Have you ever looked at one of your pet’s prescriptions and noticed that it appears to be written, at least in part, in a foreign language?
Veterinarians use a lot of abbreviations when writing out prescriptions. They aren’t intentionally making their instructions impossible to understand, but owners might have some difficulty deciphering them nonetheless. Thankfully, most pet pharmacies are knowledgeable about veterinary lingo, but it certainly doesn’t hurt for the owner to double check to make sure what is printed on their pet’s medications matches what is written on the doctor’s prescription.
Acronyms that commonly appear on veterinary prescriptions include:
AD right ear
AS left ear
AU both ears
BID twice daily, every 12 hours
D/C discontinue
EOD every other day
IM intramuscular
IN intranasal
IV intravenous
NPO nothing by mouth
OD right eye
OS left eye
OU both eyes
PO by mouth
PRN as needed
q every (e.g., q4hrs means every 4 hours)
QD once daily, every 24 hours
QID four times daily, every 6 hours
QOD every other day
Rx prescription
SC under the skin
SID once daily, every 24 hours
SQ under the skin
TID three times daily, every 8 hours
