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Medication packaging

(13 Posts)
SueDonim Wed 01-May-19 21:29:26

Would something like this help with the bottles?

www.amazon.co.uk/Capitol-Kitchen-Helper/dp/B01CD7QEVQ/ref=asc_df_B01CD7QEVQ/?hvlocphy=9046855&linkCode=df0&hvptwo&psc=1&hvnetw=g&hvadid=309802992151&hvpone&hvlocint&hvpos=1o1&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl&hvqmt&tag=gransnetforum-21&hvtargid=aud-548500765412:pla-701293259217&hvrand=10329589253358493035

agnurse Wed 01-May-19 18:37:24

Usually if a person is on more than two or three medications, we would recommend dosettes or blister packaging for them.

I agree that this would also be helpful for people who have difficulty opening child-resistant containers.

PSA: "Child-proof" containers are not actually "child-proof". They are designed so that it should take a child more than about 5-10 minutes to open them. The key idea being that if you have a toddler or preschooler (among the most common ages to experience poisoning from medications) you should be checking on them before they have a chance to get into your medication! This is why I use the term "child-resistant". They can still get in. It just should take them long enough that someone will notice.

Charleygirl5 Wed 01-May-19 18:00:41

To access one bottle I have to line up a mark on the lid with 3 arrows on the bottle itself. I have major problems because I am losing my sight so fiddle around for ages but eventually I get there.

I do not know how many tiny tablets I have lost because they fly out of the packaging never to be found by n=me but frequently Tara. Luckily she does not like the taste so leaves them.

callgirl1 Wed 01-May-19 17:38:54

So, not son!

callgirl1 Wed 01-May-19 17:38:38

I`d like it if some tablets weren`t so tiny that not son nimble fingers can`t pick them up, and they`re hard to see if you drop one.

Sussexborn Wed 01-May-19 16:03:27

These blister packs seem to vary from area to area. Some are delivered weekly. It also seems they are not always available on the NHS.

helensbaypharmacy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_0183-e1319303946138.jpg

Not sure how easy they would be to access if the person is frail and lives alone,

Dosette boxes
If the person you care for has a complicated medication regime with different pills taken at different times of the day, a pharmacist may decide to provide them in dosette boxes.
These are plastic boxes with small compartments that clearly show which pills need to be taken at what time of day.
Dosette boxes are not always available for free on the NHS and they’re not suitable for every type of medicine. Ask your pharmacist for more information about dosette boxes if you think they could be helpful.

Oldwoman70 Wed 01-May-19 15:30:02

Thanks for the replies. I didn't know you could ask for medication to be supplied in easy-open packs - I will pass the information to her. Not sure what can be done about screw top bottles of medicine!

fizzers Wed 01-May-19 15:04:24

I used to get three months supply of anti convulsant medication in a brown bottle with a child proof cap on .... now I have to collect 12 cartons of pills in carboard packaging, each with a printed label on, each containing instructions, what an absolute waste of paper resources, not to mention that these pop out pills are not safe to either children or elderly

SueDonim Wed 01-May-19 13:54:52

You can ask for meds to be dispensed in easy-open packs. You can also buy gadgets in some pharmacies to help open packaging.

MrsEggy Wed 01-May-19 10:46:51

I used to ask the pharmacist for non-childproof packaging for my old Mom.

kittylester Wed 01-May-19 10:26:58

Or she could ask for her medication to be packed in dispenser packs for her.

CassieJ Wed 01-May-19 10:21:01

You can ask the pharmacy for medication to be in easy opening bottles. I am not sure about pill packaging, it may be worth asking pharmacist if there is an easier way of getting the tablets.

Oldwoman70 Wed 01-May-19 10:12:04

I had a phone call from an older neighbour this morning asking for help - she was having problems opening a bottle of medication she had collected yesterday from the pharmacist. I tried and I couldn't undo the cap either eventually I resorted to a nutcracker and managed to undo it. She also asked me to pop her pills out of their metal like packaging as she usually had to resort to using a knife! (I plan buying a 2 week pill dispenser today and filling it for her).

Why is medication put into packaging which is so difficult to open. I understand the packaging has to be tamper proof but I wonder how those living alone and with no-one to ask manage.