# Why Blister Packs vs. Pill Bottles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 9, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blister-packs-vs-pill-bottles/535522 "2010-04-09T14:03:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blister-packs-vs-pill-bottles/535522/21 "2010-04-10T10:36:20Z")
I have thought that there would be a great market opportunity for a custom pharmacy - making up packets of pills like those packs of vitamins, just one pack of maintenance meds per scheduled dose time [frex, I take a selection of meds at 5 am, 1pm, 5 pm and 9 pm, slightly different assortment of pills in each dose time] so I would have a sheet of cardboard divided into 7 days columns, with 4 rows, one for each timeslot and a small bag of pills adhered to each timeslot. All I would have to do is grab the specific little packet of pills for that timeslot. Would be great in institutional or caregiver situations where people are on maintenance meds [rather than the add this drug and see if it works phase of chronic illnesses] I hate blisterpacks that are impossible to access the meds within=( there are 2 available brands of omeprazole in my end of hte state, one is impossible to open, the other is perfect - just a thin skin of foil that the pill pops through with only slight pressure. Guess which one the Navy carries in their pharmacy?☹ ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blister-packs-vs-pill-bottles/535522/22 "2010-04-10T11:56:12Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I have thought that there would be a great market opportunity for a custom pharmacy - making up packets of pills like those packs of vitamins, just one pack of maintenance meds per scheduled dose time [frex, I take a selection of meds at 5 am, 1pm, 5 pm and 9 pm, slightly different assortment of pills in each dose time] so I would have a sheet of cardboard divided into 7 days columns, with 4 rows, one for each timeslot and a small bag of pills adhered to each timeslot. All I would have to do is grab the specific little packet of pills for that timeslot. Would be great in institutional or caregiver situations where people are on maintenance meds [rather than the add this drug and see if it works phase of chronic illnesses] The pill organizer I use for a 28 day supply is actually intended for one week-four times a day. So you would have to fill it once a week, but it is worth the effort. In fact, I use two of them one for morning pills and the second for evening and I put a 28 day supply in each. They are really good for one pill I take in which the dosage alternates between one 5 mg pill and 1 1/2 pills. Anyway, I strongly recommend that organizer. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blister-packs-vs-pill-bottles/535522/23 "2010-04-10T13:32:17Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I had to take industrial strength iron supplements for a while. Not only were the pills in blister packs, they were in indestructable blister packs. I had to get the heavy shears to cut them open. > > I finally told the doctor that I was not taking the pills because I couldn’t get the packs to open, and he said it was to prevent kids from eating the pills. I don’t care…if a product is too difficult to open, then I’ll either find a different product or go without. Or maybe the reason you were taking the supplements was that you coudn’t open blister packs…😃 ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blister-packs-vs-pill-bottles/535522/24 "2010-04-10T13:45:45Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I had to take industrial strength iron supplements for a while. Not only were the pills in blister packs, they were in indestructable blister packs. I had to get the heavy shears to cut them open. > > I finally told the doctor that I was not taking the pills because I couldn’t get the packs to open, and he said it was to prevent kids from eating the pills. I don’t care…if a product is too difficult to open, then I’ll either find a different product or go without. I had the same problem with those damn iron pills. I finally sat down with the shears one day and cut the whole mess of them open and put them in a bottle. Took forever! And the darn things didn’t work, so I had to do the IV iron treatment. Believe me, five one-hour sessions hooked up to an IV was a lot easier to take than cutting those stupid blister packs open! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blister-packs-vs-pill-bottles/535522/25 "2010-04-10T14:26:08Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The only time I’ve encountered that was when it was really the type you were supposed to peel. I was using a knife. Checked that the first time I tried to push through and broke a pill. Nope, just really, really thick foil. For a few days, I pre-stressed it with a fingernail, then I got fed up, sat down one evening, and sliced every single one open with a sharp knife and put all the gorram pills in an empty pill bottle. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blister-packs-vs-pill-bottles/535522/26 "2010-04-10T14:35:55Z")
Some drugs, like [pseudoephedrine hydrochloride](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoephedrine), are deliberately put in packaging that is difficult to open easily. This is an attempt to cut down on the speed cookers who use it as a base material. I don’t use or manufacture speed, and I hate the blister packaging. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blister-packs-vs-pill-bottles/535522/27 "2010-04-10T15:10:37Z")
When I was working in a lab and the product I was testing involved blister packs that were hard to open, I perfected a rather rapid technique of pulling the tablets out of the pack using a pair of tweezers like [these](http://media.digikey.com/photos/Wiha/mfg49376.jpg). Poke one tine into the back of the pack next to the tablet, pinch the foil/cardboard and twist to pull the foil/cardboard off. The tablet either falls out, or pick it up with the tweezers (which was more useful to me when doing lab testing). It’s amazing the range of no-longer-useful “skills” I picked up working there. I can also pipette ambidextrously, but I’m never going to have to do that again. And I’m very good at remembering longish strings of numbers and letters long enough to transcribe them somewhere else without having to go back and look every couple of characters. Not something worth putting on a resumé! ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blister-packs-vs-pill-bottles/535522/28 "2010-04-10T15:31:30Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > The pill organizer I use for a 28 day supply is actually intended for one week-four times a day. So you would have to fill it once a week, but it is worth the effort. In fact, I use two of them one for morning pills and the second for evening and I put a 28 day supply in each. They are really good for one pill I take in which the dosage alternates between one 5 mg pill and 1 1/2 pills. Anyway, I strongly recommend that organizer. I have 4 of [these](http://www.amazon.com/Duro-Med-Weekly-Pill-Organizer-Clear/dp/B000EX1UHK) … so my month is taken care of, and the cells are big enough to hold the needle for my autoinject =) I had been using[this](http://www.shophometrends.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_911602) one, but when I aded in the calcium horsepills, i needed more space. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blister-packs-vs-pill-bottles/535522/29 "2010-04-10T16:23:47Z")
As has been noted, some antibiotic courses, like azithromycin, are given in just a few doses: two pills on day one, then one pill per day for the next 4 days due to the potency. It makes more sense to put them in a blister pack which is easy to carry and does not allow a cap to pop off and spill pills all over one’s pocket or purse. ---
**Author:** ![Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/db5fbb/32.png) [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hirka_T_Bawa)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blister-packs-vs-pill-bottles/535522/30 "2010-04-10T19:59:09Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I have thought that there would be a great market opportunity for a custom pharmacy - making up packets of pills like those packs of vitamins, just one pack of maintenance meds per scheduled dose time [frex, I take a selection of meds at 5 am, 1pm, 5 pm and 9 pm, slightly different assortment of pills in each dose time] so I would have a sheet of cardboard divided into 7 days columns, with 4 rows, one for each timeslot and a small bag of pills adhered to each timeslot. All I would have to do is grab the specific little packet of pills for that timeslot. Would be great in institutional or caregiver situations where people are on maintenance meds [rather than the add this drug and see if it works phase of chronic illnesses] When I did my intermediate rotation at a independent pharmacy, they did this exact thing. They would fill a blister pack with the medications you were suppose to take at a particular time. Of course, they did charge a pretty penny to do this, and insurance wouldn’t cover it. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blister-packs-vs-pill-bottles/535522/31 "2010-04-10T20:29:27Z")
When I took Accutane, it came in a blister pack which seemed to be hard to open by design. You have to open the box, tear off the paper tabs covering the blisters, and then pop the pills out. The entire time you’re looking at pictures of deformed babies and warnings saying “Do not take while pregnant!” I think they wanted to drill the message into your head. It sure worked for me; I have not gotten pregnant ever since I took it as a teenage boy. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blister-packs-vs-pill-bottles/535522/32 "2010-04-11T19:35:58Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > Child safety types say that blister packs are more secure from small children than “child-safe” caps are. Most kids can get into a child safe cap pretty easily. > > As others have mentioned, there are marketing and preservation issues for some medications. You can be pretty sure it’s a marketing decision when there are empty slots like Nyquil does with their liquigels. That’s just a way to keep prices and packaging sizes consistent while reducing the actual amount of medicine you get. I’d concur - it’s purely marketing bullshit. **Typo Knig** and I both take Prilosec. Which, being over the counter, is packaged in those damn blister packs. Theirs have been _particularly_ hard to open. Recently they redesigned the packaging… which was a big PR thing for them. Basically the slogan is “Our packaging used to be 10 out of 10 for sheer suckitude, now it’s only 8.5!!”. We bought the generic for a long time… not only cheaper, but theirs was only 9.5 for suckitude. Then the packaging on the brand-name was redone, so we switched. I actually emailed the Prilosec people saying “uh, it’s enough of an improvement that we’ve switched back to the brand name… but it would still be a HELL of a lot better if it were available in _bottles_ for us long-term users”. I got a robo-reply saying “Yay! That’s what we hoped you’d think!!” (in other words, they completely ignored the second part of it). Sudafed (and the generic) - yeah, we like our contraband here - is in blister packs but _their_ blister packs are _easy_ to open. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blister-packs-vs-pill-bottles/535522/33 "2010-04-11T19:41:13Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The only time I’ve encountered that was when it was really the type you were supposed to peel. I was using a knife. Except a lot of the time even _peeling_ them was impossible (see my post about Prilosec). We used scissors. > [@aruvqan](#): > > I hate blisterpacks that are impossible to access the meds within=( there are 2 available brands of omeprazole in my end of hte state, one is impossible to open, the other is perfect - just a thin skin of foil that the pill pops through with only slight pressure. Guess which one the Navy carries in their pharmacy? Check the prices online from Amazon - cheapest I’ve found (brand name at least, the generic _may_ be slightly cheaper) and you can get even more of a discount if you “subscribe”. We’ve never found the generic with the really-easy version that you mention. Of course even the brand is a pain, but it is at least _possible_ to open without weapons. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blister-packs-vs-pill-bottles/535522/34 "2010-04-11T21:44:28Z")
> [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](#): > > When I did my intermediate rotation at a independent pharmacy, they did this exact thing. They would fill a blister pack with the medications you were suppose to take at a particular time. Of course, they did charge a pretty penny to do this, and insurance wouldn’t cover it. It figures, make something convenient and Insurance refuses to pay. Though the vitamin bags style would probably be cheaper than blister packs… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blister-packs-vs-pill-bottles/535522.md?page=1)