Medications
Medication education: what a drug is for, how it works in the body, what to watch for. This is not prescribing advice; doses, choices and monitoring are decided by a prescriber for an individual.
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A
Alendronate
A weekly bisphosphonate that slows bone breakdown, strengthening bone in osteoporosis and cutting the risk of hip and spine fractures.
Allopurinol
A xanthine oxidase inhibitor that lowers uric acid in the blood, taken every day to prevent gout attacks and kidney stones rather than to treat an acute attack.
Amlodipine full
A long-acting calcium channel blocker that relaxes artery walls to lower blood pressure and prevent angina, taken once daily and among the most prescribed…
Amoxicillin full
A widely used penicillin antibiotic that kills bacteria by breaking their cell walls, prescribed for chest, ear, sinus, dental and some urinary infections and…
Apixaban and DOACs
A direct oral anticoagulant that blocks clotting factor Xa, preventing strokes in atrial fibrillation and treating deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism…
Aspirin full
A low-dose antiplatelet that stops platelets clumping into clots, used long term after heart attacks and strokes; at higher doses it is a painkiller and…
Atorvastatin full
A high-intensity statin that lowers LDL cholesterol by blocking its production in the liver, cutting the risk of heart attack and stroke in people at raised…
Azithromycin full
A macrolide antibiotic that stops bacteria making proteins, given as a short course (often three days) for chest, ear, sinus, skin and sexually transmitted…
B
Beclometasone (inhaled)
An inhaled corticosteroid taken every day to calm the airway inflammation of asthma and prevent attacks; the preventer that reliever inhalers cannot replace.
Bisoprolol
A once-daily beta blocker that selectively slows the heart and lowers its workload, used for heart failure, angina, high blood pressure and to control the rate…
C
Cetirizine and antihistamines
A non-drowsy second-generation antihistamine that blocks histamine H1 receptors to relieve hay fever, hives and other allergic symptoms.
Chlorphenamine
A first-generation antihistamine, sold over the counter, that relieves hay fever, hives and allergic reactions within an hour but causes drowsiness because it…
Citalopram
A selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant used for depression and panic disorder, taken once daily, with a maximum dose set by its effect on the…
Clarithromycin
A macrolide antibiotic for chest, skin, ear and throat infections and part of the combination that eradicates Helicobacter pylori, notable for the number of…
Clopidogrel
An antiplatelet medicine that stops platelets clumping by blocking their P2Y12 receptor, taken to prevent clots after a heart attack, stent, stroke or in…
F
Fluorodeoxyglucose F-18 (FDG)
The radioactive sugar used in most PET scans: cells that use a lot of glucose, such as many cancers, take it up and light up on the image.
Furosemide
A powerful loop diuretic that makes the kidneys excrete salt and water within an hour, used to clear fluid overload in heart failure, kidney disease and liver…
G
I
Ibuprofen full
A non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) that eases pain, inflammation and fever by blocking prostaglandin production; effective but hard on the stomach and…
Influenza vaccine
The yearly flu vaccine: an inactivated or live attenuated vaccine reformulated each season to match circulating influenza strains, offered to people at higher…
Inhaled corticosteroids
The preventer inhalers of asthma: low doses of steroid delivered straight into the airways damp down inflammation so attacks become rarer and milder.
Insulin
The hormone that moves glucose from the blood into cells, given by injection or pump to everyone with type 1 diabetes and to many with type 2 when other…
Iodinated contrast agents
The iodine-containing dyes injected for CT scans and angiography that make blood vessels, organs and tumours show up, generally safe but with a small risk of…
L
Levothyroxine
Synthetic thyroid hormone (T4) that replaces what an underactive thyroid cannot make, restoring energy, weight and metabolism; the dose is set by regular TSH…
Lisinopril full
An ACE inhibitor that lowers blood pressure, protects the heart after a heart attack and in heart failure, and slows kidney damage in diabetes by stopping the…
Losartan full
An angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) that relaxes blood vessels to lower blood pressure and protect the kidneys in diabetes, an alternative for people who…
M
Metformin full
The first-line tablet for type 2 diabetes: it reduces the glucose the liver releases and improves the body's response to insulin, without causing low blood…
Metoprolol and beta blockers
A beta blocker that slows the heart and reduces its oxygen demand, used for angina, after heart attacks, in heart failure and to control fast heart rhythms.
Morphine and opioids
The reference strong opioid for severe pain, such as after major surgery, injury or in advanced cancer; highly effective but sedating, constipating and able to…
O
Omeprazole full
A proton pump inhibitor that switches off acid production in the stomach, healing ulcers and reflux oesophagitis and protecting the stomach from…
Oxycodone
A strong opioid painkiller for severe pain, including cancer pain and pain after major surgery, available in immediate- and modified-release forms and as a…
P
Paracetamol full
The first-line painkiller and fever reducer for most people (acetaminophen in North America), gentle on the stomach at normal doses but toxic to the liver in…
Prednisolone and steroids
A corticosteroid tablet that suppresses inflammation and the immune system, used in asthma flare-ups, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and many autoimmune…
R
Ramipril
An ACE inhibitor that relaxes blood vessels and eases the heart's workload, used for high blood pressure, heart failure, after heart attacks and to protect the…
Rosuvastatin full
A high-intensity statin that lowers LDL cholesterol by more, milligram for milligram, than any other statin, used to prevent heart attacks and strokes when…
S
Salbutamol
The blue reliever inhaler: a short-acting beta-2 agonist that opens the airways within minutes to relieve asthma and COPD symptoms during an attack or before…
Sertraline and SSRIs
A selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant used for depression, anxiety disorders, panic and obsessive-compulsive disorder; it takes…