Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Sometimes the hands don't grip, or bend, or have enough strength, or they hurt, or whatever issue arthritis has caused. Why can't you believe that a person with arthritis could not open the bottle?
Be grateful you don't have this problem.
Thank you! Maybe I should have posted in the retirement forum.
OP - Because of my arthritis I sometimes have problems getting the lids off too so I know how frustrating it can be. I'd suggest you do what Elnina said to do, to practise opening and closing a bottle right at the pharmacy in front of the pharmacist/cashier before you leave so they can see for themselves what kinds of difficulties you are having and for you to ensure that you are doing it right.
.
That's a good idea. That way they can see how hard it is for me to open.
I remember in the 80's I would give the childproof bottle to my 3 year old nephew and he would get the top top off, go figure.
I asked my pharmacy to put it in their computer that from now on I am only to get easy open medication bottles. I even asked to sign an agreement that I do not have children and no young children in the home.
They finally did change it and put in their computer only to have every new employee fail to see it
My personal favorite not related to Rx but I purchased a bottle of over the counter cough medicine and I had to show my drivers license which made no sense whatsoever so I asked why. The cashier at the pharmacy said "we need to see you are of legal age". I said are you freaking kidding me!! You have me in your computer with all my information and you just got the RX my Doctor sent here and now you need my drivers license for cough medicine that is over the counter not even a prescription!! OMG
I've heard there is a government database that is tracking those of us who buy them. I've heard it will "flag us" if we buy so many within a 6 to 12 month time period IIRC.
You may want to google government tracking over the counter cough medicine, or add your state to it. I've also gotten flagged for other things like no doze.
I did google, only found two articles that don't really say much. Apparently NY city is tracking it to figure out when people are getting sick, for early detection of illnesses. The other article from 2012 says it's due to a small amount of kids OD'ing on it after getting addicted to it.
Independence, Ky., pharmacist Jack Nie with cough syrup that contains dextromethorphan, a common ingredient in cough syrup.
CINCINNATI — Soon in Kentucky, you might need to show an ID to buy cough syrup.
A bill filed for the next session that begins in January would make it illegal to sell one of the most common forms of cough syrup to anyone younger than 18.
The bill targets products whose only active ingredient is dextromethorphan, described by pharmacists as the most common over-the-counter cough suppressant. Robitussin DM and NyQuil use this chemical.
But some teenagers use it to get high.
Steele's bill wouldn't put the same restrictions on dextromethorphan that require cold medication pseudoephedrine to be limited and dispensed behind a pharmacy counter. Other states in the past two years have banned selling cough syrup to minors, among them California, New York and Louisiana, according to news reports.
My personal favorite not related to Rx but I purchased a bottle of over the counter cough medicine and I had to show my drivers license which made no sense whatsoever so I asked why. The cashier at the pharmacy said "we need to see you are of legal age". I said are you freaking kidding me!! You have me in your computer with all my information and you just got the RX my Doctor sent here and now you need my drivers license for cough medicine that is over the counter not even a prescription!! OMG
A lot of OTC meds are beginning to ask for ID, mostly because there are a lot of idiots out there using them in ways they weren't meant to be used to get high. And some states require ID regardless of age, or at some age that is well above 18 or 21. Where I live we card everyone, even if you're 110 yrs old you still need to show your ID. That information HAS to go into the REGISTER each and every time in order to complete the sell.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ocnjgirl
That's not true, most pharmacies will give you easy open caps no questions asked. All my prescriptions come with them. I didn't have to sign anything.
At some point you requested them and it was noted in your file. Childproof caps are the standard, as noted because of liability issues. In this case I would imagine that the pharmacist wouldn't want to be responsible for sending out a prescription straight from the pharmacy with a lid that wasn't indicated in the profile. Definitely a CYA move, but understandable in this day and age. Once the preference is documented it shouldn't be a problem to get the easy off lids.
OP - Because of my arthritis I sometimes have problems getting the lids off too so I know how frustrating it can be. I'd suggest you do what Elnina said to do, to practise opening and closing a bottle right at the pharmacy in front of the pharmacist/cashier before you leave so they can see for themselves what kinds of difficulties you are having and for you to ensure that you are doing it right.
If worse comes to worse and you simply cannot get caps off pill bottles then take little ziploc baggies with you to the pharmacy when you go to pick up your prescriptions. Get them to open the bottle of pills for you then YOU take the bottle and empty it out into the ziploc bag and drop the bottle into the same bag for ID purposes. Use a black felt pen to write the name of the med and instructions on the bag and leave the empty bottle inside the bag with the pills because it has needful information on the label on it.
If you have too much trouble with pill bottles you could also ask the pharmacist to dispense your prescriptions in blister packs. If they know that you have trouble getting bottles open they should have been already dispensing your meds in blister packs, or they should have at least suggested it to you. So tell your prescribing doctor and the pharmacist that you want blister packs from now on.
Be sure to check first to find out if it will cost you more money to have your pills dispensed in blister packs though, so you can know if it is or is not affordable for you.
If you don't know what blister packs are here is what they look like, and they are really easy to open each individual blister:
Blister packs can be even worst to open. My hub gets an OTC immodium in them, I have to cut them open for him to put in another bottle. Easier for pharmacy to give OP adult caps. They should go back tomorrow with all of their bottles to prove their point. Apparently the pharmacy tech didn't think OP would have an issue. I would have stayed there and gotten loud saying, excuse me, I asked for an adult lid because I can't open it, why did you flip the top back to child resistant? What do you need from me to give me the lid I'm asking for? I need to take this medication and can't. I'm a new customer, you're not making my purchase pleasant. My old pharmacy took care of it for me. I'd threaten to return the medication to them if they did not give me the right lid.
My peeve is huge bottles which I then peel the label off of and switch to smaller bottles when I get home.
If that's the problem, OP only needs to push the little tab against a table edge, I mean - get a little inventive there. I don't think there are any other flippable lids for the elderly.
Did she said at the pharmacy that she CAN'T PUSH DOWN THE TAB to lift the lid?
I think there was communication problem and the pharmacy don't know the details, just that she didn't know how to lift the childproof lid.
And I also think that per pharmacy liability they have to handle medications to the customers with childproof lid on. What the customer do with it after purchase is not their business anymore.
Sure they could be more accommodating, but perhaps the policy is very strict about that because of some past incidents?
From your first article. OP should offer to sign a form provided by the pharmacy. Not giving child resistant caps is at their discretion because it is their license on the line if a child were to get a hold of the medication and OD
The entirety of the PPPA is beyond the scope of this article. The expectation for pharmacy practice is that orally administered prescription medications must be dispensed in containers with child-resistant packaging, with rare exceptions.
One key point: Either the patient or the prescriber may request a standard-closure container. There is no legal requirement for documentation of such requests. However, it is in pharmacists’ best interest to have proof in case an issue arises. If a professional liability action ensues as a result of a child ingesting medication from a container lacking a safety cap, a pharmacist should have evidence that a standard closure container requested. It is important to note that patients may sign a blanket waiver requesting that all that their medications be dispensed in nonsafety containers, but a prescriber cannot make such a request. A physician or other practitioner authorized to prescribe must make each request for a nonsafety container individually.
Amazing how many people haven't read this thread to see that the OP cannot physically open the bottle with the child proof cap on. The OP is not a moron so stop saying nonsense like you watched the pharmacist open the bottle so now you know how to open it. They never said that they didn't know how to open the bottle, but that they physically cannot open it. Good grief. Some of the people on here are dense. Wait until you can't open a child proof bottle. You won't want people telling you how dumb you area either.
I don't have arthritis and I still can't open many of these child proof bottles. Even ibuprofen. It's like the bottle is tighter than Fort Knox. You'd think a million dollars worth of gold was in that bottle. I feel for you OP. I really do. These bottles are getting harder to open and they are not making them easy for people with any kind of disability. I have a few I have thought about sawing open. Do you have any neighbors you're friendly with? If this happens in the future, maybe ask one of them if they can help you. I hope you are able to get your meds!
No suggestions for how to get the bottle open the first time but for further use I suggest going to Dollar Tree and getting some of the small plastic bottles they sell in the arts & crafts section. They are 3-4 inches tall with a normal screw off lid. Put the pills and the original bottle in the DT bottle.
Amazing how many people haven't read this thread to see that the OP cannot physically open the bottle with the child proof cap on. The OP is not a moron so stop saying nonsense like you watched the pharmacist open the bottle so now you know how to open it. They never said that they didn't know how to open the bottle, but that they physically cannot open it. Good grief. Some of the people on here are dense. Wait until you can't open a child proof bottle. You won't want people telling you how dumb you area either.
OP - Because of my arthritis I sometimes have problems getting the lids off too so I know how frustrating it can be. I'd suggest you do what Elnina said to do, to practise opening and closing a bottle right at the pharmacy in front of the pharmacist/cashier before you leave so they can see for themselves what kinds of difficulties you are having and for you to ensure that you are doing it right.
If worse comes to worse and you simply cannot get caps off pill bottles then take little ziploc baggies with you to the pharmacy when you go to pick up your prescriptions. Get them to open the bottle of pills for you then YOU take the bottle and empty it out into the ziploc bag and drop the bottle into the same bag for ID purposes. Use a black felt pen to write the name of the med and instructions on the bag and leave the empty bottle inside the bag with the pills because it has needful information on the label on it.
If you have too much trouble with pill bottles you could also ask the pharmacist to dispense your prescriptions in blister packs. If they know that you have trouble getting bottles open they should have been already dispensing your meds in blister packs, or they should have at least suggested it to you. So tell your prescribing doctor and the pharmacist that you want blister packs from now on.
Be sure to check first to find out if it will cost you more money to have your pills dispensed in blister packs though, so you can know if it is or is not affordable for you.
If you don't know what blister packs are here is what they look like, and they are really easy to open each individual blister:
I have arthritis in both thumbs, and blister packs are torture for me. Much worse than opening child-proof bottles. My generic Chantix comes in blister packs and I am cursing the whole time trying to push through all the layers of cardboard.
I would just change pharmacies, frankly. Rite Aid and CVS provide non-childproof caps with no issue.
I have arthritis in both thumbs, and blister packs are torture for me. Much worse than opening child-proof bottles. My generic Chantix comes in blister packs and I am cursing the whole time trying to push through all the layers of cardboard.
I would just change pharmacies, frankly. Rite Aid and CVS provide non-childproof caps with no issue.
I have toyed with the idea of buying a band saw just for those clamshell/blister packages.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
