Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Packaging opens up frustration

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, April 27, 2000 | 10:01 a.m.

Ruthe Deskin is assistant to the publisher. Her column appears Thursdays. Reach her at deskin@lasvegassun.com.

It might have started with the well-intentioned idea of keeping hazardous materials out of the hands of children, which certainly is a worthwhile endeavor.

But modern product packaging has gone far beyond that.

"Open here" often means "if you attempt to pull this, count on at least one broken fingernail."

Milk cartons have been a longtime pet peeve of mine. Perhaps it is because I grew up when fresh milk came in bottles with a top that flipped off easily. Cartons containing milk guide you to the side, which should be opened to form a kind of "V." After years of practice I still can't seem to get it right, and half the time the milk runs down the side instead of out of the spout.

Business letters often come with directions to pull a strip that never comes off evenly.

The most exasperating of all are medications in bottles. Using Tylenol as an example, here's how it goes:

First you must work a plastic ring off the top of the bottle. Then twist the cover so arrows meet. The arrows are not clearly marked, thus requiring the donning of reading glasses to be sure they are properly positioned. Now you lose another fingernail trying to press the cap off. Inside you must remove a cover which then reveals a wad of cotton. You search for some kind of instrument to dislodge the cotton and get to the pills.

If you didn't have a headache to start, you could have one now.

The tamper-proof caps on plastic bottles containing everything from Diet Pepsi to cranberry juice can be a real challenge. If strong wrists, mechanical instruments to grasp and twist, or other means don't work, there's a sure-fire remedy: Place the neck of the bottle in the space where a door meets the wall. Then close the door over the bottle and twist.

It works every time. I know because pantry doors in my home reveal depressions where unyielding bottles have been opened. It works perfectly on nail polish bottles, although it leaves scars in the wood where pressure is applied.

Many food cans now have small tabs on the cover. Pull back and the cover can be removed smoothly. Sure thing, if you have the strength to pull hard enough.

Everything comes packaged inside and out. Open a box of cereal and you face the puzzle of a tightly-closed wax paper bag.

Heavily stapled packages are often delivered with fruit inside. By the time you get the staples removed the fruit is spoiled.

With all the trouble in the world, why, you ask, would someone be frustrated with opening cartons, cans and correspondence?

It's simple. It helps take one's mind off terrified little boys becoming political pawns, murder, violence, starvation and natural disasters.

Are there others who wonder, as I do, why our tax money needs to be spent on pie-in-the-sky projects to revitalize downtown?

What is the finest compliment you ever received?

In a recent interview with a group seeking to preserve some memories of the past from Las Vegas old-timers, I was asked that question.

The answer was easy.

A Sun reader once wrote: "I like you because you have horse sense." I took it to mean common sense, something that needs to be applied to an alarming trend in Medicare.

In 1997 Congress adopted new regulations that would limit payments to home-care agencies. These agencies provide medical services to people who are sick or disabled but do not require hospitalization.

The result, of course, has been a sharp decline in spending for home care, but at what cost?

Congressional Budget Office figures do not show how payments to hospitals and nursing homes have increased, or how many people might be going without needed treatment.

It should be painfully obvious to congressional leaders that a hospital or nursing home stay is much costlier than a home visit. When figuring overall costs, the comparison must be a consideration.

Personal experience has taught me that home care is by far less costly and more humane than hospitalization.

There are areas for improvement in the Medicare program, which has become a giant dinosaur, unwieldy and overburdened with bureaucratic mishmash. But good horse sense would tell us that eliminating home care in favor of big hospitals and nursing homes is not the way to go.

Under the 1997 ruling Medicare payments for home health care will receive another cut of 15 percent next year. A bipartisan effort in both the Senate and the House will attempt to eliminate the 15 percent cut.

That would be an improvement, but not a solution.