What is a Medicine?

A medicine is any substance that is meant to change the way your body deals with an illness or injury, or to maintain your health and well-being, no matter where you get the substance. Medicine is used to treat or prevent illness, provide relief from symptoms, or improve quality of life. Medicines come in many forms:

  • Pills
  • Creams
  • Liquids
  • Lotions, creams or ointments
  • Inhalers
  • Injections
  • Drops
  • Herbs
  • Suppositories
  • Vitamins

Where Do You Get Medicines?

You get some medicines from a pharmacist, with a prescription given to you by a doctor, dentist, or other healthcare provider. You get other medicines without a prescription from the pharmacist, naturopath, or herbalist, or at the drug store, supermarket, health food store, or on the Internet. Herbal medicines, vitamins, minerals, and nutritional supplements are all medicines; sometimes they are called complementary or alternative medicines. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration provides consumers with a list of 6 Tips to Avoid Medication Mistakes on their website, including #6 — Keep a list of all your medications!

My Medicine List

“I fully support the My Medicine List project in Washington. Keeping a list of all the medicines taken by you, your children, or other loved ones is an easy way to avoid medication-related problems.”

--Deborah J. Harper, MD, Pediatrician (Spokane) and Past President, Washington State Medical Association Executive Committee