This is the kind of esoterica I love! Now I know that my doctor prescribed 10mg Ambien to be taken orally before bed, and that I get thirty of them. I feel as though I have decoded some encoded spy message— [Except that no one was trying to keep info from you…] Shhh! Don’t ruin my fun!
How Often to Take Your Medication
- ad lib — freely, as needed
- bid — twice a day
- prn — as needed
- q — every
- q3h — every 3 hours
- q4h — every 4 hours
- qd — every day
- qid — four times a day
- qod — every other day
- tid — three times a day
When to Take Your Medication
- ac — before meals
- hs — at bedtime
- int — between meals
- pc — after meals
How Much Medication to Take
- caps — capsule
- gtt — drops
- i, ii, iii, or iiii — the number of doses (1, 2, 3, or 4)
- mg — milligrams
- ml — milliliters
- ss — one half
- tabs — tablets
- tbsp — tablespoon (15ml)
- tsp — teaspoon (5ml)
How to Use Your Medication
- ad — right ear
- as — left ear
- c or o — with
- od — right eye
- os — left eye
- ou — both eyes
- po — by mouth
- s or ø — without
- sl — sublingual
- top — apply topically
Taken from http://healthinsurance.about.com/od/prescriptiondrugs/a/understanding_MD_Rx.htm
I remember being equally thrilled to learn the letter-number combinations that served as shorthand for panda researchers at the zoo. If memory serves, 4C was some kind of erratic movement or twitching. I wish I could find a cheat sheet for that info…
You need to add this to your collection of glossaries:
http://www.freqofnature.com/fr.….codes.html
In fact, you could write a poem using only these two sets of abbreviations. I’ll wait here.
‘AL’ for left ear should read ‘AD.’ Kate actually caught that one. We will leave you with your secret code. The dog barks at midnight…and we miss you.
by ‘AD,’ I of course mean ‘AS.’ O, I burn with shame