General Prescription & OTC Medicines Guides

What General Prescription & OTC Medicines covers

This section holds the medicines that do not sort cleanly into one of the body-system sections. Everything with an identifiable therapeutic home — painkillers, antibiotics, blood-pressure medicines, antihistamines, stomach medicines and the rest — lives in its own section, and there are links to all of them below.

What remains here is a genuine residue, and it is worth being straight about what that consists of.

Products the registries do not list under that name. South African pharmacy shelves carry brands that are discontinued, renamed, locally packaged or simply searched under an informal name. If a product cannot be matched to a current registration, this is where its guide sits rather than being filed into a therapeutic section on a guess.

Products that genuinely span categories. Tranexamic acid, misoprostol, charcoal and similar have uses across more than one area, and forcing them into a single body-system section would misrepresent them.

Vitamins, minerals and tonics dispensed as medicines. These sit close to the supplements guides but are dispensed as medicines here.

If you are holding a box and looking for it, start with the browse list below or use the topic sections in Related topics — the specific sections are where most medicines now live.

Browse individual used-for guides

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How the guides in this section differ

Identifiable or not. The main division here is between products with a clear active ingredient and those where the name on the pack cannot be matched to a current registration. Where a guide cannot state the active ingredient with confidence, it says so and tells you how to establish it from your own label instead of guessing.

Prescription or over-the-counter. South African medicines carry a schedule. Anything S3 and above needs a pharmacist’s involvement or a prescription; S0 to S2 can be bought off the shelf or over the counter. The schedule is printed on the pack.

Single ingredient or combination. Combination products are common here, and they are the usual route to accidental double-dosing — most often with paracetamol, which appears in a great many cold, flu and pain preparations.

If your pack shows	Look here
An antibiotic or antifungal	Antibiotics, Antifungals & Antimicrobials
A painkiller or anti-inflammatory	Pain, Inflammation & Musculoskeletal
A blood-pressure, heart or cholesterol medicine	Blood Pressure, Heart & Circulation
A reflux, cramp or nausea medicine	Digestive, Stomach & Nausea
An antihistamine or cold and flu product	Allergy, Cold, Flu & Respiratory
A mood, sleep, epilepsy or nerve medicine	Mental Health, Nerve & Neurological
A cream, ointment or wound product	Skin, Wound & Topical

Safety, accuracy and next-step checks

Everything here is informational. It is not a diagnosis, a dosage instruction or advice about your own circumstances.

Speak to a pharmacist or doctor before taking anything here if you are pregnant, trying to conceive or breastfeeding; if the medicine is for a child and the pack is labelled for adults; if you take other medicines, including anything herbal or bought over the counter; if you have a liver or kidney condition; or if you have reacted badly to a medicine before.

The checks that matter most:

Read the active ingredient line, not just the brand name. It is usually printed in smaller type underneath, and it is what determines interactions.
Do not double up on paracetamol. Check combination products before adding a separate painkiller. Liver damage can occur without early warning symptoms.
Finish a course of antibiotics as directed rather than stopping when you feel better.
Do not take someone else’s prescription, even for what looks like the same problem.
Check the expiry date, and do not use medicine that has changed colour, smell or texture.
If a guide cannot identify your product, take the pack to a pharmacist. They can identify it from the label in seconds, which is faster and more reliable than searching.

A pharmacist is the most accessible medicines professional in South Africa and you do not need an appointment. For a new diagnosis, a dose change, or stopping a long-term medicine, that conversation belongs with the prescriber.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my medicine in this section rather than a specific one? Either its active ingredient could not be matched to a current South African registration under that name, or it genuinely has uses spanning several areas. Medicines with a clear therapeutic home have been filed there instead.

The name on my box is not listed anywhere. What now? Look for the active ingredient printed under the brand name and search that. If neither appears, a pharmacist can identify the product from the label immediately.

Is the generic the same as the brand I was prescribed? It contains the same active ingredient and must meet the same regulatory standards. The tablet may look different and inactive ingredients can vary, which occasionally matters for allergies.

What does the schedule number on the pack mean? It reflects how tightly the medicine is controlled. S0 to S2 can be bought off the shelf or over the counter; S3 and above need a pharmacist’s involvement or a prescription.

Do these guides give dosages? No. Dose depends on age, weight, kidney and liver function and other medicines. Follow the dispensing label and ask the pharmacist who gave it to you.

General Prescription & OTC Medicines Used-For Guides