Consumer Reports has published a valuable article identifying common prescription drugs that can be dangerous for older patients. Healthcare consumers over age 65 are more than twice as likely to suffer from adverse drug reactions; the publication lists the following drugs as posing a high enough risk that they should be avoided if possible:

• Antianxiety drugs

  Chlordiazepoxide (Librium, Limbitrol); diazepam (Valium); quazepam (Doral)

  Recommended alternatives: alprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (Ativan), and oxazepam (Serax)

• Antidepressants

  Amitriptyline, doxepin (Sinequan) and Fluoxetine (Prozac)

  Recommended alternatives: citalopram (Celexa), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft)

• Antihistamines

  Chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton); diphenhydramine (Benadryl)

  Recommended alternatives: Cetirizine (Zyrtec); fexofenadine (Allegra); loratadine (Claritin)

• High blood pressure and enlarged prostate drugs

  Doxazosin (Cardura); prazosin (Minipress); terazosin (Hytrin)

  Recommended alternatives: Diuretics for high blood pressure; tamsulosin (Flomax) for enlarged prostate.

• Pain relievers

  Naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn); oxaprozin (Daypro); piroxicam (Feldene); Meperidine (Demerol)

  Recommended alternatives: acetaminophen (Tylenol); ibuprofen (Advil ); capsaicin cream (Zostrix); morphine

• Sleeping pills

  Barbituates (Butisol, Nembutal, Seconal); diphenhydramine (Sominex); flurazepam (Dalmane)

  Recommended alternatives: zaleplon (Sonata) and zolpidem (Ambien)

• Stomach drugs

  Bisacodyl (Dulcolax); Diphenoxylate (Lomotil)

  Recommended alternatives: Increased intake of fiber and fluids; change in diet; loperamide (Imodium AD)

1. Accupril
2. Provigil
3. Viagra
4. Plavix
5. Yasmin
6. Lipitor
7. Acyclovir
8. Zyprexa
9. Vytorin
10. Acne
11. Strattera
12. Climara
13. Phentermine
14. Imitrex
15. Anxiety
16. Xenical
17. Antidepressants
18. Crestor
19. Abilify
20. Synthroid
21. Topamax
22. Amoxicillin
23. Zetia
24. Combivent
25. Valtrex

As we state each month, the list isn’t a perfect reflection of the most popular drugs purchased online, largely because of Google. For a variety of reasons, eDrugSearch.com appears very high in the organic search results for some drugs, but not as high for others. This obviously skews our results.

With this caveat, however, we hope that over time our results will shed light on trends in online drug sales.

We’ll post our December results next month.