Quaque die (on prescription)

Seen on a prescription, qd (or, written with periods, q.d.) means one a day (from the Latin quaque die).

The abbreviation is sometimes written without a period in capital letters as 'QD'.

However it is written, it is one of a number of hallowed abbreviations of Latin terms that have been traditionally used in prescriptions to specify the frequency with which medicines should be taken.</P> Other examples include:</P> > >b.i.d.

(bid or BID) is twice a day; b.i.d.

Stands for 'bis in die' (which means, in Latin, twice a day).

>t.i.d.

(or tid or TID) is three times a day ; t.i.d.

Stands for 'ter in die' (in Latin, 3 times a day).

>q.i.d.

(or qid or QID) is four times a day; q.i.d.

Stands for 'quater in die' (in Latin, 4 times a day).

>q_h: If a medicine is to be taken every so-many hours, it is written 'q_h'; the 'q' standing for 'quaque' and the 'h' indicating the number of hours.

So, for example, '2 caps q4h' means 'Take 2 capsules every 4 hours.'</LI></UL>