OTC stands for over-the-counter. Once drugs have gone through clinical testing, they are prescribed by doctors and eventually some of them are sold in lower dosages without a prescription. Any drug that you can buy after walk into a drugstore or supermarket without a prescription is known as an OTC medication. Many of them retain the brand name originally used as a prescription drug, but once patent protection has expired, any pharmaceutical company can make them and sell them under its own brand name.
Pain Killers
There are three basic types of pain killers, analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and narcotic analgesics. Narcotics, because they are strong and highly addictive, are not sold OTC. Analgesics are pain killers that are not derived from opium, such as acetaminophen. These are effective for minor pain and to decrease fevers. Acetaminophen is sold as Tylenol, Comtrex and other brand names, as well as generically. NSAIDs also are common but work differently than analgesics in that they do not directly deaden pain. Instead, they reduce swelling and inflammation, which in turn relieves pain, according to the Mayo Clinic. OTC NSAIDs often are used for minor arthritis pain. They include ibuprofen and naproxen sodium, and are sold with such names as Advil, Motrin and Aleve.
Allergy Drugs
There are many allergy OTC medications, none of them as strong as prescription-level drugs. Allergy drugs come in a variety of types, including pills, capsules, liquids and inhalants. Common OTC medicines include cetirizine (Zyrtec), pseudoephedrine (Claritin-D, Sudafed) and nasal sprays such as oxymetazoline and phenylephrine (Afrin and Neo-Synephrine, respectively). Note that while you do not need a prescription for drugs containing pseudoephedrine, in many regions you must provide identification to buy them. This is because these types of drugs can be used to make illegal drugs, so they typically are kept behind the counter even though they are sold OTC.
Cough and Cold Drugs
As with allergy medicines--which do many of the same things--cold medications come in many varieties, although the actual medicine in them is similar. They also may contain acetaminophen. For example, Theraflu contains acetaminophen, phenylephrine hydrochloride, a decongestant, and diphenhydramine hydrochloride, an antihistamine. Most of these are combination medications sold under generic and brand names.
Antacids
Antacids are OTC medications used in the treatment of indigestion, heartburn and stomach upset. They are marketed as pills, liquids and chewable tablets. Calcium carbonate, for example, is used in Tums and Rolaids, although these also contain magnesium hydroxide. Mylanta, a liquid antacid contains magnesium hydroxide as well as aluminum hydroxide and simethicone. There also are stronger antacids taken as pills or capsules such as lansoprazole (Prevacid), famotidine (Pepcid), ranitidine (Zantac) and cimetidine (Tagamet).
