How to Read a Doctor's Prescription: Rx Symbols and Dosage Abbreviations

A doctor's prescription can look like a secret code: a big Rx at the top, short Latin abbreviations like OD and p.c., and numbers such as 1+0+1. None of it is meant to confuse you. These are old shorthand that doctors and pharmacists share so a prescription stays short and clear. Once you know the common ones, you can read almost any prescription written in Bangladesh. This guide explains the symbols, the dosage abbreviations, and the Bangladeshi 1+0+1 dose pattern, so you know exactly what to take and when.

What does “Rx” mean on a prescription?

The Rx symbol at the start of the medicine list comes from the Latin word recipe, meaning “take”. It marks where the actual medicines begin, below your name and the date. Everything listed after Rx is what the doctor wants you to take. The line above Rx is usually your name, age and the date; the lines below are the drugs; and at the very bottom are advice, tests and the follow-up date.

How a Bangladeshi prescription is laid out

Most prescriptions here follow the same order, whether handwritten or printed from a prescription generator:

• Header: the doctor's name, degrees and BMDC number, with the chamber name and hours.
• Patient line: your name, age, sex and the date.
• Rx and the medicines: each drug with its strength, how much to take, when, and for how many days.
• Advice and follow-up: tests, diet or rest advice, the next visit date, then the signature.

Drug names are usually written in English while the advice is often in Bangla, because that is what families read most easily at home.

Common dosage abbreviations (and what they mean)

These short forms tell you how often and when to take a medicine. They come from Latin, but you only need the meaning.

What does “1+0+1” mean in a prescription?

This is the dose pattern you will see most often in Bangladesh. The three numbers stand for morning + midday + night. So:

• 1+0+1 means one dose in the morning and one at night, nothing at midday.
• 1+1+1 means one dose three times a day.
• 0+0+1 means one dose at night only.
• ½+0+½ means half a tablet in the morning and half at night.

The number is how many tablets or spoonfuls; the position is the time of day. A note like “p.c.” beside it means take it after food. So “Napa 500, 1+0+1, p.c.” means one Napa 500 mg tablet after breakfast and one after dinner.

Units and forms you will see

• mg, mcg, g: the strength of the medicine, as in Napa 500 mg.
• ml: millilitres, for syrups and drops.
• tab, cap: tablet, capsule.
• susp, syp: suspension, syrup.
• gtt: drops, often for eye or ear medicine.

If you want to check what a particular brand contains, look it up in the ChamberBD medicine directory.

Why are some prescriptions so hard to read?

Doctors are busy, and handwriting suffers for it. An unclear prescription is a real safety risk: the pharmacy may read the wrong drug or the wrong strength. This is one reason more doctors now print prescriptions from a free e-prescription tool, where every line is typed and legible. If you cannot read a line on your own prescription, do not guess. Ask the doctor or the pharmacist to confirm it before taking anything.

What does OD, BD and TDS mean?

OD means once a day, BD (or BID) means twice a day, and TDS (or TID) means three times a day. They tell you how many times in 24 hours to take the medicine. A dose written as 1+0+1 is the Bangladeshi way of writing BD: one in the morning, one at night.

What do p.c. and a.c. mean on a prescription?

a.c. means take the medicine before food, and p.c. means take it after food. Some medicines work better, or are gentler on the stomach, one way or the other, so the timing matters. If it is not written, after food is the usual default, but always follow what the doctor wrote.

Should I trust a prescription I cannot read?

If you genuinely cannot read part of your prescription, do not act on a guess. Ask the doctor or a registered pharmacist to read it back to you, and check the medicine name against the medicine directory. A prescription should also come from a registered doctor in the first place; you can read more about who can write a prescription in Bangladesh. When in doubt, a clear printed prescription removes the risk entirely.

Reading a prescription gets easy once you know the pattern: Rx marks the medicines, the abbreviations tell you when and how, and 1+0+1 maps to morning, midday and night. If you are a doctor, the simplest way to spare your patients any guesswork is to print a clean, legible prescription, which you can do free with the ChamberBD prescription generator. If you are a patient, keep your prescriptions and look up any drug in the medicine directory.

This article is general health information, not medical advice. Always follow the exact instructions your doctor wrote, and ask a pharmacist or doctor if anything on your prescription is unclear.