Quick Reference to Common Prescription Drugs and What They Treat

07/24/2025

 

What are the Most Common Conditions for Prescription Drugs?

People nowadays are too caught up in their busy lives, with the majority of the population working a desk job that requires them to remain sedentary for long hours and harbour stress. This leads to a weakened immune system, excess fats, and weaker circulation. Let us take a deeper look into which medicines are the most prescribed and what conditions they treat.

Eye Care

May it be the pollution or the strain that screens cause to eyes, eye ointments and eye drops are seen to be one of the most commonly prescribed medications.

Artificial tears eye drops: Dry eyes have been a rising concern, with people staring into screens, and the harsh environmental conditions that have caused our eyes to be more susceptible to drying out. The most common salts that are used as artificial tears to relieve dry eyes are carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), and polyethylene glycol (PEG).

Glaucoma: Medicines such as CareProst help in battling glaucoma. Glaucoma is caused by excess fluid pressure that builds up in the eyeball. The risk of this condition increases if you have chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, etc.                            

Erectile Dysfunction

PDE-5 inhibitors such as Sildenafil, Tadalafil, Vardenafil, or Avanafil are used to treat symptoms of erectile dysfunction. ED or erectile dysfunction is a condition where an adult male cannot maintain an erection for intercourse. This condition may be caused by various factors such as mental stress, blood vessel or heart diseases, nerve damage, diabetes, or hormonal imbalances. These medications not only help in aiding erectile dysfunction.

Asthma and COPD

Inhalers: Asthma is a rising disease in the younger population, and COPD is a condition that is seeing its top numbers in the older population. There might be a lot of similarities in both diseases ,but their treatments are slightly different. Both these medicines use corticosteroids to ease the inflammation in the respiratory tract, and they contain a bronchodilator that is used to help open up the airways and ensure proper air flow through the lungs and respiratory tract.

Medicines for Chronic Diseases

Diabetes:

If the body is not able to use insulin or is not able to create enough insulin, it leads to an imbalance of sugars in the bloodstream. This condition is known as diabetes, and there is a class of medications known as GLP-1 agonists to manage symptoms. There are other medications as well that are used to manage these symptoms as well.

Hypertension:

High blood pressure can occur from many factors such as weight, tobacco use, lifestyle choices, age, and family history. It can also be a complication of some other condition, such as a kidney disease or diabetes. The medicines which are used to manage symptoms of hypertension are known as antihypertensives, and the most commonly prescribed ones are ACE inhibitors or calcium channel blockers.  

Cholesterol:

When there is an excess of fats in your body, it starts getting deposited in places it shouldn’t. And just not being fat is not enough. Cholesterol is an important part of your cell make-up and plays an important role in keeping your cells together, but when it is found in places it shouldn’t be, such as your arteries, it can become problematic.

The most common cholesterol-reducing drugs are atorvastatin, rosuvastatin, and simvastatin, which are effective in reducing LDL (bad) cholesterol and total cholesterol, while also potentially increasing HDL (good) cholesterol.

Medicines for Infectious Diseases

The pathogens causing infections are mainly categorised into 3: bacteria, viruses, and fungi. There are medicines available to combat these infections.

Antibiotics:

The most common bacterial infections include skin infections, respiratory infections, urinary tract infections, and sexually transmitted infections. Antibiotics are used to eliminate these infections. They do so by breaking down the cell wall or interfering with the reproductive process of bacteria. Some of these medicines are targeted, while others are broad-spectrum antibiotics. Some of the most commonly used antibiotics are penicillin, amoxicillin, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, cephalexin, etc.

Antivirals:

Viruses are usually the reason you have a runny nose, more commonly known as the flu. Some of the most common antiviral medications available on the market are acyclovir, oseltamivir, and entecavir. These medications are used in extreme cases such as to manage the herpes virus or HIV.

Antifungals:

Fungal infections are the most common reason you may have dandruff or a rash that doesn't go away. Other fungal infections, such as a yeast infection, ringworms, athlete’s foot, etc, may also occur. Antifungal creams are most commonly used along with some oral medications as well.

Antipsychotics

There are mainly two kinds of medicines that are used to treat mental disorders, one which improves your mood if depressed, and the other which dulls it from a state of mania. The end result that doctors intend to achieve with these medications is for the suffering individual to have a stable amount of neurotransmitters at all times, so that they can process emotions naturally.

Antidepressants:

This group of medications elevates your mood and allows you to relieve mental stress. It is done by increasing the amount of neurotransmitters found in the brain. These medications are usually SSRIs or SNRIs.

Anti-anxiety medicines:

This group of medication usually balance out neurotransmitters more evenly to give you better management over your emotions. The medicines used in this current scenario are Benzodiazepines.

However, medicines may be used interchangeably, depending on what works for you.

Where to Buy Your Medicines?

Buying medicines in today’s day and age reminds us how healthcare costs have truly skyrocketed. These hikes not only make it harder for people to procure medicines but also deter the public from trusting the healthcare system. Here is a workaround for the same:

You can purchase Canadian Prescription Drugs Online through Canadian online pharmacies as they provide the same quality of medicines for a fraction of the cost. You can Buy Prescription Drugs Online from Canada pharmacies and save up on a great chunk of healthcare costs!

Conclusion

It is pretty interesting to read up on the most ‘trending’ diseases; however, it is an important wake-up call to understand the areas in our life that we need to work on to live a healthier life, so that we do not need these medications later in life. The average life expectancy of a human is approximately 72 years; instead of focusing on extending your life, prioritize being healthy for the majority of it. Medicine technology may have the answers to managing chronic illnesses, but you should not forget that even with medicines, your health will continue to decline. Taking productive steps towards a healthy diet and lifestyle are amongst the first steps to living more freely!

FAQs:-

Q1: What are the most commonly prescribed medications and their uses?

The most common prescribed medicines are usually for the purpose of treating or managing conditions such as infections(ciprofloxacin), diabetes(semaglutide), hypertension (ACE inhibitors), cholesterol, asthma (bronchodilators and corticosteroids), mental health conditions(flupentixol), and erectile dysfunction (sildenafil).

Q2: How can I identify the purpose of a prescription drug?

Your doctor will usually explain the purpose and provide basic needed information about the medication you are taking; however, if you want to study the medicine further, you can look for credible sources online for some more explanation on the effects of this medication.

Q3: Are generic drugs as effective as branded prescription medications?

Yes, generic medications and branded medications have the exact same effectiveness/ efficiency. They possess the same active ingredient; the only difference that these medications may have is their appearance, as generic medications cannot look the same as their branded counterparts.

Q4: What should I know before taking a new prescription drug?

You should usually let your doctor know about any previous or recent medications you have been taking, as they may interact with your new prescription medication. Your doctor will give you a list of foods/medicines/substances to avoid while you are taking any medicine.

Q5: Can I take over-the-counter medicine with my prescription drugs?

You should ask your doctor about taking any over-the-counter medications along with prescription medications, as they may interact and cause adverse effects. Your doctor will inform you if you need to stay away from any over-the-counter medications while you are on any prescription medicines.