Medication



A medication or medicine is a drug taken to cure and/or ameliorate any symptoms of an illness or medical condition, or may be used as preventive medicine that has future benefits but does not treat any existing or pre-existing diseases or symptoms.

Dispensing of medication is often regliated by governments into three categories—over-the-counter (OTC) medications, which are available in pharmacies and supermarkets without special restrictions, behind-the-counter (BTC), which are dispensed by a pharmacist without needing a doctor's prescription, and Prescription only medicines (POM), which must be prescribed by a licensed medical professional, usually a physician.

In the United Kingdom, BTC medicines are called pharmacy medicines which can only be sold in registered pharmacies, by or under the supervision of a pharmacist. These medications are designated by the letter P on the label. The range of medicines available without a prescription varies from country to country.

Medications are typically produced by pharmaceutical companies and are often patented to give the developer exclusive rights to produce them, but they can also be derived from naturally occurring substance in plants called herbal medicine. Those that are not patented (or with expired patents) are called generic drugs since they can be produced by other companies without restrictions or licenses from the patent holder.

Drugs, both medicinal and recreational, can be administered in a number of ways:

• Orally, as a liquid or solid, that is absorbed through the intestines.
• Sublingually, diffusing into the blood through tissues under the tongue.
• Inhaled, (breathed into the lungs), as an aerosol or dry powder.
• Injected as a solution, suspension or emlision either: intramuscliar, intravenous, intraperitoneal, intraosseous.
• Rectally as a suppository, that is absorbed by the rectum or colon.
• Vaginally as a suppository, primarily to treat vaginal infections.
• Bolus, a substance into the stomach to dissolve slowly.
• Insufflation, or snorted into the nose.
• Topically, usually as a cream or ointment. A drug administered in this manner may be given to act locally or systemically

Many drugs can be administered in a variety of ways.