Q: I just broke my wrist and had surgery to have a plate inserted. It was a foolish mis-step going down my fieldstone stairs behind my house. I do have help from family members who live a few miles away and will gladly help if I ask, but that is not my problem. I’m an independent 80-year-old male and want to continue to do things for myself. Having said this, have you ever tried to open a can of cat food one-handed or – and here’s my gripe – attempted to open a bottle of medicine when you have to push down on the top and turn it counterclockwise with one hand? Trust me, it ain’t fun!
When my wife was alive she always came to me for help opening her prescription bottles because her fingers were gnarled from arthritis. I was her knight in shining armor. Well, now I know what she went through. I want to remain as independent as I possibly can but I need a little understanding as to why drug stores do things that make my senior years so danged difficult.
A: The answer is rather simple but let me provide some information to help readers understand why things are the way they are. Early attempts at controlling poisonous injuries began after World War II. Then in 1957 the National Clearinghouse for Poison Control Centers was established, in part, to collect data from individual poison control centers and provide them with information on the many household products involved in childhood poisonings. This was followed in 1970 with the Poison Prevention Packaging Act that was signed into law by then President Richard Nixon. The law required the use of child-resistant packaging for such things as hazardous materials, household chemicals and medications to include over-the-counters and prescription varieties. Before the act went into effect, unintentional poisonings by drugs and harmful products were considered by most pediatricians to be the leading cause of injury to children five and younger. Despite this, still more than 500,000 telephone calls are made to poison control centers each year according to the Motherlode post. Data from the CDC which supports improved packaging controls reports over 60,000 visits annually to emergency rooms because of unsupervised harmful medication ingestion. The first product to fall under the law was aspirin, followed by hazardous substances and over-the-counter drugs.
There was a time when pills tasted terrible, may have been dispensed in a paper envelope with instructions written by ink pen for the receiver. Now they are available in blister packs, capsules that are brightly colored, and flavored for easier ingestion. Liquid cough syrups taste like cherries or bubble gum, so do we have to think for a nanosecond why children are drawn to them? Let’s not forget that children are inquisitive and ready for a challenge. They’re able to figure out how a cap comes off the bottle. It’s a no brainer and it is frightening.
Clearly, the recognition and action since WWII is admirable, albeit moving at a snail’s pace. What needs to be improved on now is how to protect our younger generations while allowing individuals with handicaps that include arthritis, bone fractures and other disabilities to be able to have access to the drugs they have been prescribed. As I see it, you have a few options. Swallow your pride and ask a friend, neighbor or even a visiting nurse to open your pill bottles for you, providing you do not have small children in your home or visiting EVER! Or, purchase a weekly pill container and ask that same person to set up a week’s supply of medication all at once. In that way, your pills will be easily available to you for a week at a time and can be stored in a safe location. The units can be purchased at your local pharmacy for a nominal amount of money. Or, and here’s the truly easy one, take your bottles to the pharmacy that filled the prescriptions for you and ask them to change the tops to snap offs. Some bottles even have an upside down screw cap that is easy to maneuver. You do have a legitimate gripe and I’m with you all the way but you must need what has been prescribed for you so take steps to help yourself. And, the next time you get a prescription filled, remind them what to do.
