Of all the stupid questions I get asked during the course of a day, the ones I find the most irritating are when customers pick out an OTC product, bring it to the counter, and ask me how much they should take. I don't know exactly what they're expecting me to tell them that they couldn't ascertain by simply reading the label on the box. Hell, when they hand me the box, I immediately look for the directions on the label and tell them to follow them.
One lady called the pharmacy today to ask how much OTC miralax she's supposed to take. "Did you read the directions on the bottle?" I asked her.
"No, there are no directions on the bottle," she responded.
"Ma'am, there has to be directions on the bottle. Does the label peel back?"
"Oh, Yes it does. I see the directions now."
Basically, this woman required a pharmacist in order to tell her to peel the label back to find the directions. At no time in pharmacy school that I can remember was I ever taught to peel the label back on an OTC medication bottle to find the dosing. I know it's hard to believe, but I figured that one out all by myself.
That actually brings me to another point. Despite the fact that it doesn't take an Einstein to figure out to peel back the label, I don't think it's the best idea for the manufacturer to put that information in an area that isn't in plain sight. When a person is out in the OTC aisle trying to compare products, they need to be able to easily see the active ingredients and dosing for each product. The active ingredients, dosing, and indications should be immediately visible on all OTC products. All the other crap can be hidden under the label.
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