How to Find Out What Kind of Pill You Have

Few things are more worrisome than when pills get mixed up or separated from their labeled containers. Guessing about what pills you have can have dangerous consequences, especially if you are taking many different kinds of medicine. Fortunately there are three options you have to find out what kind of pill you have.

Instructions

• 1

  Ask your doctor or pharmacist. The National Library of Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health, recommends asking your family physician or your neighborhood pharmacist to identify the pill you have. These health professionals are familiar with your personal health history and circumstances, trained to identify prescription drugs and equipped with professional reference materials to find your pill---calling or visiting your doctor's office or your neighborhood pharmacy will help you identify the kind of pill you have.

• 2

  Use government resources. The National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration all have updated databases of all approved drugs available online. Services such as the FDA's Division of Drug Information search service or the National Library of Medicine's Pillbox project offer free tools that allow you to search for a pill by picture, color, stamped identification numbers or shape.

• 3

  Check drug references online or in your local library. Web sites such as RXList, drugs.com or DrugDigest offer searchable tools on their respective web sites, allowing you to find a pill by physical characteristic---such as color or shape---or by numbers or letters printed or stamped on the pill. Like government resources, these sites also have photo libraries so you can match your pill with pictures in the database. If online searching proves difficult, local libraries usually feature copies of the Physicians' Desk Reference in their reference sections; the PDR provides a complete list of all approved drugs, along with a special color photo section in the center of the book.