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What are the benefits for blister packs except overdose protection? Are they recyclable like pill bottles? One of the reasons US uses pill bottles is pharmacies

What are the benefits for blister packs except overdose protection? Are they recyclable like pill bottles? One of the reasons US uses pill bottles is pharmacies, where pharmacists fill in any amount of pills needed in a bottle, e.g. if you need just 3 pills of really strong pain killer, you get a bottle with three pills. As far as I remember blister packs packaged in a factory and not customizable. Personally, I use habit tracking app to check in every night to mark I took my pills.

jack_pp 6y ago
Where I live pharmacies cut blisters with scissors
bjo590 6y ago
I significantly prefer blister packs over pill bottles. Blister packs are easier to travel with. They take up less space in my medical cabinet. I can see how many pills I have left without looking inside of an opaque container. I actually would feel safer if my pills were packaged in a factory by a machine than at a pharmacy by a human.
- scarby2 6y ago
  I much prefer pill bottles, i find blisters to be fiddly, especially when they add the paper on top that needs to be peeled off before i can push the pill through the foil (i mean why would they do this)
  - bigwavedave 6y ago
    > especially when they add the paper on top that needs to be peeled off before I can push the pill through the foil Oh this drives me _nuts_. I ended up keeping a small Leatherman knife in the bathroom to slice through the paper/foil in the middle of the pack and peel the covering to each side.
monalisauzi 6y ago
Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm not even sure how blister packs help protect against accidental overdose beyond the protection you'd get from just counting the pills in the bottle. In either case, you could accidentally skip a day and double dose later on based on the number of pills remaining, especially if you aren't sure what day you started taking the medication. I can definitely see the benefit of a product that doesn't rely on user reporting to track doses.
- OJFord 6y ago
  The point as I understand/was taught it in school is that the time it would take you to pop out enough* e.g. paracetamol to do really serious lasting harm (vs. 'just' being quite sick or needing stomach pumped) gives a sort of 'cool-down' or re-evaluation period, or requires significant planning, whereas a bottle can be downed impulsively. (* and that if you're taking them as you go, you'll probably be physically incapable/less inclined to continue far enough after a certain point)
  - monalisauzi 6y ago
    Ah, I hadn't even thought of that, but it makes sense. It certainly can't hurt!

jack_pp 6y ago

Where I live pharmacies cut blisters with scissors

bjo590 6y ago

I significantly prefer blister packs over pill bottles. Blister packs are easier to travel with. They take up less space in my medical cabinet. I can see how many pills I have left without looking inside of an opaque container. I actually would feel safer if my pills were packaged in a factory by a machine than at a pharmacy by a human.

scarby2 6y ago
I much prefer pill bottles, i find blisters to be fiddly, especially when they add the paper on top that needs to be peeled off before i can push the pill through the foil (i mean why would they do this)
- bigwavedave 6y ago
  > especially when they add the paper on top that needs to be peeled off before I can push the pill through the foil Oh this drives me _nuts_. I ended up keeping a small Leatherman knife in the bathroom to slice through the paper/foil in the middle of the pack and peel the covering to each side.

monalisauzi 6y ago

Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm not even sure how blister packs help protect against accidental overdose beyond the protection you'd get from just counting the pills in the bottle. In either case, you could accidentally skip a day and double dose later on based on the number of pills remaining, especially if you aren't sure what day you started taking the medication. I can definitely see the benefit of a product that doesn't rely on user reporting to track doses.

OJFord 6y ago
The point as I understand/was taught it in school is that the time it would take you to pop out enough* e.g. paracetamol to do really serious lasting harm (vs. 'just' being quite sick or needing stomach pumped) gives a sort of 'cool-down' or re-evaluation period, or requires significant planning, whereas a bottle can be downed impulsively. (* and that if you're taking them as you go, you'll probably be physically incapable/less inclined to continue far enough after a certain point)
- monalisauzi 6y ago
  Ah, I hadn't even thought of that, but it makes sense. It certainly can't hurt!