Many people assume that since over-the-counter drugs can be purchased without a prescription, they are safe and can’t be abused. However, these drugs can be very dangerous if they are not taken according to the instructions. These drugs can also be abused in many different ways, and serious health consequences can arise. It’s possible to become addicted to these substances as well. There have even been known cases where these types of drugs have resulted in death.

Over-the-counter drugs come in various forms including:

• Sleep aids. These include well-known brands such as Tylenol PM and Sominex.

• Cold remedies and cough medicine. Among the brand name drugs in these categories are Robitussin, Vicks and Nyquil.

• Aspirin. Believe it or not, it can also be abused.

• Diet pills. These substances may be especially attractive to teens.

• Drugs that help prevent motion sickness. Dramamine is also prone to abuse.

Before there were stricter regulations, many people abused over-the-counter pseudoephedrine, a popular cold and allergy remedy. Pseudoephedrine is an ingredient that’s used to make methamphetamine, an illegal and highly addictive drug.

Addiction and a built-up tolerance to over-the-counter drugs can occur. When these drugs are taken in a high dosage, they can cause changes in sleep patterns, mood swings, and possibly hallucinations. Besides consuming large quantities of these drugs, abusers may resort to snorting them to achieve the desired high.

When someone takes these over-the-counter drugs in dosages higher than what’s recommended, they are abusing the drug. People who find themselves in this situation may need to seek treatment at a drug and alcohol treatment center.

If you or a loved one could be addicted to over-the-counter drugs, it is probably a good idea to seek help and treatment from medical professionals. This will put you on the road to recovery.

Pharmacies fill prescriptions every single day, and like the choices in a grocery store between paper or plastic, customers have choices in the pharmacy as well. They may be asked their preference between generic or name brand drugs when they have their prescription filled. Making the choice between the two is largely a matter of preference, but cost can play a huge part in it as well.

Generic drugs don’t cost as much to manufacture as do name brand drugs. This is partly because the manufacturer who develops the name brand drug is spending and allocating a large portion of their budget and profits to sales, advertising and marketing. When there are costs like this associated with the drug, the manufacturer has to recover their costs in various ways, therefore they often past the costs on to the customer in this fashion.

Many customers think that when they get a designer drug prescription by name, that they are getting something exclusive. In reality, they are not getting anything different since the drug and its potency is the same strength, but may be packaged under a different name or label. So why is it that customers sometimes prefer one over the other?

Companies and manufacturers who produce designer-label drugs often do an outstanding job of branding themselves to essentially become a household name for the drug that they represent. Whether this is done through marketing, commercials, advertising or anything related to these methods, they want to be sure that customers remember and ask for their particular product by name.

As the company achieves this goal in their own way, they secure a loyal following of customers for their product. It also increases the likelihood that those same customers will also ask for other drugs by that same manufacturer, especially if they’ve had success with a product already.