How to Identify Prescription Medications

Have you ever changed pharmacies and you noticed that your prescription medication pills looked different than the pills that you were used to getting? Have you ever cleaned out your medicine cabinet, drawers or other places and find prescription medication that you forgot you had. Have you found a pill and didnt know what it is or a unlabeled pill bottle and didnt know what type of pills were in it? I know I have. One of the worst things you can do is to take prescription medication that you dont know what it is. There are two main ways to identify prescription medication pills. The first is by using a drug book and the second is by using a online pill identifier that works for prescription medications and over the counter medications. I have included more directions in the section below on how you can identify both types of pills.

Like I said earlier, not all pharmacies carry the same brand of medication but if you are like me then you want to know exactly what you are taking. The first way to identify prescription medication pills is by using a drug book. Prescription drug books can be found in most all drug stores and in a lot of major retail stores. All you have to do is open the book and turn to the section that has your prescription medication. Make sure that your medication matches the pill inside of the book by looking at the following:

• The line score on the back of the pill.
• The shape of the pill.
• The color of the pill.
• Any numbered or symbol imprints on the pill.

If all of the above matches your prescription medication with the prescription medication in the drug book, then chances are that you have identified the proper prescription medication pill.

There are some great online websites that have state of the art pill identifiers for prescription medication pills and over the counter pills. If you could not identify your prescription pill with the drug book, visit one of the online pill identifier websites such as drugs.com. Once you are on their pill identifier website, you must agree to their terms before going any farther. Click on the "I Agree" button and you will be directed to the pill identifier search page. Follow these directions to identify your unknown prescription medication pills. As with the drug book, the online pill identifier identifies pills by the:

• Imprinting on the pill
• Shape of the pill
• Color of the pill
• Score line on the back of the pill (Some pill identifiers use the score method. Not all.

Follow the steps below to identify the prescription medication or the over the counter medication with the online pill identifier.

1- Enter in any imprint numbers or symbols into the imprint box.

2- Enter the color of the pill into the color box.

3- Enter in the shape pf the pill into the shape box. When you enter in the shape of the pill, a drop down menu will appear with different pill shapes. round, oval, capsule, etc. Enter in the shape pf the pill into the box.

4- Click the search button and you will be forwarded to the prescription medication page.

5- Look through all of the prescription medication pill results until you find the pill that matches the pill you have exactly. The pill will be the same color, same shape and have the same imprints.

Once you do, you have just identified your unknown prescription pill. Likewise, this does work for over the counter pills as well. When in doubt, check it out. If you do not know what type of pill you are holding, look it up until you find the exact pill before taking it. These two methods are the best ways to identify unknown prescription medication pills and unknown over the counter pills.