A Look Inside America's Medicine Cabinet
We are taking more medications to treat what ails us — a growing phenomenon that doesn't just affect seniors. People young and old take multiple medications daily to treat one or more health conditions, a trend known as polypharmacy. Having a primary care physician and one pharmacy is more important than ever to help us manage the medications in our ever-expanding medicine cabinet — as well as help manage their possible side effects and interactions. Here's a look at what and how much medicine we are taking:
Number of Prescriptions
>48% take 1
24% take 3 or more
12% take 5 or more
These stats don't include over-the-counter medications, vitamins or supplements!
Most prescribed medications
Pain medications
Cholesterol- lowering drugs
Medicine to treat skin conditions
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Top-selling over-the-counter medications
Upper respiratory (cold and allergy)
Oral pain medicine
Heartburn
Source: Consumer Healthcare Protection Association
Ways to take medications at home
• Inhalation (inhaled by mouth or nose)
• Injection
• Oral and sublingual (by mouth or under tongue)
• Rectal (insertion into rectum) • Topical (on the skin) • Vaginal (insertion into vagina)
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