Have you ever found a pill-perhaps on the floor of your bathroom, or in your teenager's room or in your car-and wondered what the heck type of pill it is? Or perhaps your mail order prescription arrives, and the pill doesn't look anything like the size, shape or color of the last prescription for the same drug, and you wonder if the pharmacy put the right "generic" equivalent in the bottle. What can you easily do at home to help identify the drug?
It turns out that there are multiple websites that can help you to identify what pill you are holding. My current favorite (which means that it worked the best the last time I tried to identify a stray pill) is http://www.drugs.com/imprints.php All you need to do is to enter in the color(s), shape, and any letters or numbers that you see printed or imbedded on the pill. The site then shows you any matches, including a picture that you can compare with the pill you are holding- voila!
So, if you tossed a bunch of different medications into one container for your last trip and now need to sort them out, or simply have found a stray pill, here is a beautiful use of the information highway. Click on the link above (or google "pill identifier" to pull up multiple sites) and save yourself a trip to the pharmacy!
BOTTOM LINE: Reliable websites are available to help you identify "stray" pills, whether they are over the counter or prescription.
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