Aspirin and acetaminophen are over-the-counter drugs that countless people have in their medicine cabinets. Many people use them to alleviate pain and reduce fevers, and these drugs might be the first course of action when exhibiting such symptoms. That’s what makes them popular purchases with consumers. And that’s why buyers should pay extra close attention to recalls that involve aspirin and acetaminophen products.
A new recall action involves bottles of Geri-Care Pharmaceuticals aspirin and acetaminophen, as they pose a risk of poisoning to children who might get their hands on these common drugs.
Geri-Care aspirin and acetaminophen recall
Geri-Care has issued a new recall for specific lots of over-the-counter aspirin and acetaminophen.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) press release explains that the regulated substances in these medicines must be stored in child-resistant packaging. That’s a requirement from the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA). However, the packaging from the products in this recall is not child-resistant. As such, it poses a risk of poisoning.
Children who get their hands on the drug bottles might be able to open them and swallow the contents. This is what could potentially lead to drug poisoning.
As a result, Geri-Care is recalling about 800 units of aspirin and acetaminophen bottles. The bottles include anywhere between 250 and 1,000 tablets. That means they can have a long shelf life, as most people keep these bottles for months or even years.
As you’ll see in the following list, it’s mostly aspirin users who should be aware of the recall:
- Extra Strength Acetaminophen 500mg Tablets – 1,000 tablets
- Regular Strength Enteric Coated Aspirin 325mg Tablets – 250 tablets
- Regular Strength Enteric Coated Aspirin 325mg Tablets – 1,000 tablets
- Adult Low Dose Enteric Coated Aspirin 81mg Tablets – 300 tablets
- Adult Low Dose Enteric Coated Aspirin 81mg Tablets – 1,000 tablets
Geri-Care sold the aspirin and acetaminophen products online through August 2021. Also of note, they cost between $2 and $10.
These are the online stores where you might have purchased the products: amazon.com, simplymedical.com, drugsupplystore.com, heypharma.com, otcsuperstore.com, blowoutmedical.com, vitamincoveusa.com, simplymedical.com, silverrodrx.com, zoro.com, healthproductsforyou.com, earthturns.com, cleanitsupply.com, herbspro.com, stomabags.com, ebay.com, atcmedical.com, and bettymillls.com.
What you should do
There’s nothing wrong with the drugs themselves. The aspirin and acetaminophen tablets are still good to use. You can take the pills at home to treat various medical conditions. However, if you have young children or there are children who routinely visit your home, the drugs can be a risk.
Therefore, you should store the bottles of aspirin and acetaminophen from this recall someplace where children can’t reach them. You can also store the tablets in different containers that are child-resistant. But remember to label the containers properly, so you don’t lose track of which drugs they are.
Of course, the best course of action is disposing of the faulty product to completely eliminate the theoretical risk of injury.
Geri-Care advises buyers to contact the company for a full refund or replacement of the recalled aspirin and acetaminophen products you might have at home. Make sure you check out the full press release at the CPSC, where you’ll find the contact information for the company.
Finally, make sure you check a couple of other recent drug recalls while you’re arranging your medicine cabinet. Important drug recalls include the Senna Syrup recall and the Rompe Pecho cold and flu medicine recall.
