Many children’s medicines are colored, especially liquids, chewables, and dissolving tablets. The good news: on over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, every inactive ingredient, including colors, is listed on the Drug Facts label. Here’s how to find them.
Important: never stop, skip, or swap a medicine your child needs because of an ingredient. If you have a concern, talk to your pharmacist or your child’s doctor first. See our medical disclaimer.
Where dyes tend to hide in kids’ medicines
- Liquid medicines and syrups: may be colored to match a flavor (red for cherry or berry, purple for grape, orange for orange).
- Chewable and dissolving tablets: may be colored, and the color can differ by flavor.
- Coated tablets and capsules: the coating or capsule shell can contain colors even when the inside doesn’t.
- Different flavors, different ingredients: the same brand can sell a dyed flavor and a dye-free version side by side. Some children’s medicines are sold in versions labeled “dye-free,” but always confirm on the ingredient list.
How to check the “Inactive ingredients” list
- Find the Drug Facts box on the outside carton (or on the bottle if there is no carton).
- Skip to “Inactive ingredients.” It’s near the bottom, after Directions and Other information. FDA rules require OTC drugs to list each inactive ingredient there, and for most OTC drugs they appear in alphabetical order (21 CFR 201.66).
- Look for color names. Common ones: FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 6, FD&C Blue No. 1, D&C Red No. 33, D&C Yellow No. 10. Because the list is alphabetical, “D&C” and “FD&C” colors often sit together near the top.
- Check for “Lake.” A name like “FD&C Blue No. 1 Aluminum Lake” is still that dye, in a form that doesn’t dissolve in water.
- Match the exact product. Compare flavor, form, and age range with what you buy.
The FDA’s page on the OTC Drug Facts label walks through each section of the box.
A note on Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 in medicines
Federal rules require many oral drugs that contain FD&C Yellow No. 5 to declare it by name, including the name “tartrazine,” and OTC oral drugs containing FD&C Yellow No. 6 to declare it by name (21 CFR 201.20).
Prescription medicines
Prescription medicines don’t come with a Drug Facts box, but their inactive ingredients are listed in the official prescribing information. You can:
- Ask the pharmacy for the package insert or patient information.
- Look up the medicine on DailyMed, the National Library of Medicine’s database of drug labels. Search the drug name and check the “Inactive ingredients” in the product table, matching the manufacturer and strength on your bottle.
Generic versions of the same medicine can be made by different manufacturers with different inactive ingredients, so the color in one refill may not match the next.
Ask your pharmacist
Pharmacists can look up inactive ingredients quickly and know which products and manufacturers are available. Helpful questions:
- “Does this medicine contain any artificial colors or dyes?”
- “Is there a dye-free version, or another manufacturer’s version without dyes, that would work the same way?”
- “Can you note on my child’s profile that we prefer dye-free options when available?”
If your child has had a reaction they think might be related to an ingredient, contact your child’s doctor. You can also report problems with medicines to the FDA through MedWatch.
Coming up: rule changes for Red No. 3 in medicines
The FDA has revoked authorization of FD&C Red No. 3 in ingested drugs, effective January 18, 2028. See the dye law tracker for details and sources.