Grouped by what the drug is for — the class you would name on a care plan. Every one of the 959 drugs is here exactly once. Tap a class to open it; search filters across drug names, class names and the notes.
HA high-alert drug · BBW has a black box warning · click any drug to open its card.
Block the enzyme that makes angiotensin II, so vessels relax and the kidney dumps sodium. First-line for hypertension, heart failure and kidney protection in diabetes.
Block angiotensin II at the receptor instead of blocking the enzyme, so blood pressure falls without the ACE cough. Same jobs as ACE inhibitors: hypertension, heart failure, diabetic kidney disease.
Slow the heart and soften its contraction by blocking beta receptors, lowering blood pressure and oxygen demand. Used for hypertension, angina, arrhythmias and stable heart failure.
Keep calcium out of vascular and cardiac muscle so arteries dilate; the non-dihydropyridines also slow the heart rate. Used for hypertension, angina and rate control.
The strongest diuretics - they block sodium reabsorption in the loop of Henle and pull off large volumes of fluid. First choice for pulmonary edema and fluid overload in heart, kidney or liver failure.
The gentler diuretics: thiazides are first-line for everyday hypertension, potassium-sparing and aldosterone blockers hold on to potassium and help heart failure survival. Carbonic anhydrase and osmotic agents sit here too.
Drugs that reset or control heart rhythm by acting on sodium, potassium or calcium channels; digoxin adds contractility while slowing the rate. Used for atrial fibrillation, SVT and ventricular arrhythmias.
Adrenergic and related drugs that raise blood pressure or squeeze harder in shock and cardiac arrest. Titrated to a mean arterial pressure goal in critical care.
Lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides to prevent heart attack and stroke. Statins block cholesterol synthesis; the others block absorption, bind bile acids, or clear LDL receptors (PCSK9 antibodies).
Drugs that open vessels directly - nitrates for angina, central alpha-2 agonists and alpha-1 blockers for resistant hypertension, and the endothelin and prostacyclin agents for pulmonary hypertension.
Open narrowed airways either by stimulating beta-2 receptors or by blocking muscarinic ones. Short-acting beta agonists are rescue; the long-acting agents are daily control.
Steroid delivered straight to the airway to prevent inflammation in asthma, COPD and allergic rhinitis. Controller therapy - it does nothing during an acute attack.
Controller therapies beyond inhalers - oral leukotriene blockers, injectable antibodies for severe asthma, and the CFTR modulators and antifibrotics for cystic fibrosis and pulmonary fibrosis.
Block histamine to stop sneezing, itching and hives, or loosen mucus, quiet a cough and shrink swollen nasal membranes. Symptom relief only.
Calm the brain by boosting GABA or by blocking the wakefulness signal - used for anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal, procedural sedation and insomnia. They stack with every other CNS depressant.
Stabilise overexcited neurons by damping sodium or calcium channels or boosting GABA. Used for epilepsy and often for neuropathic pain, bipolar disorder and migraine prevention.
Keep serotonin in the synapse longer to lift depression and anxiety, OCD and PTSD. First-line because they are safer in overdose than older antidepressants.
Antidepressants that are not SSRIs - SNRIs, tricyclics, bupropion, mirtazapine, trazodone and the MAOIs. Also used for neuropathic pain, migraine prevention and smoking cessation.
Block dopamine (and for the atypicals, serotonin too) to quiet hallucinations, delusions and mania. Lithium sits here as the classic bipolar mood stabilizer.
Replace or protect dopamine so movement smooths out - levodopa plus carbidopa is the backbone, with dopamine agonists, COMT and MAO-B inhibitors extending it. Anticholinergics help tremor.
Disease-modifying therapies that cut relapse rate and new MRI lesions by damping or redirecting immune attack on myelin. They do not reverse existing disability.
Triptans and gepants stop an attack in progress; CGRP antibodies and some daily drugs prevent them. Triptans constrict dilated cranial vessels, so cardiac history matters.
Raise dopamine and norepinephrine to improve focus in ADHD or keep people awake in narcolepsy. Most are controlled substances with real misuse potential.
Support recovery from alcohol, opioid or nicotine dependence by blocking reward, easing craving or softening withdrawal. Pair them with counselling.
Targeted drugs for dementia, ALS, spinal muscular atrophy, chorea, myasthenia gravis and muscle spasticity. Small, disease-specific classes grouped by the problem they treat.
Insulin replaces the hormone that drives glucose into cells; the GLP-1 agonists mimic gut incretins so insulin rises only when glucose does. Glucagon does the reverse for severe lows.
Make the kidney dump glucose into the urine, lowering A1C while also protecting the heart and kidneys. Now used in heart failure and CKD even without diabetes.
The oral toolkit for type 2 diabetes: metformin lowers hepatic glucose output, sulfonylureas and glinides squeeze out insulin, glitazones improve sensitivity, DPP-4 inhibitors protect incretins.
Replace thyroid hormone in hypothyroidism or shut down over-production in hyperthyroidism. Dosing is titrated to TSH, and small changes matter.
Broad anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive hormones used for everything from asthma flares to autoimmune disease and adrenal insufficiency. The side effects come from the same power.
Estrogens, progestins and androgens for contraception, menopause, hypogonadism and fertility, plus the uterine drugs used to induce labour and stop postpartum bleeding.
Slow bone breakdown or push new bone formation to treat osteoporosis, plus the vitamin D and calcium agents that keep serum calcium in range. Bisphosphonates are the core class.
Lower uric acid production, boost its excretion, or damp the inflammatory attack itself. Urate-lowering drugs prevent attacks; colchicine and NSAIDs treat the flare.
Replacements and blockers for pituitary hormones (ADH, growth hormone, somatostatin, GnRH) plus obesity drugs and the targeted therapies for rare inherited metabolic disease.
Reduce or neutralise stomach acid for GERD, ulcers and stress-ulcer prevention. PPIs shut the proton pump down, H2 blockers block histamine, antacids neutralise what is already there.
Block the receptors that trigger vomiting - serotonin, dopamine, histamine, substance P or muscarinic - depending on the cause. Chemo, post-op, motion and pregnancy nausea each favour a different one.
Drugs that move the bowel along, slow it down, or calm the inflammation in ulcerative colitis and Crohn disease. Which one is right depends entirely on the underlying problem.
Relax the prostate and bladder neck or shrink the prostate to fix obstructive urinary symptoms; the PDE5 inhibitors also treat erectile dysfunction.
Calm an overactive detrusor muscle (antimuscarinics, beta-3 agonists) or help a sluggish bladder empty. Used for urgency, frequency and incontinence.
Replace electrolytes that are too low or bind the ones the failing kidney cannot clear. Core drugs in chronic kidney disease and dialysis care.
Interrupt the clotting cascade to prevent new clots from forming or growing - in atrial fibrillation, DVT, PE and after orthopedic surgery. High-alert: the risk is bleeding.
Stop platelets from clumping onto arterial plaque - the arterial side of clot prevention. Standard after stents, MI and stroke.
Dissolve a clot that has already formed by converting plasminogen to plasmin. Used in acute ischemic stroke, STEMI and massive PE, inside a tight time window.
Push the marrow to make red cells, white cells or platelets, replace the iron needed for hemoglobin, or replace missing clotting factors and plasma volume outright.
Attack HIV at different points of its life cycle - reverse transcriptase, protease, integrase or cell entry. Always combined, and most modern regimens are single-tablet combinations.
Break down the bacterial cell wall so the organism bursts. Penicillins, cephalosporins by generation, and the broad-spectrum carbapenems and monobactams reserved for resistant organisms.
Protein-synthesis blockers used for atypical pneumonia, chlamydia, tick-borne illness and acne, and as the go-to when penicillin is not an option. Bacteriostatic rather than bactericidal.
Block bacterial DNA gyrase, giving broad coverage with excellent oral absorption. Reserved now because of serious musculoskeletal and nerve toxicity.
Powerful bactericidal drugs for serious gram-negative infection, given IV because they are not absorbed orally. Narrow therapeutic window with two signature toxicities.
The MRSA drugs (vancomycin and relatives) plus the remaining antibiotic families - sulfonamides, nitroimidazoles, oxazolidinones, lincosamides and urinary agents.
Long multi-drug regimens (RIPE) needed to kill slow-growing mycobacteria and prevent resistance. Months of therapy, so adherence support is part of the care plan.
Attack the fungal cell membrane (azoles, polyenes) or cell wall (echinocandins) for everything from thrush to invasive aspergillosis. Topical forms treat skin and vaginal infection.
Block viral replication in herpes and shingles, influenza, COVID, CMV and hepatitis B and C. The hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals actually cure; the rest shorten or suppress illness.
Kill protozoa and worms - malaria prophylaxis and treatment, giardia, toxoplasmosis, helminths. Hydroxychloroquine doubles as a mild DMARD in lupus and RA.
Bind mu receptors in the CNS to blunt moderate to severe pain. High-alert drugs: the same receptor that stops pain also stops breathing.
Block prostaglandins to relieve pain, fever and inflammation without sedation or dependence. Acetaminophen sits here too - it treats pain and fever but not inflammation.
Induce and maintain unconsciousness, or paralyse skeletal muscle for intubation and surgery. Paralytics provide zero sedation or pain relief on their own.
Classic cytotoxics that cross-link DNA so the cancer cell cannot divide. Cell-cycle nonspecific, so they hit fast-growing normal tissue too.
Fake building blocks that slot into DNA or RNA synthesis and stall the S phase. Methotrexate also serves as a low-dose DMARD in rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.
Anthracyclines and related drugs that intercalate DNA, plus the vinca alkaloids and taxanes that freeze the mitotic spindle. Heavy-hitting chemo with organ-specific toxicities.
Oral targeted drugs that switch off the specific growth signal driving a tumour - BCR-ABL, EGFR, ALK, BTK, CDK4/6, mTOR, PI3K and the BRAF/MEK cascade. Daily pills rather than infusion cycles.
Monoclonal antibodies that flag tumour antigens (HER2, CD20, EGFR, VEGF) and checkpoint inhibitors that release the brakes on T cells. Given IV in cycles.
Starve hormone-driven breast and prostate cancer by blocking estrogen or androgen, or by shutting off the pituitary signal that makes them. Taken for years, not cycles.
The rest of the targeted arsenal: proteasome inhibitors, PARP inhibitors, HDAC blockers, immunomodulators and cell therapies. Each is tied to a specific tumour or mutation.
Damp the immune system so it stops attacking a transplanted organ or the patient's own joints and skin. Includes calcineurin inhibitors, TNF blockers, other biologic DMARDs and the oral JAK inhibitors.
Antibodies that shut down a single interleukin or the complement cascade for psoriasis, eczema and rare immune disease, plus the pooled immune globulins and interferons that supply or boost immunity.
Drops that lower pressure inside the eye, either by draining more fluid out or making less of it. Used long term to protect the optic nerve in glaucoma.
Everything else that goes in the eye - antibiotic and antiviral drops for infection, steroid and antihistamine drops for inflammation and allergy, and the VEGF blockers injected for wet macular degeneration.
Creams, gels and ointments for inflamed or infected skin - topical corticosteroids for eczema and psoriasis, retinoids for acne, and parasiticides for lice and scabies.
Reverse a specific drug or toxin - opioids, benzodiazepines, heparin, digoxin, acetaminophen, heavy metals - plus the vitamins and minerals used for deficiency and as rescue agents.