How to Identify Lisinopril Pills

The National Library of Medicine drug information resource's website is DailyMed. According to DailyMed, lisinopril is a generic drug in a class of medications known as ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme). It is prescribed primarily to lower high blood pressure, or hypertension, and alleviate the symptoms of heart failure. It is also used as therapy within 24 hours of the onset of acute heart attacks referred to clinically as myocardial infarctions. As an antihypertensive, lisinopril is taken at 10 to 40 mg/day. Patients with heart failure may receive 5 to 40 mg/day. Heart attack sufferers increase their dosage gradually from 5 mg/day to 10 mg/day for six weeks. Because these dosage requirements are so strict, it is imperative to be able to identify a lisinopril tablet before taking or giving it to a patient.

Instructions

• 1

  DailyMed is a reference guide for all FDA-approved medications. It is a free service that delineates important information for drug prescriptions. It includes the approved uses for drugs and their dosage guidelines based on clinical studies and associated side effects. It offers the same information pharmacists provide as to what other medications counteract or heighten the drugs' effects; adequate storage conditions and what to expect in the event of an overdose. DailyMed, as of October 2010, lists critical data for about 16,267 drugs.

• 2

  Locate the white search box beneath the header on the home page. Enter the word, "lisinopril," and click "Go." A list page will generate showing every kind of lisinopril tablet available from every lisinopril manufacturer. Each drug supplier creates the pill with a different appearance to show manufacter's ownership. A search on DailyMed shows a total of 59 different lisinopril pills on the market.

• 3

  "Click" on any one of the 59 lisinopril suppliers. Under "Drug Label Sections," locate the file tab labeled "How Supplied." Clicking on this tab will open a section that will explain the appearance of their brand of lisinopril in great detail. Details provided include the shape and color of the manufacturer's tablet. The section will tell whether the pills are coated for easier digestion. It will explain whether or not the pill is scored for easy cutting. Scored tablets have distinctive lines where pills may be easily cut or broken to create smaller doses. In addition, "How Supplied" lists pill dosages that are available for purchase, the number of pills available per bottle and identifies all imprints, if any.

• 4

  Measure your stray tablet against these qualifying markers to verify the pill's identity. Even if your pill does not meet all or any of the descriptions from the first manufacturer, there are 58 more manufacturer possibilities to research.