What is not as simple as it seems?
Post your answer in the LEAVE A COMMENT section below. Then scroll back up and see what I have to complain about. Or you can wait until afterward . . . I’m not the boss of you. You know what? Don’t write anything for all I care! A clever comment can be harder to construct than it may seem.
. . .here are my thoughts.
What is not as simple as it seems?
Anyone who’s frequented a pharmacy has seen technicians in the back pushing pills across a counting tray. And anyone who’s had a UTI, skin infection, or any number of other bacterial infections has taken those big, chalky, generic Bactrim tablets. That white dust of the sulfa antibiotic gets all over the counting tray and spatula. Immediately onto that powdery tray goes the next medication, easily picking up a slight white tinge as it’s counted. You would think it’d be a simple concept: tray gets dirty, tray gets cleaned. Not always so. I’d go as far as to say rarely so. Keep this in mind if you have a severe—especially anaphylactic—allergy to any of the common chalky tablets (sulfa, codeine). A white discoloration on any of your other medications could potentially (but unlikely) be quite serious. I wonder if there’s ever been a lawsuit claiming an anaphylactic reaction (or even death) as a result of what is preventable with a single alcohol swab. Surely there’ve been sillier, more frivolous, cases than this that have reaped millions in compensation.
Something hit a nerve
We have designated trays for sulfa and penicillin.
Yes I agree! At my pharmacy, we keep a bottle of alcohol, paper towels, and alcohol wipes in the fill station to wipe the tray after every single fill for a sulfa medication or anything that leaves extra residue. Every single time we fill bactrim the tray it’s filled on is wiped before the next fill. We also have multiple counting trays for different drugs. Plus the trays are always cleaned multiple times a day. I don’t know why people assume pharmacy staff are incompetent?
Good answers. I can’t hit a golf ball straight or have never worked in a pharmacy. I think I’ll stay out of this one.
Would you say it’s Harder Than It Seems to stay out of this one?
Interesting, never thought about that. So not to get anyone else upset I am going to answer your question “what is not as simple as it seems”? For those that golf, or like me hit a little ball many times all over the place, I would say golf is not as simple as it seems. How hard is it to hit a little white ball down a fairway! I can tell you from a lot of experience it is not as easy as it seems. Take corn hole or horseshoes, for some not simple at all.
Making contact is generally not so hard. . . getting that darn ball to go the correct direction and distance, not so easy.
I would do well if they moved the fairway to the right and put the rough in the middle.
I never thought of that. I do have an allergy to Bactrim. I will be aware. I worked for a pharmacy over 40 years ago. We just wiped the counting tray down with a tissue. Wow how things have changed.
Trays are almost always cleaned still today. Pharmacies have strict policies about the cleaning. In the rare case it doesn’t happen, there’d likely be nothing to worry about other than a little white chalk on your other tabs or capsules.
Hi! Thanks for bringing this up. Actually, every pharmacy I’ve worked for has a special counting tray and spatula for both sulfa and penicillin each. Because allergy to these are frequent, techs are also required to clean these trays with IPA after every use. This is common practice in the industry. Thank you for your thoughtful question. 😊
That seems to be the consensus. Which I’m glad to hear. Thanks for the comment.
This is very judgemental and uninformed. Pharmacies have multiple counting trays designated for specific types of medication, including for sulfa-medications, hazardous, and penicillin. Don’t leave condescending comments on a profession you know nothing about, until you’ve done some research or asked questions to people who are actually within the profession.
Thank you for the thoughtful comment. I love to see people stand up for and defend our wonderful profession.