INTERPRETING LABELS AND PRESCRIPTION
Objective
To use a patient-centered approach to refine warning labels promoting the safe use
of prescription drugs among patient.
A. WORDS FOUND ON MEDICINE LABELS YOU MUST UNLOCK:
 Precaution- a warning
 Symptom- evidence of ailment such as coughs fever etc.
 Dosage- the amount of medicine to be taken by the patient at any one
time.
 Formula- indicates the ingredients or contents of the medication.
 Manufacturer- the name of the company which manufactures the drug.
 Side effect- an effect of the medication such as dizziness, allergies, etc.
 Over- the counter Medicine- these are drugs which you can buy without a
need to present a doctor’s prescription.
 Syrup- solution used in pharmacy.
 Suspension- the state in which particles of solid are mixed with fluid.
 Capsule- a gelatinous case containing a dosage of medicine.
 Drops- medication in liquid form.
Sample label of a Product
1
Doctor’s Prescription
Prescription may also be used as a short form for prescription drugs to distinguish
from over-the-counter drugs. In reference to the entire system of controlling drug
distribution (as opposed to illicit drugs), "prescription" is often used as a metaphor for
healthy directions from a prescribing medical practitioner.
History
The concept of prescriptions dates back to the beginning of history. So long as there were
medications and a writing system to capture directions for preparation and usage, there were
prescriptions.
Modern prescriptions are actually "extemporaneous prescriptions" from the Latin (ex tempore)
for "at/from time". "Extemporaneous" means the prescription is written on the spot for a specific
patient with a specific ailment. This is distinguished from a non-extemporaneous prescription
which is a generic recipe for a general ailment. Modern prescriptions evolved with the
separation of the role of the pharmacists from that of the physician [28]. Today the term
"extemporaneous prescriptions" is reserved for "compound prescriptions" which requires the
pharmacist to mix or "compound" the medication in the pharmacy for the specific needs of the
patient.
Predating modern legal definitions of a prescription, a prescription traditionally is
composed of four parts: a "superscription", "inscription", "subscription" and "signature".
The superscription section contains the date of the prescription and patient information
(name, address, age, etc). The symbol "℞" separates the superscription from the inscriptions
sections. In this arrangement of the prescription, the "℞" is a symbol for recipe or literally the
imperative "take." This is an exhortation to the pharmacist by the medical practitioner, "I want
the patient to have the following medication" [30] - in other words, "take the following
components and compound this medication for the patient."
The inscription section defines what the medication is. The inscription section is further composed
of one or more of:




a "basis" or chief ingredient indended to cure (curare)
an "adjuvant" to assist its action and make it cure quickly (cito)
a "corrective" to prevent or lessen any undesirable effect (tuto)
a "vehicle" or "excipient" to make it suitable for administration and pleasant to the patient
(jucunde)
The "subscription" section contains dispensing directions to the pharmacist. This may be
compounding instructions or quantities.
The "signature" section contains directions to the patient [32] and is often abbreviated "Sig." [33] or
"Signa." It also obviously contains the signature of the prescribing medical practitioner though
the word "signature" has two distinct meanings here and the abbreviations are sometimes used
to avoid confusion.
2
A. Symbols used by the Physicians which you must interpret
 Sig. -it is the abbreviation of signature. It is a part of a prescription which
gives direction to be marked on the container of medicine.
 # -means number.
 Rx – is Recipe which means “take”, however, the original meaning of R is
Eye of Horus, the god of healing.
B. Commonly used medical abbreviations
a) How the medicine is take
 O.U. - oculus uterque
 O.D. - oculus dexter
 O.S. - oculi sinister
 A.U. - auriculus uterque
 A.D. - auriculus dexter
 A.S. - auriculus sinister
b) How much take in





- both eyes
- right eye
- left eye
- both ears
- right ear
- left ear
cc = ml = the number of cc's or ml's to take. Remember that 5cc (or 5ml) is
equal to one teaspoon.
tsp = teaspoon
tbs = tablespoon
tab or cap = tablet or capsule
gt = drop
c) When to take it:











qd = once a day
qhs = once a day, at bedtime
qam = once a day, in the morning
qac = before meals
qpc = after meals
bid = twice a day
tid = three times a day
qid = four times a day
q 8 hours = every 8 hours
qod = every other day
prn = as needed
d) Common terms and abbreviations that you are likely to see in a child's chart include:







3
AGE = acute gastroenteritis (stomach virus)
Allergic rhinitis = hay fever
AOM or OM = acute otitis media (ear infection)
ASD = atrial septal defect
BMI = body mass index
BOME = bilateral OME (fluid in both ears)
BPD = broncho-pulmonary dysplasia





















CBC = complete blood count test
CP = cerebral palsy
FTT = failure to thrive
FUO = fever of unknown origin
FWLS = fever without localizing signs
GER = gastroesophageal reflux
HA = headache
HSM = hepatospenomegaly (enlarged liver and spleen)
IVH = intra-ventricular hemorrhage
LAD = lymphadenopathy (enlarged lymph glands)
LGA = large for gestational age
MR = mental retardation
Nocturnal enuresis = bedwetting
OME = otitis media with effusion (fluid in the ear)
Otitis externa = swimmer's ear
ROP = retinopathy of prematurity
SGA = small for gestational age
Tinea Capitis = ringworm on the scalp
Tinea Corporis = ringworm
VSD = ventricular septal defect
VUR = vesicoureteral reflux
C. Layman’s term of various ailments compared to their Medical terms:
 Sore eyes (both eyes) - acute conjunctivitis (O.U.)
 Dizziness (spinning sensation) - vertigo Body Malaise 2˚ acute Otitis Media
 General Body weakness –constitutional Body Malaise 2˚ to Iron Deficiency
anemia.
 Backache –Interscapular Nonspecifiec Myalgia.
 Shoulder pain- sternocleidaastoid strain
 Numbness of finger and/ or toes- peripheral Neuropathy
D. Symptoms/signs with corresponding Medical terms to use
 Running nose and colds- coryza
 Soar throat or hoarseness- acute nasopharyngitis
 Coughing with ferver- acute bronchitis
4
Sample of Doctor’s Prescription
5