Small Pills in Foil Blister Packs

bubblesbonbon

I wonder if manufacturers ever test the amount of effort needed to extract small pills from those foil backed blister packs.

I really feel sorry for those with bad hands because even as a big strong bloke, I struggle and curse every morning when trying to pop them out.

Eventually they tend to come out at the speed of a bullet, ricochetting around the room only to end up under some furniture, leaving my forearms so pumped up that I look like Popeye!

fleshandbone

Could you maybe use a knife or scissors to cut them out, and then put them all in a pill bottle?

agrinnall

It may seem like a small thing but I entirely agree with you, I had one lot of my hypertension meds that were pretty much impossible to remove without breaking the tablet, and another where the only way to get the tablet out was by using fleshandbone's suggestion of a knife to slit the foil. The manufacturers cannot have tested this, and for prescription medication I'm not sure what you can do about it as you don't really have any choice of supplier, you get whatever the pharmacy has sourced that day.

Sewsosew

You're not alone! I have this problem too, my hands are frequently numb so even using a knife could be difficult or dangerous.

If I'm lucky I only break or lose a few tablets.

bod1467

agrinnall wrote: »

I had one lot of my hypertension meds that were pretty much impossible to remove without breaking the tablet

Is that not the definition of irony? Making meds for hypertension so difficult to extract that you get frustrated and your blood pressure rises.

Waterlily24

I agree, drives me round the bend lol!

pulliptears

Agree totally. I have one brand of codeine thats ridiculously impossible to open. As I take them for joint problems, including my hands, I find the whole thing somewhat ironic.

donnac2558

I go from under, so instead of pushing down to get the table out. Use my finger nail from underneath and tip them into my hand.

esuhl

Heh. It's like the "childproof" plastic pots they put tablets in, which are better described as adult-proof. :-/

And don't get me started on the pair of kitchen scissors I bought for my new flat... only to get home and realise that the heat-sealed packaging required a pair of scissors to open them. Argh!

carlislelass

Can't the chemist put them in a bottle instead when you get a prescription.they do that for hubby

GwylimT

You can just have them put into an accessible pack, the pharmacist will also put them in the right slot eg morning, lunch, dinner, bed time etc.