Drugs and Medications

Look up drug in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Drug may refer to:

• Medication
• Psychoactive drug
• Substances used for recreational drug use
• Substances used in drug abuse
• Hard and soft drugs
• A drug or demon in ancient Vedic Hinduism, from the Vedic Sanskrit root druh = "be hostile"
• The Drûg or Drúedain, a race of Men from Middle-earth in the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien

See also: Illegal drug trade

Oral medication

A medication is a licenced drug taken to cure or reduce symptoms of an illness or medical condition. Medications are generally divided into two groups -- over the counter (OTC) medications, which are available in pharmacies and supermarkets without special restrictions, and Prescription only medicines (POM), which must be prescribed by a physician. Most OTC medication is generally considered to be safe enough that most persons will not hurt themselves accidentally by taking it as instructed. Many countries, such as the UK have a third category of pharmacy medicines which can only be sold in registered pharmacies, by or under the supervision of a pharmacist. However, the precise distinction between OTC and prescription depends on the legal jurisdiction. Medications are typically produced by pharmaceutical companies and are often patented. Those that are not patented are called generic drugs.

Some common medications

• Anti-diabetic drugs
• Asthma medication
• Cough medicine
• Diarrhea relief medicine (such as Loperamide)
• Nasal spray (such as Xylometazoline)
• Anti-Inflammatory Medications
• Anti-Pyretic Medications
• Gastrointestinal Medications
• Psychiatric Medications
• Hair Medications

See also

• Pharmacology
• Herbology
• Herbalism

External links

• Medication list or vademecum
• American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA)
• Consumer drug information from the FDA
• Medicinal directory