Being able to identify and differentiate between various pills is a very important skill to have especially if you take several different pills all at once; it can be hard to remember the names of each and you will not always have the original packaging to refer to so it is important to be able to identify pills so that you can refill your prescriptions, you can speak to you doctor about a certain pill if you have concerns, you can ensure that the pills you are taking are the ones that were prescribed, and even if you yourself are not taking any pills, it is still important to be able to identify pills you may come across on your bathroom floor or in your teenager’s drawer.
So how do you go about identifying pills? Obviously it is not practical for you to set out to study about every pill in existence and memorize the color, shape, size, and any letters or numbers printed on it, so thankfully this is not required; identifying a pill will only require that you have the pill in front of you and internet access. Look at the pill, its shape, its color, its pattern (does it have 2 colors? Does it have a ridge around it?), and any numbers or letters that may be on it; all you will need to do now is enter as much information as you can about the pill on one of the many websites dedicated to pill identification.
Rxlist, WebMD, and Drugs.com are all examples of free pill identification sites that you can utilize on the internet; they are all very simple to use and will give you results even if you can only identify one feature of the pill, such as the color. Simply enter the color into the box provided and a list will come up of various pills of that color; you can scroll through to see if you recognize any of the names that are on the list, or you can view the images that are also provided and see if the pill you have looks like any of the pictures that you see.
If you know the name of the pill but are curious to know its purpose, side effects, recommended dosage or other pills that it can be taken with, these pill identification sites, along with helping you to identify pills will also give you all of this information about each pill in their database. Also, if you cannot find a pill in one database, try one or two other databases; if you still do not see anything that looks like your pill then it might be an illegal or counterfeit drug. Of course the possibility exists that your pill is a traditional drug and should be listed but is not because it is new and so has not yet been added or was overlooked; so if nothing else works, enlist the help of a professional – like your pharmacist in identifying the pill.