ELI5: Why is it so damn hard to open a bottle of pills?
Even arthritis pills come in those impossible to open bottles. What's the point of making it so hard to take your own medicine that you need!
Posted Apr 5, 2015, 5:17 PM UTC
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To keep little ones out of it and to give you time to make sure you're taking the right meds.
They usually line things up so that the opening is at the label.
3
Your pharmacist may be able to provide you with different bottles (or even packaged on cardboard w/plastic bubbles per dose) especially if you have no children in the house who would be at risk.
Some over-the-counter medication can be bought in easy-to-open bottles, some have large gear-shaped "easy open" tops exactly for this reason. Here is a typical example https://www.valuevalet.ca/images/upc/z/645796.JPG
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Every prescription I've gotten over the last few years has had reversible lids. When you flip them over, they're no longer childproof.
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Interesting, never seen these before and I work in a hospital & doctor's office.
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Why are you struggling to open childproof caps? Is it that you don't know how? (Push the lid down and turn). They're really not that difficult.
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To stop children from accessing the medication.
Many adults can't open them too
Trade off. It may be more difficult for an adult to open it, but restricting access to children is more important.
The fact that so few people today consider "kids getting into medicine cabinets" a major issue is a testament to how effective those containers are. The number of children ODing on accidentally consumed pills has dropped by more than 50% since 1970 -- the childproof pill bottle was patented in 1967.
Debatable in my opinion
and a medical professional's opinion is that pill bottles should be hard to open for children.
Here