


If you start taking a different brand of the same medication, ask your doctor or pharmacist if it’s safe to split the new tablet. Don’t cut them all at once because things like heat, humidity, and moisture can affect split tablets that you keep stored. Only split the tablet that you’re about to take. Check with your doctor or pharmacist first. Still, a tablet splitter isn’t guaranteed to be the right tool for the job, because some pills have a unique size or shape. If your doctor or pharmacist tells you to split your tablets, ask them if you should use a device called a “tablet splitter” or a “pill cutter.” It can help you make sure you get the correct dose. Or they might recommend it to help you save money, since certain double-strength tablets cost about as much as lower-dose versions. They might have you split your pills to change the dose of your medication. Only split a tablet if your pharmacist or doctor tells you to do it and explains how. Some tablets don’t have any score marks, which means it may be unsafe to cut them. The notch is called a “score.” It shows you where you can split or cut a tablet. Some pills have a shallow notch cut into the surface of the tablet.

It considers making exemptions for reasons like: Still, the FDA does exempt certain approved drugs from needing an imprint. Being able to quickly ID a pill can save someone’s life during a medical emergency, like an accidental overdose or drug poisoning, when every second counts. The FDA encourages drugmakers to include a letter or a number in a drug’s imprint code because those digits can help health care workers identify a pill more easily than a symbol or logo alone, the agency says. Once a drugmaker submits a pill’s imprint code to the FDA, the agency stores it in a database that health care professionals can access. It might include words, the drugmaker’s name, or other details. This code - combined with the pill’s size, color, and shape - helps you tell it apart from other medications.Ī pill’s imprint code can be made up of any single letter or number, or any combination of letters, numbers, marks, or symbols. The FDA requires most OTC and prescription drug tablets and capsules to have an imprint. The numbers, letters, or other text that you see on a pill are its “imprint code,” a feature that helps you identify it.
