Why is everything so damned hard to open?

Rae said:
I have a hard time opening pill bottles that are child proof. They are also adult proof. I struggle with a dinner knife to go around the lid, trying to loosen it enough to twist. Sometimes it opens after that and other times I have to keep trying. I forget to tell the pharmacy to use the other lids on them.
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Even if your pharmacy has instructions in your record to use the easy-to-open lids for pill bottles, sometimes they forget. That happened to me recently. I had to go back to ask them to open it for me, and substitute the regular top for the child-proof one. The guy was very apologetic and said he didn't know why they had done that. And he fixed the problem.

But I have to wonder how many products just get thrown away or can't be used until a strong, hefty man comes to visit (usually a son or grandson). They shouldn't make it that hard.
 
Jazzy1 said:
Does anyone feel like everything these days is overpackaged and unnecessarily hard to open? I feel like I need to wear a holster with scissors just to get through an average day. And forget “tear here” and “easy open resealable” they usually don’t work.
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I agree. I may have to make a kit with small scissors and a tiny box cutter cuz I can't get into anything. Even the bottles of soda are getting difficult to get into. I end up hurting my wrist trying to twist off the cap. I may hafta forego bottles at this point. And the childproof caps...don't even get me started on those.

Here lately the caps on some of the products are so messed up you can't even get into them. I've had to pry off lids and stab my way into bottles on occasion. It's getting to be a major PITA. Maybe the stores need a senior citizen medicine section they can keep on lockdown that has bottles we can get into or maybe they need a tool that pops those dumb caps off for us like the plastic doohickies on the old dvds that had to be removed with special tools. LOL!
 
Sunny said:
Even if your pharmacy has instructions in your record to use the easy-to-open lids for pill bottles, sometimes they forget. That happened to me recently. I had to go back to ask them to open it for me, and substitute the regular top for the child-proof one. The guy was very apologetic and said he didn't know why they had done that. And he fixed the problem.

But I have to wonder how many products just get thrown away or can't be used until a strong, hefty man comes to visit (usually a son or grandson). They shouldn't make it that hard.
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I finally got them to start using those with mine. And if I pick them up and they're not I'm gonna make them get them for me before I walk out the door.
 
I've had that problem on and off for decades. I wouldn't be able to open some of them now if I hadn't purchased an under the counter device that you just hold the jar up to it and turn. It will open them every time. I've had it for years but it sure has paid for itself.
 
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Sunny said:
Even if your pharmacy has instructions in your record to use the easy-to-open lids for pill bottles, sometimes they forget. That happened to me recently. I had to go back to ask them to open it for me, and substitute the regular top for the child-proof one. The guy was very apologetic and said he didn't know why they had done that. And he fixed the problem.

But I have to wonder how many products just get thrown away or can't be used until a strong, hefty man comes to visit (usually a son or grandson). They shouldn't make it that hard.
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I had that very thing just recently I had gone to the ER with a sprained ankle and they called in triple strength Ibuprofen that I was supposed to take every four hours. I had to wait all day for someone to get home and open the childproof cap. They could see my age and the arthritis diagnosis, how many little kids did they think I had?
 
Della said:
I had that very thing just recently I had gone to the ER with a sprained ankle and they called in triple strength Ibuprofen that I was supposed to take every four hours. I had to wait all day for someone to get home and open the childproof cap. They could see my age and the arthritis diagnosis, how many little kids did they think I had?
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health practitioners whilst having some quallies - sometimes lack commonsense?
 
I surprised that they haven’t done away with the traditional plastic prescription drug bottles in favor of a simple inexpensive plastic ziplock bag or paper envelope similar to those used in some other countries.

Eco-Friendly-Biohazard-Medicine-Ziplock-Bag.webp
 
The packaging depts are inept and indifferent. Or they don't care if you can't open or use their products. You BOUGHT it, that's enough , our efforts don't matter to them. The same with DIY assembling things. Either they don't know how hard it is for some people and or they don't care. They think everyone has the skill and patience. No incentive for them to make it easy. They are concerned about breakage, not convenience. Dynamite, anyone?
 
JustDave said:
Anybody buy the new child proof packages of hearing aid batteries lately? You're in for a treat. My guess is that more children will be eating batteries as frustrated adults loose hearing aid batteries into carpets and under chairs as they try to get them out of the packaging. It's the worst well intended blunder since they stopped producing gas cans that poured gas without spilling gas all over your shoes.
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A friend recently called me for advice on buying hearing aids, one of the things I advised her was NOT to buy an aid that used the tiny batteries....reasons...' will not last as long', 'hard to handle with arthritic hands, especially removing from package'.
 
Aunt Bea said:
I surprised that they haven’t done away with the traditional plastic prescription drug bottles in favor of a simple inexpensive plastic ziplock bag or paper envelope similar to those used in some other countries.

Eco-Friendly-Biohazard-Medicine-Ziplock-Bag.webp
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I know my pharmacist said some medications aren't supposed to be exposed to light. One time they put my Roflumilast in baggies and then back to the bottles. And when I asked for the baggies that's when they told me they're not supposed to be exposed to that much light I guess. Never seen meds in a paper envelope before. IDK why they can't make a dark baggie for the sensative meds.
 
Sunny said:
It's not only pill bottles. The childproof caps are probably due to lawsuits against the companies after accidents happened. But why do they have to put such tight caps on food items? I had to buy a special tool just to open Coke bottles!
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do you have a picture of what you bought for that?
 
My wife brings me containers to open all the time. One of the tricks I use is to press down real hard on the lid, then quickly twist it open. Doesn't work everytime but helps a little. My doctor prescribed an iron supplement because my red blood cell count stays low. Those pills are in a blister pack requiring a foil backing to be pilled off. I said more than one cuss word over those things.
 
As a kid I loved the taste of St. Joseph's Aspirin for Children. When I was 6-ish years old and no adults were nearby, I'd climb up the counter, take the bottle out of the cabinet, unscrew the cap, and chew up a dozen or more of them. No recollection of medication reactions, but in hindsight? Eek!

Since young children are often in my home, and the above behavior is burnished in my memory, I'm grateful for childproof caps on prescription and OTC meds.

Agreed, some some packaging is nearly impossible to open without TNT assistance, but much of that is to discourage current high levels of retail shoplifting. People suck.
 
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