Prescription medication demand was on the rise this summer as Americans resumed healthcare visits.
Medications for acne, eyelash growth, and weight loss saw higher-than-average fill rates, according to GoodRx.
The following written content by Lynn Allison
You could call this the summer of beauty, as people flocked to fill prescriptions for personal appearance-enhancing products.
Sertraline (Zoloft), an anti-anxiety and anti-depression drug, along with topical corticosteroid skin creams, were also in high demand.
“This summer, as many enjoyed the welcome comfort brought to them by the COVID-19 vaccine, Americans started to venture back to their healthcare providers,” notes Tori Marsh, who holds a master’s degree in public health and is on the research team of GoodRx. “And while much of the country sought out essential prescriptions, trends show that Americans may be prioritizing lifestyle and beauty medications more than they have in years.”
Marsh says that the demand for lifestyle medications spiked this summer. As people began removing their masks and returning to a quasi-normal social life, prescriptions for medications like Latisse, which is used to enhance the growth of lush lashes, skyrocketed. According to GoodRx, during the pandemic this drug had almost no fills. But in April 2021, there was a more than 2000% increase in fill rate for Latisse than in the past.
Lockdowns in March and April 2020 triggered an 11% decrease in demand for acne medication compared to 2019 figures. But the skin irritation and breakouts caused by masks and the stress of the pandemic saw fills of acne medications increase 16% in 2021 over the 2019 figures.
The same phenomenon was observed with weight loss medications. After lockdown ended and vaccinations began, the fill rate for weight loss drugs like the ever-popular phentermine, brand name Adipex-P, soared 35% compared to 2019 data. Read more from Newsmax.
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