medication

medication
med‧i‧ca‧tion /ˌmedəˈkeɪʃən, ˌmedɪˈkeɪʃən/ noun [uncountable and countable]medicine or drugs given to people who are ill
    be on medication (for something)
    He’s on medication for high blood pressure.
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ verbs
   ▪ take medication Are you taking any medication?
   ▪ be on medication (=be taking a type of medicine) He's on medication for his blood pressure.
   ▪ prescribe medication (=arrange for someone to take a particular type of medicine) Doctors should always explain the reasons for prescribing any medication.
   ▪ give medication (also administer medication formal) Teachers are not allowed to administer medication.
   ▪ use medication The leaflet tells you how to use the medication correctly.
   ▪ stop a medication (=stop taking a medication) I stopped the medication when I found out I was pregnant.
   ▪ come off a medication (=stop taking a medication) Coming off the medication made him more aggressive.
■ adjectives
   ▪ over-the-counter medication (=one that you can buy without a doctor's order) There are many over-the-counter medications available for headaches.
   ▪ prescribed medication (=one for which you need a doctor's order) What happens if the patient does not take their prescribed medication?
   ▪ regular medication (=one that someone takes often) He is on regular medication to prevent fits.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ medicine noun [uncountable and countable] a substance used for treating illness: Certain medicines should not be taken with alcohol. | Has he taken his medicine?
   ▪ pill noun [countable] a small piece of medicine that you swallow: She managed to swallow the pill with a sip of water. | The doctor gave him some pills. | sleeping pills | diet pills | contraceptive pills
   ▪ tablet noun [countable] especially British English a small piece of solid medicine: She's now on four tablets a day. | a five-day course of tablets | sleeping tablets | anti-malaria tablets
   ▪ antibiotics/aspirin/codeine etc: The doctor put him on a course of antibiotics. | Why don’t you take some aspirin? | The tablets contain codeine, which is unsuitable for people with asthma.
   ▪ capsule noun [countable] a small tube-shaped container with medicine inside that you swallow whole: a bottle of 500 capsules of vitamin C | I advised her to take four to six garlic capsules a day for the duration of the treatment.
   ▪ caplet noun [countable] a small smooth pill that is slightly longer than it is wide - used especially on bottles and containers: In small type, the consumer is warned not to take more than one caplet per day.
   ▪ eye/ear drops liquid medicine that you put into your eye or ear: Remember — if you 're using eye drops for your hay fever, leave your contact lenses out.
   ▪ cream noun [uncountable and countable] especially British English (also lotion especially American English) a thick smooth substance containing medicine, that you put on your skin: an antibiotic cream | antiseptic cream | skin cream
   ▪ drug noun [countable] a medicine or a substance for making medicines: a drug used to treat malaria | There are a wide range of different drugs on the market.
   ▪ dosage noun [countable usually singular] the amount of medicine that you should take at one time: The dosage should be reduced to 0.5 mg. | It’s important to get the dosage right.
   ▪ medication noun [uncountable and countable] medicine or drugs given to someone who is ill: He takes medication for his diabetes. | She’s on medication (=taking medication), having suffered from depression for a number of years.