Translating Doctor's Prescriptions

Recently I spent a week with my sister-in-law who is hospitalized. I read through all the doctors’ various orders and prescriptions.

I was searching for a clue as to which drug might be causing her horrendous side effects. 

Fortunately, I had a “cheat sheet” in order to interpret the most common prescription instructions. I found it years ago in a magazine and typed it up.

In case you’re mystified by what you read on a prescription, here’s a copy for you. I’ll list these common doctor orders in this format: abbreviation = Latin words = the meaning, in common language. Feel free to copy and paste this into a document then clip it and carry it in your wallet.

Does That Rx Symbol Mean Anything?

Yes, this commonly seen symbol refers to prescriptions, but it’s actually an upper case R with a long ending stroke crossed by a short slanted line. That short crossing line means that it’s an abbreviation.

Rx = recipere = recipe

Joan Reeves aka SlingWords: The Word Slinging Adventures of Joan Reeves