Is there a significant difference between the over the counter and prescription 10 mg Loratadine?

Question

I'm just curious because I bought the generic prescription from Wal-mart for $4, the name-brand Claritin was like $100. The over-the-counter was like $2.

Is there a real difference beside just the name?

Shine some light on me.

I know that there's differences in contrast media that's ionic and nonionic. Nonionic is safer, but more expensive. I know i'm talking about something different, but it's still medical related.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

In this case, the difference is in the dollars. As a hint of how medical insurance warps economics, this is a good case study. If it's a prescription and covered by insurance, nobody cares how much it costs; the doctor is just writing a prescription, the patient doesn't have to pay since the insurer does, and the insurer just passes along the costs in its premiums. Nobody really makes a direct link between the amount of his insurance premium and that little bottle of pills, so there's no check on the price, and the pharmaceutical company can charge whatever it wishes.

Answer 2

no it is identical. i work in a pharmacy and we actually make fun of the people who get it prescription because they could just buy it for cheaper and not have to wait

Answer 3

Identical drug. The maker of Claritin actually fought OTC approval for it's drug until the patent ran out. But the OTC claritin, the generic and the brand name Rx version are all the same drug. No one has ever demonstrated a difference due to formulation.

In fact, I think the brand name Rx claritin and the OTC brand claritin are simply the same pills in a different box.