Prescribed Drugs - Top Ten

Which are the commonest drugs that you will meet in clinical practice?

The most commonly prescribed are:

Aspirin

Co-codamol

Statin - lowers cholesterol

Thiazide diuretic

Salbutamol - bronchodilator for wheezing & asthma

Proton pump inhibitors - to lower stomach acid

Betablocker

Thyroxine

Paracetamol

Penicillin antibiotic

Source: NHS Scotland

As you can see from this list, all of them (except for thyroxine) are strength of action Category 2  as defined in my book, The Prescribed Drug Guide. As a result they are relatively easy to deal with when compared with corticosteroids, major tranquillisers such as those used for schizophrenia or other psychoses, or drugs which I classify in Category 5 and are used for life-threatening conditions.