Survey Reveals Top OTC Products Picked by Pharmacists, Dermatologists 

US News & World Report has released its new over-the-counter (OTC) medicine and health product rankings for 2024.

The second annual Best OTC Medicine & Health Products list includes an additional 33 OTC product categories. To generate the rankings, US News, in conjunction with The Harris Poll, conducted a comprehensive survey that included 354 pharmacists and 122 dermatologists. 

Participants were asked to rank products in 132 OTC categories. Each respondent selected their top 3 brands in each category assigned to them. Using a points system, the brands given the highest scores were ranked first for the corresponding categories.

With spring allergies just around the corner, the surveyed pharmacists chose Zyrtec (cetirizine) as their No. 1 oral allergy medicine. Pataday (olopatadine HCl) topped the list for best allergy eye drop and Flonase (fluticasone propionate) was the No. 1 pick for best allergy nasal spray. 

The table below lists some of the brand winners for product categories evaluated by pharmacists.

The table below lists the top brands, ranked No. 1 by dermatologists, for some of the evaluated skin categories.

Commenting on the results Sumita Singh, general manager of Health at US News, said: “With hundreds of thousands of over-the-counter health products on the market in the US, the US News annual Best OTC Medicine & Health Products rankings help consumers choose the best OTC products for themselves and their families.”