I have been told that the reason is because the FDA required the pills to be packaged in 14 day dose bottles for approval to move from Rx to OTC.
If someone needed the pills more then 14 days, that said person should really be seeing a doctor.
If it was not for the 14 day doses per bottle, the FDA would not have agreed to the switch.
Source: FDA Approves Prilosec OTC to Treat Frequent Heartburn
https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=23698#
It’s bizarre reading this as a non-American, because in Europe and Australia all medicines come in blister packs. The only thing that comes in bottles are herbal / dietary supplements. The idea of a bottle of pills that you can tip back and swallow and overdose is something we only see in American media.
Taking the long acting antacids for more than two weeks can lead to vitamin B-12 deficiency among other things. This results megaloblastic anemia. The antacids also causes
proteins to be poorly digested which can lead to malnutrition. It can cause calcium deficiency.
In order for most forms of B-12 to be absorbed by the intestines they need to be activated by stomach acid first.
For this reason it’s recommend to take the course of pills in a single bottle, then stop taking for several weeks before starting another bottle, to allow more B-12 to be absorbed.
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