Proper packing for medication is extremely important. Most people understand the need for sturdy bottles and dispensers and tamper-resistant packaging, but did you know that the kind of plastic you choose for your pharmaceutical packaging is also critically important? Read on to find out more about the two primary ways that the right kind of plastic makes all the difference at the drug store and beyond.
Protect the Product
Medications can be very sensitive to some factors that make packaging in anything other than food-safe plastics difficult and dangerous. Just a few of the factors that can damage a drug include:
- Temperature – Some drugs must be refrigerated or kept between a small range of temperatures.
- Light – Some drugs are so sensitive to light that they must be kept in opaque plastic containers.
- Cross-contamination – Some drugs can easily become a breeding ground for bacteria if it is accidentally introduced to the mixture. To prevent this, many liquid medications are stored in bottles that allow liquid to be withdrawn, but nothing to be added to the bottle after the initial fill.
All of this helps protect the prescription or other drug being stored inside from compromise and contamination, but one of the biggest factors in preventing products from being damaged is simply keeping them in water-proof, impact-proof plastics.
Protect the Patient
Another important factor in delivering medication properly to patients is preventing contamination from the plastic container itself. There are some types of plastic that can leach chemicals into the medication or other substances stored inside. In the case of pharmaceutical packaging, this can compromise the effectiveness of the medication and endanger the patient. Both exposure to potentially-hazardous chemicals and ineffective medication can prevent patients from getting well or even cause death in rare cases, so medication packaging should always be created from the right kinds of plastics.
Plastic suppliers keep the world healthy in ways that we rarely stop to consider. Next time you take your daily vitamins or relieve yourself of a headache or any other malady, remember – that plastic bottle is the reason you can safely do so!
