Common Prescription Drugs and Their Uses: A Quick Reference

11/09/2024

 

Common Prescription Drugs and Their Uses

Common prescription medications are medications that are prescribed very frequently by doctors to treat certain diseases. This is based on how many prescriptions for a particular medication have been written in a specific time period. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) records the prescription data. Common prescription medicines are decided based on this prescription data.

Amoxicillin

Brand names: Amoxil, Trimox, and Moxatag

Amoxicillin is an antibiotic medication. There are several penicillin classes;  it belongs to the aminopenicillin class. Aminopenicillin class of penicillin is made by adding an extra amino to the penicillin to fight against antibiotic resistance.

Uses: Amoxicillin is used to treat various bacterial infections in several body parts, such as the ear, throat, urinary tract, skin, etc. Below are some conditions Amoxicillin is used to treat.

• Bronchiectasis

• Febrile Neutropenia

• Kidney Infections

• Middle Ear Infections

• Sinusitis

• Skin and Structure Infection

• Skin or Soft Tissue Infection

• Tonsillitis/Pharyngitis

• Bacterial Infection

• Melioidosis

• Bronchitis

• Aspiration Pneumonia

• Upper Respiratory Tract Infection

• Urinary Tract Infection

• Pneumonia

• Lyme Disease (Erythema Chronicum Migrans, Carditis, Arthritis, Neurologic)

Metformin 

Brand names: Fortamet, Glucophage, Glucophage XR, Glumetza, and Riomet

Metformin is the most prescribed medicine for 2 diabetes patients. According to Clincalc, more than 19 million people were using Metformin in the United States, and more than 86 million prescriptions were written in 2022. It was the 2nd most prescribed medicine in the United States.

Uses: Metformin is an antidiabetic agent. It treats type 2 diabetes. Metformin lowers the blood sugar level by decreasing the amount of glucose absorbed by the body from the food intake. It effectively reduces the amount of stored glucose released from the liver.  It is available in both immediate and extended-release formulations. It is also very often combined with other medications. It is the only antidiabetic medication recommended by the American Diabetes Association to treat prediabetes.

Sildenafil

Brand names: Revatio and Viagra

Viagra is one of the most popular and used medications of this era. Tens of millions of people are using Viagra or a generic form of Viagra around the globe every single year. It has been more than 2 decades since Viagra was first introduced in the market. It has been a prominent pharmaceutical player since then, and its popularity only seems to be growing because of its effectiveness and safety.

Uses: Viagra is prescribed to people to treat erectile dysfunction. It works by relaxing/widening and contracting some blood vessels in the penis. Relaxed blood vessels increase the blood flow to the penis, and contracted blood vessels decrease the blood flow out from the penis, helping achieve and maintain a proper erection.

Lisinopril

Brand names: Prinivil, Qbrelis, and Zestril

Lisinopril is the most used prescribed medicine for hypertension (high blood pressure) patients, and It is the third most prescribed medicine in the United States. According to Clincalc, over 82 million prescriptions were written for Lisinopril in the year 2022.

Uses: Lisinopril is used to

• Treat/lower high blood pressure (hypertension)

• Prevent heart failure (a condition in which the heart does not pump as well as it should), heart attack (a condition in which the blood flow to the heart is blocked), and stroke (a sudden cut-off in the blood flow in an area of the brain or bleeding in the brain).

• Reduce the risk of life-threatening conditions in people after a heart attack.

Lisinopril widens and relaxes the blood vessels, which increases the blood flow and solves the problem of oxygen scarcity. Relaxed blood vessels allow the heart to work at an average speed with minimum effort, reducing the chances of stroke and heart attack.

Albuterol

Brand names: Proventil HFA ,ProAir RespiClick, Ventolin HFA, ProAir HFA, AccuNeb

With over 59 million prescriptions written in the year 2022, Albuterol was the 7th most prescribed medicine in the United States, according to Clincalc. This has been among the most popular and effective COPD medicines for years.

Uses: Albuterol belongs to the bronchodilators group of medications. It is a short-acting medication and is used to treat COPD and asthma attacks/flair-ups. It works by smoothing/relaxing the muscles in the airways, making breathing easier and increasing airflow to the lungs. Apart from the flair-ups, Albuterol is also used to treat wheezing, breathing difficulties or breathlessness, tightness in the chest, etc. It is not an everyday medication and should be used accordingly.

These are only a few common medications and their usage; several other medicines are very common among people. The uses of the medications listed here are just a few examples; these medications may also be used for other conditions as well. Your doctor may also decide to use medication off-label (when a doctor chooses to use a medication to treat a disease that is not listed on the FDA list, the action is known as off-label use).

How to buy common medications online? 

Buying medications online is a widespread practice now. As easy and convenient as it is, it also poses scams and bad quality medication risks. It is not very hard to overcome these challenges and find a genuine online pharmacy that sells top-quality products at very low prices. Most people choose to buy prescription drugs online from Canada. This helps people fill their prescriptions at a lower cost, and the quality of pharmacies from Canada is equivalent to that of the United States.

Conclusion 

Common medications are some of the best medicines in the world. Only those medications that have had a very positive impact on people's lives will be used and trusted by the masses around the globe. These medications are mostly related to common medical conditions and are safe, effective, and easy to use. You will find that most common medications treat chronic diseases if you notice. The reason is that only those medicines that patients use for a long time become familiar to them and their family members. Medications that are common but do not treat chronic diseases are used to treat very frequent diseases, such as antibacterial and antiviral medications.