What’s With Directions on Meds?

Last night I woke up at 2 am and had the worst headache ever! I reached for a bottle of Anacin Headache and proceeded to look at the directions.

With one eye open and the other closed, I searched the label on the bottle but didn’t find any directions on how many to take.  I peeled the label back to see if the directions might be on the first page.  They weren’t.  There were lots of warning notices but no directions.  I looked at the other side of the peel and the first direction was:

  • don’t give to children under 12 (well that didn’t help me.  I had such a bad headache I read on…)
  • do not take more than directed (ummm… okay, how many do I take)
  • the smallest dosage should be taken (ok, please let me know how many I need to get rid of this headache!)
  • then, take two every four hours…

Not only is the type teeny tiny and could hardly be read without the use of a magnifying glass, but the actual directions were nearly four pages into the “directions.”

By the time I finally saw the directions on how many to take, my headache became a migraine!