Prescription to Over-the-Counter Drug Reclassification (Mast Cell Stabilizer Table)- May 1, 1998


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Prescription Drugs Now Available as Over-the-Counter Products

TABLE 1 (Mast Cell Stabilizer) Prescription Drugs Now Available as Over-the-Counter Products

Product class	Active ingredients/availability	Brand name(s)	OTC indications	Usual dosage	Cost*
Mast cell stabilizer	Cromolyn sodium nasal spray, 5.2 mg per spray	Nasalcrom	Prevention and relief of nasal allergy symptoms in adults and children age 6 years and older	One spray in each nostril three to four times daily as needed, up to six sprays daily	$9.00
OTC = over-the-counter. *--Estimated cost to the pharmacist based on average wholesale prices, rounded to the nearest dollar, per dosage unit, in Red book. Montvale, N.J.: Medical Economics Data, 1998. Cost to the patient will be greater, depending on prescription filling fee. †--Nicotine therapy should not be used in a patient who continues to smoke. ‡--Previously available in 0.5 percent cream and ointment. One percent cream and ointment now available as generic products.