Over-the-counter (OTC) meds are usually packaged and sealed for our protection. In fact, sometimes opening a bottle of aspirin sometimes feels like you're trying to break in to Fort Knox. But the special packaging isn't only to make it difficult to get into, it's to make it tamper resistant. So, if your OTC meds have been messed with, it will be evident to your eye. If the plastic seal is punctured, missing, or the printed words don't line up -- bring that medication right back to the store you bought it from and report the problem. Other things to look out for:

• Is the cotton insert torn, pulled, sticky, or stained? If it appears to have been reinserted, don't take any chances.
• Check the bottom of the container for punctures or other signs of tampering.
  
• Make sure none of the capsules are broken, cracked, or appear differently than the others in the package.

Looking for signs of tampering should be your first step before ever taking an OTC medication. Also, be sure to read the fine print to verify that the OTC med won't negatively interact with any prescription medications. If you have any questions, ask the pharmacist. They're happy to help out with the non-prescription medications as well!

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After considering whether to allow Merck's Mevacor cholesterol-lowering drug to be sold over-the-counter in pharmacies and drugstores nationwide, the FDA said Friday that it has rejected Merck's proposal.

Citing that too many people without cholesterol problems would have access to the drug, the FDA ruled that Mevacor must remain a prescription product. It's amazing that many people would choose to use Mevacor even though they had no business taking the drug.

Does anyone do research before just buying any drug, or are purchasing decisions made on slick marketing alone? Amazing.

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Think that OTC drug you bought for a few dollars recently will help you with nasal decongestion? Not according to the FDA, which said this week that studies of the ingredient phenylephrine have proven it to be ineffective in battling all those sniffles.

The FDA, in uncharacteristic public clarity, claimed that phenylephrine products are small, poorly designed and decades-old in terms of effectiveness for nasal congestion problems. In other words, they can't hold a candle to the ravages of the current nasal clogging that millions of us see each year. Why are these products sold and marketed like they are, then?

There is a reason. After the U.S. Congress enacted a law last year that made major OTC drugmakers Pfizer, Procter & Gamble and more change from the ingredient pseudo-ephedrine stock products containing that ingredient behind pharmacy shelves (as it can be used to manufacture the drug methamphetamine). Phenylephrine was the replacement, but now it's being discovered as basically useless. Nice.

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