Pill Identification: How to Recognize Medications by Shape, Color, and Imprint

When you find a pill you don’t recognize, pill identification, the process of determining a medication by its physical traits like color, shape, and imprint code. Also known as medication lookup, it’s not just about curiosity—it’s a safety step that can prevent accidental overdoses, dangerous interactions, or taking the wrong drug. Every pill made in the U.S. has a unique imprint, a code stamped or engraved by the manufacturer. That code, combined with color and shape, is how pharmacists, doctors, and poison control centers quickly identify what’s inside—even if the original bottle is gone.

Many people assume all white oval pills are the same, but a white oval with "V 36 01" is hydrocodone/acetaminophen, while one with "IP 190" is naproxen. Getting it wrong can mean mixing a painkiller with a blood thinner, or taking something that clashes with your heart medication. The pill imprint, the alphanumeric code printed on the surface of a tablet or capsule is the most reliable clue. The pill color, the visual hue used by manufacturers to distinguish between drugs and dosages helps narrow it down, but isn’t enough on its own. A blue pill could be sildenafil, or it could be a generic version of a different drug entirely. And shape? A round pill isn’t always the same as an oval, even if the color and imprint match.

What you’ll find in the posts below isn’t just a list of pills. It’s real-world advice from people who’ve been there—how to spot when a generic looks different from the brand, why some people react to the fillers in pills even when the active ingredient is the same, and how to use patient counseling and pharmacy tools to double-check what you’re taking. You’ll learn how to talk to your pharmacist about confusing medications, why some states restrict generic swaps for critical drugs like warfarin, and how to avoid mixing supplements like green coffee extract with stimulants that could spike your blood pressure. These aren’t theory pages. They’re practical guides built from mistakes, near-misses, and hard-won experience. Whether you’re sorting through a medicine cabinet, helping an aging parent, or just found an unlabeled pill, this collection gives you the tools to act safely—not guess.