How to Identify Pills

Maybe you found a pill on the floor and you aren’t sure what it is. Or you’ve just picked up your new prescription at the pharmacist and you want to confirm it’s the right drug. There are some simple ways to identify pills, tablets and capsules.

Unless the drug is a good counterfeit, it’s a very straightforward process to make the identification. By law, every pill, tablet or capsule approved by the FDA must be unique-looking, specifically to make identification easy.

1)Ask a Professional
Your surest source of information is your pharmacist or doctor. Bring any unidentified medicines or pills to them for a positive ID. They can make use of professional references, along with their own knowledge and experience, to identify unknown pills, medicines or other substances.

2)Check pills online
You can use the online Pill Identification Wizard at Drugs.com or the Pill Identifier at RxList.com. Enter the pill’s shape, color, and any identifying letters or numbers, and pull up pictures of possible matches.

3)Call or visit a pharmacy.

* Describe the pill to a pharmacist.
* Place the pill in a zipper bag and take it to a pharmacy for identification.
4)Use a medication picture book to identify pills.

* Purchase from a bookstore or check out a medication resource book from the library.
* Find the picture of the pill in the book that matches the unknown pill.

* If the pill is not found in a pill identifying database, it could possibly be an illegal medication.
* Be cautious about looking at name brand and generic forms of pills. Many pharmacies offer the generic form of medication.
* Do not over-handle the pill once it is found. Over handling may wipe away inscriptions, dissolve the pill shape and be harmful due to skin absorption.