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by Curious George on January 25th, 2005

Curious George

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Why are some over-the-counter drugs sold in blister packs (like sinus medication) and others sold in bottles (like aspirin)?

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Answers. 5 helpful answers below.

  • by Grandma Roses - my avatar is my real dog on October 8th, 2005

    Grandma Roses - my avatar is my real dog

    Many medications come in both forms of packaging. Usually the higher volume packs come in bottles , e.g., a bottle of 100 Tylenol tablets.

    I have 3 theories about why some meds come in blister packs.

    The first, and most logical, one is safety - it is harder for small children to poison themselves acccidentally with the medicine because they are not dextrous enough to open the blister packs. Also, the drug might stay 'fresher' and have a later expiry date if it is not exposed to air, except the small amount actually in the blister.

    The second is convenience. You can take a couple of blisters with you in a pocket, such as taking a couple of cold tablets to work. Handier than taking the whole bottle, and more sanitary than putting the tablets directly in a pocket.

    The third theory is marketing. A box of 12 tablets in a blister pack looks a lot larger and is easier to handle than a bottle small enough to hold only 12 tablets. The consumer's perception is that it is still a substantial enough purchase to justify the price - the price per tablet is a lot higher in 12-unit packs than 100-unit bottles.

    Just a couple of ideas.

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  • by maddock on August 27th, 2005

    maddock

    Drugs that are precursors in manufacturing illicit drugs, drugs that are dangerous in overdose and expensive drugs are blister-packed.

    The general idea is to deter people from 'slamming a bottle' of something that could potentially kill them, or make it more difficult to extract the medications in the case of such drugs as pseudoephedrine, which is the primary precursor to methamphetamine (normal production would require hundreds or thousands of OTC tablets, which would take hours to remove from the blister-packs).

    Expensive medications like loperamide, ranitidine and fexofenadine are blister-packed to kind of half-assedly assign a sense of value to the medication you just spent $18 for a week's supply of.

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  • by maddiver on August 7th, 2005

    maddiver

    Maybe because many of the sinus medication comes in a liquid cap form. Sometimes the caps will stick togeher. By keeping them in a blister pack it keeps them from sticking together.

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  • by John Doe on February 10th, 2005

    John Doe

    Sinus medication is often with the person who needs it. The company decides that it would be better to put it in a blister pack like gum, so when the user desires the drug he can just pop it out.

    Aspirin tends to be found almost everywhere in buildings and homes. Not many people carry around a bottle of aspirin, because if they are experiancing pain they can just go obtain some from the nearest place.

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  • by ParisH on January 24th, 2007

    ParisH

    Blister packs are for older people and rest homes. Easy to see and easy to get out.

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