How to Look Up Generic Names for Prescription Drugs

Prescription drugs are crucial to healing diseases and maintaining health. However, brand-name prescription drugs can be very costly. Generic alternatives are often available, allowing you to take the same drug at a much lower cost.



However, the drug's brand name is a copyright of the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the medicine. Generics cannot use the brand name, so they utilize the technical, scientific name for the active ingredient--for example, "ibuprofen" instead of "Advil." You can look up the generic names for prescription drugs with a few simple steps.

Instructions

• 1

  Go to an online prescription drug database such as RxList or Medline Plus. These websites, and others like them, allow you to look up the generic names of prescription drugs by brand name.

• 2

  Type the brand name of the drug into the "search" bar. Make sure that the name is spelled and capitalized correctly.

• 3

  Hit the "enter" key. Displayed results should give you the generic equivalent for your brand-name prescription drug, for example "Atomoxetine HCl" for "Strattera."