UKC

I am getting fed up of forever finding the blister packs of paracetamol/ibruprofen have self discharged their contents and there’s a sea of tablets in my first aid kit.

Is this a common issue, a me problem, or does anyone have any handy tips on what I could store the drugs in?

My first aid kits are pretty small so any container will have to be pretty svelte!

I've just upgraded my whole work first aid kit to a Peli 1040 in an attempt to stop the contents getting ruined in bad weather. It's certainly not svelte but at least everything inside is well protected.  

If you cut them into individual tablet sized blisters they should fit into any number of different small containers.

However my solution was quite simply to  stick the pack onto a bit of duct tape and then trim the edges of the tape to match the size of the blister pack.

Adding a sellotape, duct tape or masking tape reinforcement to the back of the blister strip stops the tablets breaking out, but usually needs a blade to get the tablets out. If they are 'seldom use' meds, you could leave a tear off tab in the duct tape. Otherwise, keeping each blister pack in a clear press seal pouch should keep your tabs in place regardless.

Empty blister pack into small hotel shampoo bottle. Stuff with cotton wool to stop pills breaking. Small and uncrushable.

35mm film canister.

Wrap the blister packs individually in cling film.

I think people have been known to put various drugs up their bottoms for safe keeping. 

Not sure how well protected Peli case will be. Yes they guarantee it against anything including being driven over by a tracked vehicle, thrown from a plane at 10,000 feet, but if you read their warranty they have 3 specific exclusions for "shark bite, bear attack and children under five".  Seriously it's written in there. What kind of half azzed warranty is that?

Find something safer for that first aid kit

It's certainly not just you. I just try to remember to swap out blister packs regularly and use the damaged ones at home.

Basemetals idea of tape on the back might be worth trying, especially if you use small strips so you can access a dose without opening the whole pack.

Still better than loose tablets, which after a few months ended up as powder at the bottom of your container (even with generous use of cotton wool).

I regularly use recycled plastic containers for all sorts of things.

My FAK is in a HDPE/PP square-ish tub that had skimmed milk powder in it; many of my kitchen 'dry goods' are in the bigger versions. I carry oil & balsamic vinegar, etc in little 60ml 'energy shot' bottles I have found discarded. I spotted a nice aluminium screw- cap tin containing lip balm today, for £1.25.

But for your drugs, I'd probably use a fizzy electrolyte tablet container.

I use a 35ml screw top tupaware I bought from Sainsbury's. I cut the blister packs to exactly the size of each tablet allowing me to fit about 50 tablets in a single pot. This fits neatly into a personal "pocket" first aid kit with my other medicals which is small enough I've no excuse not to leave in the bottom of the bag.

I hate this too, and I carry too many different pills to just decant them, some of which I want to keep the box/instructions with. Mine are currently in a big food bag, rubber banded together to minimise wiggling, but it's not perfect - almost want something like a miniature photo album with pouches... But if you've only got two types in larger quantities, something like a vaseline tin or little film canister (what happened to them? They were great! It'll be coin bags next...) might do it.

Stick the sheets back to back. Or front to front depending on how you look at it. Foil sides together. Small strips of tape folded around 2 edges. Never had an escape. I'm normally carrying 3 packs but the cetirizine can usually be trusted to behave.

Having spent much of this morning wrestling with an angry toddler (an artistic dispute over carving lines in the kitchen table with the end of a spoon), it’s quite validating to see these three things grouped together.

I just pack them carefully foil to foil and wrap tightly in a stout ziplock bag. They survive like this until they go out of date. The trick is to wrap them tightly so they don't rattle around. A blister pack loose in a bag doesn't last very long.

That is what I have always used. Unfortunately becoming rarer and rarer though. But so good that when my supply dwindles I might even go and buy some films just for the canisters.

Those are the 3 most destructive forces in nature 

In reply to Robert Durran:

Etsy, eBay, Amazon and all the usual places sell empty film canisters/pots. You may be hard pressed to buy a quantity less than 30, but they're cheap.

I have a big bag of them somewhere, I think. I'll go digging...

Or a Kinder Surprise capsule - perfect for a pair of latex gloves, or potentially some pills. 

To the OP - I stick strips of sellotape over the foil side of the blister packs. Normally there's 8 in a pack, and four strips covers them perfectly. I leave an overhanging tab to pull the tape off. Just the reinforcement they need. 

Small Ziplock works too

Small resealable plastic bags can be bought in a range of different sizes, although I've never had to buy any - I've always managed to recycle from small bits and pieces as supplied from online purchases. 

Google 'Small resealable plastic bags' and you'll get a wide range of sizes, which you should be able to match to your svelte first aid kits. 

For example:

https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/hobbies/jewellery-making/jewellery-making-stor...

although I concede that a quantity of 100 might be more than you need. 

These Nalgene bottles are cheap, teeny and really useful for things like olive oil, salt, sugar or pills:

https://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Accessories/Water-Carriers-Vacuum-Fl...

Water purification tablets seem to be particularly prone to disintegrating in the blister packs. One brand, Oasis possibly, used to sell them in a little flat plastic hard case which worked well.

60ml PET/PP bottles used for 'energy shots', which can be bought in places like B&M or Home Bargains for £1 (or found discarded in the street). Unlike HDPE/PP, PET doesn't taint.

Thanks to all who responded. I am on the recovery from the virus that lead to me raiding my first aid kit for paracetamol and ibuprofen only to find empty blister packs and a sea of pills in my first aid kit so will read through them and see what ingenious solutions there are. From a quick scan, at least it seems I am not alone!

(No idea what the down vote was for…..)