Skip to main content
Bangladesh Healthcare Search

Reading medicine names and labels

How to keep your family's medicine list (brand, generic, strength)

A clear, up-to-date list of the medicines each person in your family has been prescribed makes doctor visits, pharmacy trips and emergencies easier. This guide suggests what to write down and how to keep the list useful.

Why keep a list

  • Doctors often ask which medicines a person is already taking. A written list is more reliable than memory.
  • Several brands can share one generic, so writing both names avoids confusion when a pharmacy has a different brand on its shelf.
  • In a hurry or an emergency, a family member can hand the list over instead of searching for boxes.

What to write for each medicine

Keep one section per person, with their name at the top. For every medicine, copy these details from the pack or prescription:

  1. Brand name, exactly as printed, for example including letters such as XR or SR.
  2. Generic name (the active ingredient or ingredients).
  3. Strength, with its unit, for example "500 mg". For combination products, write every part.
  4. Dosage form: tablet, capsule, syrup, drops, injection and so on.
  5. Manufacturer (the company name on the pack).
  6. DAR number, if the pack shows one.
  7. The doctor's instructions, copied word for word from the prescription. Do not rewrite or shorten them.
  8. Who prescribed it, and the date of the prescription.
  9. Start date, and the date it was stopped if a doctor stopped it.

Copy instructions only from the prescription or from what the doctor or pharmacist told you. Do not fill gaps from the internet or from memory; if something is unclear, ask the prescriber or a pharmacist.

Keeping the list useful

  • Update it after every doctor visit, and cross out stopped medicines rather than deleting them, with the date.
  • Keep a paper copy with your health papers, and a photo of it on a phone.
  • Photograph the front and back of each new pack, so the brand, strength, DAR number and batch are on record.
  • Write allergies or past reactions only as a doctor recorded them.
  • Take the list, and if possible the packs, to every appointment.

How to read a medicine pack: brand, generic, strength, DAR, batch, expiry

Checklist: preparing for a hospital visit

Using this site to fill in details

You can search a brand name or DAR number on this site to see the registry details for that product: generic name, strength, form and manufacturer, from the DGDA registry snapshot used here. If what you see differs from the pack, write down what the pack says and ask a pharmacist.

Medicine pages also have a Save button. Saved items stay only in the browser you saved them in: nothing is sent to a server, there is no account, and clearing your browser data or using another device means they are not there. Treat Saved as a shortcut, not as your family's record.

Search a medicine by brand name

Look up a DAR number

A medicine list is a record, not a plan. Do not start, stop or change a medicine based on the list; ask a registered doctor or pharmacist.

Frequently asked questions

Should I write the brand name or the generic name?
Both. The brand name is what is on the pack; the generic name shows what it contains. Add the strength and form too.
Where do I find the DAR number?
Many packs print it, often labelled "DAR No." or similar. If you cannot find it, leave it blank; the other details still help.
Can I keep the list on this website?
Only as a browser shortcut. Saved items stay in one browser on one device and are lost if browser data is cleared. Keep your own paper or phone copy.
Can a pharmacy give a different brand with the same generic?
Ask the pharmacist and the prescribing doctor. This site does not advise on switching brands.

This guide is general information only and is not medical advice. It does not tell you what any medicine is for or how to take it. For questions about your health or your medicines, ask a registered doctor or pharmacist.

Related guides

All guides