Child-resistant packaging for pharmaceuticals provides customers with an additional layer of trust in the manufacturers. It also showcases that the packaging company adheres to regulatory standards for child protection. Other than all of that, the pharmaceutical product can stay out of children’s hands, preventing any harm or injury. Therefore, pharmacies must consider child-resistant cases so that only adult patients can access prescribed medication. If you search for such packaging for your pharmaceutical products, you should know about the following essential features of a child-resistant glass bottle.
What Is Child-Resistant Packaging?
Child-resistant packaging for pharmaceuticals is designed to prevent children under the age of 52 months (at least) from opening the bottles and accessing the contents within them. Therefore, there are specific mechanisms in place that make it difficult to open the container. The user will need to look at the instructions to open the bottle, which is something a child won’t be able to comprehend.
Features Every Child-Resistant Glass Bottle Must Have
Here are the features every child-resistant glass bottle should have. A practical child-resistant glass bottle should have a combination of these features.
Safety Caps
These are push-and-turn caps, which involve pressing down on the lid before turning it counterclockwise to open it. Typically, a child under five years of age won’t have the necessary motor skills to open the cap. So, if not impossible, it will be difficult for them to open the bottle unless someone shows them how to do it. This feature is present on a child-resistant dropper as well as a glass bottle.
In addition to safety caps, manufacturers also have a foil seal at the opening of the bottle. Therefore, the user can remove the seal by pulling it off with significant force or puncturing it with a sharp object. Children will most likely be unable to perform either of these tasks with their tiny hands and limited strength.
Resealable Caps
Most pharmaceutical supplies won’t be consumed only once. Therefore, users will need to reseal the container after use. So, resealable caps are essential for every bottle and a child-resistant dropper. The user cannot rely on keeping children away from the medicine only the first time. Therefore, a great example of resealable caps includes plastic screw tops like mentioned above. If a glass bottle cannot be resealed, it cannot be considered child-resistant.
Clear Labelling on the Container
It is vital that pharmaceutical packaging on child-resistant glass bottles contain appropriate and clear labelling. The label on every manufactured child-resistant glass bottle must explicitly mention that the container is compliant with child safety regulations. If not on the label, this detail should be present elsewhere on the packaging.
In some cases, child-resistant compliant packaging manufacturers provide this information on the caps or bottles through stickers or stamps. Some packaging may even have this information moulded on the lids.
The packaging manufacturer must also meet regulatory standards by providing recommended storage information for the medicine. In addition to that, it should display contact information for local poison centres in the country. This way, the user will be able to contact the appropriate authoritative personnel if there is accidental ingestion or if the user comes into contact with corrosive materials.
Shatter-Resistance
Glass bottles for storing pharmaceuticals, cleaning supplies, etc., can be child-resistant if they are also shatter-resistant. Glass bottles should be able to break by dropping them to the floor or hitting them against a hard surface. In addition to new processing techniques, the bottles are also made of thick layers of glass to ensure that they are durable.
Glass is a good material for packaging because it maintains its structure. Therefore, corrosive products or chemicals won’t deteriorate the glass and affect the content within the container. There’s also a lower risk of leakages because of that.
Last Few Words
Every company that dispenses pharmaceuticals must use child-resistant glass bottles or droppers as standard packaging and storage. This protects the customers’ interests, and it can help maintain a professional image for the company.
With glass bottles, there should be a combination of safety caps, resealable closures, puncture-resistant or shatter-resistant materials, and precise labeling to meet all necessary child-resistant packaging standards. While such pharmaceutical packaging solutions help keep your company protected, they also ensure that children in customers’ homes are safe and away from materials they shouldn’t have access to.
Visit Med Lock, a Canadian packaging company, for more information about packaging and storing pharmaceuticals and cannabis products. Each product is designed to ensure maximum safety to end-users so that your customers stay safe and healthy.