Prescribed Drugs

Drug database

You can search here for drug names, generic and branded, and what they are used for (see notes below).

Further information about individual drugs will come on-line as this site develops. If you cannot find what you are looking for or have a specific question about a particular prescribed drug, please contact me. I intend this database to be fully up-to-date and your help is appreciated as drug names change with bewildering rapidity.

How to use the database:

Enter the name of a drug, for example, Ventolin (a commonly prescribed drug for asthma) and you will get a list of all the drugs that also contain its generic name (salbutamol) together with their dosages, uses and a brief commentary.

Notes:

The generic name is the official medical name for the drug.

There may be several different brand names for each generic named drug according to the pharmaceutical company that markets each brand. Brand names may differ from country to country and I have included those used in the UK, Ireland, the USA, Australasia and South Africa.

The pharmaceutical company that markets a particular drug gives the brand name. Other companies may market the same, generically named, drug under different trade names, depending on regulations concerning patents and licences. Simply stated, if you can pronounce a drug name it is probably the trade name. For example, Valium is a brand name and diazepam is its generic name.

The brand name is often a registered name. All brand names, therefore, are assumed to be registered names and entitled to carry the symbol ® after the name. Any brand name that is followed by an asterisk (*) contains more ingredients than the generic drug name mentioned there.

Uses – the disease or condition that the drug is given for. You may find that people are given drugs, however, for conditions that are not listed here. This is because drugs are sometimes prescribed outside of their official uses. For example, many drugs used in children are unlicensed or are prescribed outside the terms of their product licence (off-label).

Dosage – This refers to the usual dosage given. Confusion can arise when trying to compare dosages of different drugs. For example, some people think that 5 mg of Valium is less strong than 10 mg of temazepam. However, this is not comparing like with like, just as a pint of whiskey cannot be compared with half a pint of beer. The dosages quoted are for adults, unless otherwise stated.