Anti-infectives are medications used to treat various diseases caused by invading organisms of one type or another. An anti-infective drug acts to inhibit growth or kill the invading organism. Anti-infective is a broad term that includes natural and synthetic drugs for treating bacterial, fungal, viral and parasitic infections. The most commonly used term for these medications, antibiotic, refers specifically to antibacterial agents.

An antibiotic(anti biotic) is often a medication made from a natural, or at most, semi-synthetic substance. This means that the medication is derived from a bacterium, a fungus, the bark of a tree, and so on. A well-known example is penicillin, which comes from the mold made by the fungus, Penicillium. The resulting common drug, penicillin, and its derivatives are common antibiotics still used today.

Anti-infectives are used to treat a variety of diseases around the world.  These diseases include:  sinus infections, bronchitis, ear infections, urinary tract infections, gynecological infections, skin infections, sexually-transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis. Because many bioterrorism agents are bacterial, antibiotics are the first line of defense after an attack has occurred. Antifungal and antiparasitic drugs are also available to specifically combat particular infections. Antivirals are less common, but a few antiviral medications have been developed for treating HIV/AIDS and Herpes.

In the United States, anti-infective medications are available only by prescription.  As with other medications, anti-infectives can have side effects and can cause drug interactions.  Disclose to a doctor and/or  pharmacist all other medications (both prescription and nonprescription, and especially birth-control pills) that you might be taking before starting a course of anti-infective therapy.

It is also extremely important to take the prescribed medication exactly as directed.  This also means taking the medication for the full course of therapy (unless otherwise directed by your doctor). Stopping an anti-infective before you have finished the full course of treatment has several consequences:

  - The infection may not be completely cured.
  - A more severe infection may result.
  - The development of a drug-resistant bacteria, virus, fungi (fungus), or other microorganism is possible.
 

Antibiotics
Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid (Augmentin®) SmithKline Beecham
Azithromycin (Zithromax® or Z-pak®) Pfizer
Cefazolin (Ancef® or Kefzol®) SmithKline Beecham
Cefaclor (Ceclor®) Eli Lilly and Co.
Cefotaxime (Claforan®) Hoechst Marion Roussel
Ceftriaxone (Rocephin®) Hoffmann LaRoche, Inc.
Cephalaxin (Keflex®) Bristol Myers Squibb
Ciprofloxacin (Cipro®) Bayer Corp.
Clarithromycin (Biaxin®) Abbott
Levofloxacin (Levaquin®) Janssen Ortho, LLC
Loracarbef (Lorabid®) Eli Lilly and Co.
Metronidazole (Flagyl®) Searle and Co.
Pipercillin/Tazobactam (Zosyn®) Lederle
Quinupristin/Dalfopristin (Synercid®)   Rhone Poulenc Rorer
Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim (Bactrim®) Hoffmann LaRoche, Inc.
Ticarcillin/Clavulanic acid (Timentin®) SmithKline Beecham
Vancomycin (Vancocin®) Eli Lilly and Co.

Antifungals
Ciclopirox (Loprox®) Hoechst Marion Roussel
Clioquinol (Vioform®) Ciba
Clotrimazole (Lotrimin® AF, Mycelex® OTC) Schering-Plough
Fluconazole (Diflucan®) Roerig
Flucytosine (Ancobon®) Hoffmann LaRoche, Inc.
Griseofulvin (Grifulvin®, Grisactin®) Ortho McNeil
Itraconazole (Sporanox®) Janssen
Ketoconazole (Nizoral®) Janssen
Miconazole (Micatin®, Mycostatin®, Nystop®) Schering-Plough
Miconazole (Monistat® 3, Monistat-Derm®) Ortho Pharmaceutical
Nystatin (Nystop®, Mycostatin®) Bristol Myers Squibb
Oxiconazole (Oxistat®)  GlaxoWellcome
Selenium Sulfide (Selsun®, Exsel®) Abbott
Terbinafine (Lamisil®) Novartis
Terconazole (Terazol®)  Ortho Pharmaceutical
Tolnaftate (Aftate®, Tinactin®) Schering-Plough
 

Antivirals
Abacavir (Ziagen®) GlaxoWellcome
Acyclovir (Zovirax®) GlaxoWellcome
Amprenavir (Agenerase®)  GlaxoWellcome
Delavirdine (Rescriptor®) Pharmacia & UpJohn
Didanosine or ddI (Videx®) Bristol Myers Squibb
Efavirenz (Sustiva®) DuPont Pharma
Famciclovir (Famvir®) SmithKline Beecham
Indinavir (Crixivan®) Merck
Lamivudine or 3TC (Epivir®) GlaxoWellcome
Nelfinavir (Viracept®) Patheon
Nevirapine (Viramune®) Roxane
Penciclovir (Denavir®) SmithKline Beecham
Saquinavir (Invirase®) Hoffmann LaRoche
Stavudine or d4T (Zerit®) ER Squibb & Sons, Inc
Valacyclovir (Valtrex®) GlaxoWellcome
Zalcitabine or ddC (Hivid®) Roche
Zidovudine or AZT or ZDV (Retrovir®) GlaxoWellcome

Antihistamines
Brompheniramine (Dimetapp® Allergy, Nasahist® B) Farmaquimia
Chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton®) Qualitest
Clemastine (Tavist-1®) Novartis
Diphenhydramine (Benadryl®) Parke Davis
Azatadine (Optimine®) Schering
Carbinoxamine/Pseudoephedrine (Cardec®) Rugby
Cetirizine (Zyrtec®) Pfizer
Cyproheptadine (Periactin®) Goldline
Dexchlorpheniramine (Polaramine®, Dexchlor® ER) Rugby
Fexofenadine (Allegra®) Hoechst Marion Roussel
Loratadine (Claritin®) Schering-Plough
Promethazine (Phenergan®) Wyeth Ayerst
Tripelennamine (Pelamine®, Triplen®) Novartis
 

Corticosteroids
Beclomethasone (Beconase®, Vancenase®, Beclovent®, Vanceril®) GlaxoWellcome
Betamethasone (Diprolene® cream) Goldline
Clobetasol (Temovate®) GlaxoWellcome
Desonide (Desowen®) Rugby
Fluocinolone (Derma-Smoothe/FS®) Rugby
Fluocinonide (Lidex®) Goldline
Fluticasone (Flonase®, Flovent®) GlaxoWellcome
Hydrocortisone (Anusol®, Cortaid®, Hydrocortone)® Allergan
Mometasone (Elocon®, Nasonex®) Schering-Plough
Triamcinolone (Nasacort®, Azmacort®, Aristocort®, Knalog®)  Rhone Poulenc Rorer

NSAIDS
Acetaminophen (Tylenol®) Allscripts
Aspirin (Bayer®)  Bayer
Ibuprofen (Advil®)  McNeil Pharmaceutical
Naproxen (Aleve/Naprosyn®) UDL
Celecoxib (Celebrex®) G.D. Searle & Co.
Diclofenac (Voltaren®) Geneva
Etodolac (Lodine®) DuPont Pharma
Fenoprofen (Nalfon®)  Mylan
Indomethacin (Indocin®) Merck
Ketoprofen (Orudis®, Oruvail®) Qualitest
Ketoralac (Toradol®) Mylan
Oxaprozin (Daypro®) G.D. Searle & Co.
Nabumetone (Relafen®) Allscripts
Sulindac (Clinoril®) Merck
Tolmetin (Tolectin®)  McNeil Pharmaceutical
Rofecoxib(Vioxx®)  Merck
Zileuton (Zyflo®) Abbott
 

Osteoporosis
Alendronate (Fosamax®) Merck

Cancer Chemotherapy
Cisplatin (Platinol®) Bristol Myers Squibb
Daunorubicin (Cerubidine®) Gensia Sicor Pharmaceuticals
Doxorubicin (Adriamycin®) Pharmacia and UpJohn
Etoposide (VePesid®) Bristol Myers Squibb
Fluorouracil (Adrucil®) Pharmacia & UpJohn
Hydroxyurea (Hydrea®) Roxane
Mercaptopurine (Purinethol®) GlaxoWellcome
Methotrexate (Abitrexate®) Lederle
Filgrastim (Neupogen®) Amgen
Pacitaxel (Taxol®) Bristol Myers Squibb
Epoetin Alfa (Procrit®) Ortho Biotech
Vinblastine (Velban®) Eli Lilly & Co.
Vincristine (Oncovin®) Eli Lilly & Co.
 

Cholesterol Lowering
clearesterol (evolvE®) Bionutrics, Inc., (CarDierm^TM ) Smartbasics
cervastatin (Bayco®) Bayer
atorvastin (Lipitor®) Parke Davis
lovastatin (Mevacor®) Merck
cholestyramine (Questran®) Bristol Myers Squibb
colestipol (Colestid®) Pharmacia Upjohn
 

Other
EpiPen® Meridian Medical Tech.
Coumadin® DuPont Pharma
Retin A®, Renova®  Ortho Pharmaceutical
Minoxidil (Rogaine®) Pharmacia & Upjohn
Viagra®, Pfizer
Rosiglitazone (Avandia®) SmithKline Beecham
Pioglitazone (Actos ^TM) Takeda Pharmaceuticals America
Captopril (Capoten®) Leiner Health Products
Lisinopril (Prinivil®) Merck
Quinapril (Accupril®) Parke Davis Pharmaceutical
Atenolol (Tenormin®) Zeneca Pharmaceuticals
Metoprolol (Lopressor®) Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Acarbose (Precose®) Bayer
Propranolol (Inderal®) Ayerst Laboratories
Betaxolol (Kerlone®) Searle
Metaformin (Glucophage®) Squibb
Glyburide (Diabeta®) Hoechst Roussel
Micronase® Pharmacia, UpJohn
Repaglinide (Prandin®) Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutical
Tacrolimus (Protopic®) Fujisawa Healthcare
Actonel®, Hoechst Marion Roussel
Evista®, Eli Lilly
 

Antidepressants
Elavil® Astra Zeneca
Tofranil® Novartis
Pamelor® Novartis
Prozac® Lilly
Sarafern® Lilly
Zoloft® Pfizer
Paxil® SmithKline Beecham
Desyrel® Apothecon
Serzone® Bristol Myers Squibb
Wellbutrin® Glaxo Wellcome
Zyban® Glaxo Wellcome
Nardil® Parke Davis
Parnate® SmithKline Beecham
 

Sleeping pills and anticonvulsants
Trmazepam (Restoril®) Sandoz Pharmaceuticals
Triazolam (Halcion®) Pharmacia & Upjohn
Zaleplom (Sonata®) Wyeth-Ayerst
Zolpidem tartrate (Ambien®) Searle & Co.
Paroxetine (Paxil®) SmithKline Beecham
Phenytoin (Dilantin®) Parke-Davis & others
Clonazepam (Klonopin®) Roche Laboratories
Diazepam (Diastat®) Elan Pharma
Carbamazepine (Tegretol®) Novartis & others
Oxcarbazepine (Zonegran®) Elan Pharma
Ethosuximide (Zarontin®) Parke Davis
Valproic acid (Depakene®)
Divalproex sodium (Depekote®) Abbott Laboratories
Gabapentin (Neurontin®) Pfizer
Quazepam (Doral®) Cebert Pharmaceuticals
 

Flea and Tick Control
Lufenuron (Program®) Novartis
Fipronil (Frontline TopSpot®) Rhone Merieux, Inc.
Cythiote (Proban®) Bayer
Fenthion (ProSpot®) Bayer
Imidacloprid (Advantage®) Bayer
DEET (OFF®) SC Johnson
Permanone® Aventis
Sevin® Rhone Poulenc
Dursban® Dow Chemical
Selamectin (Revolution®) Pfizer
 

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