray)

Afrin is a brand of nasal spray used to ease nasal congestion and sinusitis that is available over the counter in the USA, distributed by Merck Consumer Care.

History

Afrin was first sold as a prescription medication in 1966. After finding substantial early success as a prescription medication, it became available as an over-the-counter drug in 1975. Schering did not engage in heavy advertising until 1986. From the late 1980s to mid 1990s, Afrin featured in many notable television advertisements. Some of these commercials showed men, women, and children using other brands of nasal sprays, and then standing upside down or hanging upside down from playground equipment to prevent their nasal spray from dripping out. This was juxtaposed with Afrin users having no problems.

Mechanism of action

Afrin's active ingredient Oxymetazoline is an alpha adrenergic agonist that induces vasoconstriction. In that respect, it is similar to phenylephrine.

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