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Remember the over-the-counter sleep aid named Sominex? It was a medicine-chest staple in American homes for decades, one of the few medications my parents kept in the house. Touted as being safe and not habit-forming, it was the drug of choice - if hot milk and counting sheep didn't do the trick.

Americans used to be wary of sleep aids, pain relievers and just about anything in pill form and not prescribed. When things got a little rough in life, a martini and a cigarette were just fine. But those days of quietly enduring pain, sleeplessness and anxiety are over.

Today, there are thousands of over-the-counter and prescribed medications to address every problem, real or mysterious. People want to feel good all of the time. Suffering, even slightly, is reason enough to call the doctor or head out to the drug store.

What ever happened to sucking it up, walking it off or sticking it out? Have Americans become so afraid of suffering that they will do anything to avoid it?

The Internet has provided an avenue of escape that is more dangerous than most people realize. My in-box is flooded daily with e-mail announcements for super-cheap drugs that are just a couple of clicks away. Online "pharmacies" that send out massive e-mails are fishing for drug-seekers. People who think these "pharmacies" are genuine get swindled. These charlatans don't ask for a prescription - just a hefty price.

Trusting an online drugstore could be deadly. Many aren't licensed in the United States or Canada. They're scam artists, giving patients placebos or expired drugs.

One warning sign is the lack of description for the drug, its manufacturer and other information normally available on bona-fide online drugstores. Many have a clause stating the delivery of some medications might not happen for a month or more. There's no guarantee that the drug you ordered is real. Returns are a joke, because these types of online drugstores disappear as fast as they crop up.

Don't be fooled by e-mails stating, "We are the safest Canadian online pharmacy." Ordering from Canada may be cost-conscious, but beware of online stores that don't have a detailed Web page listing their credentials, license number, years of business and contact numbers, or that have an address that is a P.O. box.

I check out these e-mails about once a week, and 99 percent of them are phony. I use the Web site Edrugsearch.com to look up online drugstores. IMPAC, a U.S.-based accreditation company for mail-order pharmacies, is the watchdog for Edrugsearch, confirming an online drugstore's credentials.

Don't forget the shipping and handling prices, which can negate the low-cost medication price. Most importantly, be careful of buying medications that are critical or life-sustaining, such as diabetes or heart drugs. If you do your homework, you can get your prescriptions delivered safely, correctly and on time.