SideEffects 4.6

SideEffects is a reference tool for determining drug side effects. It works both for brand-name drugs and various herbs. There are over 1440 drugs listed in the database and over 200 common herbs. The application starts with a menu that takes you to the main categories: Drugs, Drug Uses / Prescriptions, Herbs, Foods, Vitamins / Minerals, and sources.

The two most useful categories are the first ones: Drugs and Drugs uses. The first allows you to type the name of a drug and even its brand name and access a window with all its properties, including side effects, normal uses, precautions, etc. The second category is by far the most informative. It lists several afflictions and the drugs that can treat them. The only bad thing I can say about this last category is that you can't click the drug names to read about them. They are plain text. Having some hypertext here would definitely make things easier. All the afflictions are separated in sub-groups and are sorted alphabetically.

I recently tried another application by the same developer and it was very old-looking, it lacked a search engine and it proved quite buggy. SideEffects, on the other hand, has greatly improved upon itself. Despite the very limiting trial version, the application could be worth it. As a word of advice, I would suggest you consult a licensed physician before auto-medicating.