How to Research Medical Drugs on Yahoo Health

If you don't understand the names of the drugs you're taking, you're not alone. AARP and the National Institute for Health (NIH) both confirm that most Americans, particularly seniors, aren't well informed about the drugs they're taking. Yahoo Health can help you research and better understand your prescription medications and other medical drugs. Follow these steps to find out how.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer with Internet access

Research Medical Drugs on Yahoo Health

1. Begin at the Yahoo home page (see Resources below).
2. Click on the "More Yahoo Services" link. It's the yellow box midway down the page on the far left-hand side. Then click on the "Health" link in the top part of the box that appears.
3. Scroll down on the Yahoo Health page to find the "Search for a Drug" bar for medical drugs.
4. Enter the generic name of your drug or the specific chemical name given by the manufacturer. These can usually be found on your pill bottle's label. Some drugs will be listed under both names. The more ways you have to search, the more successful you're likely to be.
5. Perform your search again if you don't get the results you were looking for. Instead of trying to spell out the entire name, try just entering the first letter or 2. Then add the asterisk (*) sign.
6. Scroll through all the medications beginning with that letter or letter combination. This will help if you misspelled the word during the first search.
7. Select "Conditions" if you don't know the name of the drug you're looking for. Under "Conditions," locate the illness(es) treated by the medical drug you're looking for. In many cases, the description of the disease will include the more common drug treatments prescribed for that ailment.

Tips & Warnings

• Searching for your medicine may not be so simple. Oftentimes, drugs are labeled as a generic brand name. Sometimes, they're listed as the manufacturer's chemical name. If you know both, research both names to yield better results.
• Get help when you research on Yahoo Health by clicking on the "Health Help" or "Feedback" options (see Resources below).
• Using Yahoo Health will allow you to research drug interactions. Since drug interaction is a leading cause of illness and death among older Americans, this is a particularly helpful component of the Yahoo service.
• Many drugs come in multiple forms with varying concentrations. Be sure you've located the exact drug you're taking.
• Your doctor should be consulted before you decide to make any changes to your prescribed regime.
• Keep in mind that Yahoo monitors your activity on each of its Web sites. Your personal information is safe with Yahoo, but the company may send out promotional offers to your email inbox based on other products or services you've already requested.