OTC Medications

[RedAngie]

Welcome, kiddies, to today’s episode of “What else can RedAngie complain about?”

Blister packs for over-the-counter pills. This one uses industrial strength foil and you can’t just push the pill through. I already crushed one. Instructions say to use to cut thru. Has the actual illustration, not the word scissors. Had to dig out my tiny manicure scissors.

Why do they have to make it so difficult? The package is already sealed. It’s Walmart generic brand, if that makes any difference.

 

[barkley]

preach! i hate those things as well-drives me nuts with the cold meds i keep on hand. the other pain on opening is the hard plastic packaging that the tiny tubes of abreva come in. i have to use the heaviest duty scissor/shears we have to cut into that packaging.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Welcome, kiddies, to today’s episode of “What else can RedAngie complain about?”

Blister packs for over-the-counter pills. This one uses industrial strength foil and you can’t just push the pill through. I already crushed one. Instructions say to use ✂ to cut thru. Has the actual illustration, not the word scissors. Had to dig out my tiny manicure scissors.

Why do they have to make it so difficult? The package is already sealed. It’s Walmart generic brand, if that makes any difference.

omg yes its so annoying! This is why we have a pill case specifically with just random things we all could use on vacation its insane trying to tear stuff open!

 

[usnuzuloose]

Welcome, kiddies, to today’s episode of “What else can RedAngie complain about?”

Blister packs for over-the-counter pills. This one uses industrial strength foil and you can’t just push the pill through. I already crushed one. Instructions say to use ✂ to cut thru. Has the actual illustration, not the word scissors. Had to dig out my tiny manicure scissors.

Why do they have to make it so difficult? The package is already sealed. It’s Walmart generic brand, if that makes any difference.

So you have to spend more money

 

[fly girl]

YES! Some are easy, but then you get the ones that have the peel the paper off (that is a whole different story because that folding the corner thing doesn't fold half of the time) to blister the pill through, but the stinking foil is still too thick for you to pop it out easily.

It is insanity. I get safety but come on! It is OTC medicine, not Ft. Knox.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I think some of the meds can be used either as an illicit drug (in quantity) or used in making some illicit drugs.

Marie's uncle, for whom we are his caregiver, takes an Imodium tsblet daily. Because of the aforementioned misuse, they now come in very difficult to open (scissors needed) and in a maximum count of 24 per package. We used to be able to buy 100 lose count bottles. I do the Imodium preparation about every 60 days, opening about 3 packages over about a 30 minute time frame. And my fingers are shot for several days after.

 

[NotUrsula]

I take the barrel of an old pen, use an emery board to sharpen the edge a bit, and use it to twist away the foil; works best on round pills, but it will work on capsules, you just have to tear away the other end (for which a needle-nose pliers is useful.)

I usually just sit down with a cleaned-out Rx pill bottle and "decant" a whole package at a time.

 

[Heather07438]

Making the package harder to open doesn’t real do anything to impact ‘the determined’.

We had Wal-sumtin benedryl which were impossible to get out without a sharp implement. That is unsafe. It was one of those peel and then pop thru the foil, and was also packaged off center making it worse. Maybe the real brand Benedryl donates the packaging to the no-frills brand to cut the competition.

 

[Micca]

I usually just sit down with a cleaned-out Rx pill bottle and "decant" a whole package at a time.

Well when you say it like that it sounds elegant. "Waiter, bring me your finest selection of acid reflux medication!"

 

[RedAngie]

I think some of the meds can be used either as an illicit drug (in quantity) or used in making some illicit drugs.

Marie's uncle, for whom we are his caregiver, takes an Imodium tsblet daily. Because of the aforementioned misuse, they now come in very difficult to open (scissors needed) and in a maximum count of 24 per package. We used to be able to buy 100 lose count bottles. I do the Imodium preparation about every 60 days, opening about 3 packages over about a 30 minute time frame. And my fingers are shot for several days after.

Yes, these were Walmart generic Imodium tablets. I heard about misuse in the past and should have realized about the packaging.

There were 4 sheets of 6 tablets in the box. I crushed the first pill trying to poke it thru the heavy foil. Then cut out the pill I consumed, then cut out the 4 remaining on the rest of the sheet to decant into the empty bottle I already have. There was one left in that bottle that I took yesterday.

It was a bit of a pain and the rest will have to wait until later.

I didn’t see any loose pills in sealed bottles anymore.

 

[disneychrista]

My guess is that it is supposed to be some kind of child proofing. I do what @notursala does and surgically removing them all from the packaging so I only have to get frustrated once instead of every 4-6 hours.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I didn’t see any loose pills in sealed bottles anymore.

I think those days are over. Misuse of many things spoil many things for many people.

 

[RogueX]

My favorite time to open blister packs is for my migraine rescue medication in the midst of a horrible migraine. If I'm lucky, my husband or daughter are home to pry the package open for that one little pill, otherwise I'm stuck trying to open it with my eyes barely open and in agony. Wretched blister packs.

 

[NannyBeBe]

Even some of the caps are a nightmare to open if one has arthritis. I have to get my daughter to open them for me.

 

[Kae]

Sometimes I find an off brand that is great and then buy it again and it is horrible

 

[Kitty 34]

Try getting into a PJMask toy.........we pretty much needed all of Grandpa's tool box to get into a $7 toy this weekend!!

OK....back to your drugs.

 

[Wendy1985]

I like the idea of opening them in advance and putting them in a empty bottle

 

[bcla]

I think some of the meds can be used either as an illicit drug (in quantity) or used in making some illicit drugs.

The primary one is pseudoephedrine, which can be used to make meth. Natural ephedra (ma huang) can also be used, although it's generally not available any more. It was pulled because users were dealing with racing heart rates and a few deaths. I don't even remember cooking up illegal drugs being mentioned as a reason why.

Illegal drug makers used to buy them in huge bottles of 100 to 500 and could easily pour them into their mixture. Now there are limits and they only come in blister packs - at least in the United States.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Welcome, kiddies, to today’s episode of “What else can RedAngie complain about?”

Blister packs for over-the-counter pills. This one uses industrial strength foil and you can’t just push the pill through. I already crushed one. Instructions say to use ✂ to cut thru. Has the actual illustration, not the word scissors. Had to dig out my tiny manicure scissors.

Why do they have to make it so difficult? The package is already sealed. It’s Walmart generic brand, if that makes any difference.

That's what you get for buying at Walmart.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I think some of the meds can be used either as an illicit drug (in quantity) or used in making some illicit drugs.

www.healio.com/news/cardiology/20190920/fda-approves-new-packaging-limits-for-loperamide