Gelatin capsules

one of those containers that a 25 CENT toy comes in at the grocery store?

i have used a airborne container, but those cost more.

I've never seen a 25 cent toy container, but I am thinking that this might be much larger than a gelatin capsule.

I already have plastic containers of similar size to a toy container.

–B.G.–

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Best of all is to ask your provider for a professional sample of the creamy medicine. I carry a tiny, tiny little tube of the newest, best anti-fungal cream in case a a day of wet feet develop into athlete's foot between my toes. I also got many tubes of spiffy, dermatologist-approved sunscreen. Those I refill with a food syringe (like for injecting (dead) turkeys with flavor solutions) that I keep full of sunscreen from a large, bulk container. I also refill other, smallish sunscreen containers to avoid schlepping the huge container to the tropics and back all the time. I like this approach because the factory labeling tells you what is inside and minimizes the number of times I brush my teeth with anti-fungal cream or flavor my food with laundry detergent.

PM if there is a specific medicine you are hoping for in a small container and I can ask around. Unless it is a narcotic – then you're on your own!

But if you can't find a factory-labeled container, repurpose something else like a mini tube of toothpaste (Chinese hotels have MUCH smaller tubes than US hotels), or order up empty tubes with screw tops from those online supplies of cosmestic packaging.

With the exception of David, nobody seems to understand what I am asking about. A gelatin capsule is a gelatin cylinder about 0.7" long and about 0.2" wide. Just now I placed ten of them on my scale, and the reported weight was 0.0 grams!

For David, I have no stinking provider, so I have no professional samples of anything. How many times are you really going to brush your teeth with an anti-fungal cream, and does that get good results? I think not. I may have to start prowling around at the drug store to see what is there for samples.

I have a teeny tiny tube that I use for toothpaste, and it originally came from a Japanese hotel, not a Chinese hotel. What I am looking for now is about one third of that size.

–B.G.–

Folks who are into homeopathic medicine might use something like this:

http://www.herbaffair.com/capsule-filling-supplies/

Is that what you have in mind?

I wonder if a small plastic transfer pipette might work. Seems like you could heat or glue seal it and a little work with a razor blade or any other blade would give you an opening. Guess it would depend a bit on just how thick your cream is.

You can get them down to at least 1mL so likely as small/light as you want.

These are still larger than you are looking for but about the size of some medicine samplers , can be squeezed and re-filled:

the clear empty one is an American (I think) minty single dose mouth wash, the other is the typical give away soy container.

Bob,

I am trying to understand what the "ideal" container is that you are looking for. You can't always get stuff out of straws. Is that because the straw is too stiff? or, because the stuff sticks inside? If your issue is the later, then I can't imagine anything that would work better.

If you don't like the stiffness of the straw, then perhaps you can look into soft tubes. If that would work for you let me know and I will spend sometime thinking about a better tube (something flexible than can easily be heat sealed, is thin walled but robust enough to hold up and can be easily sourced).

"Is that what you have in mind?"

Peter, those are gelatin capsules.

Franco, I have soy sauce containers like that. I'm looking for something smaller. Those work for liquids, although they can leak.

Now, the SD card is something I hadn't thought of.

" because the stuff sticks inside "

Yes, Ben, most narrow tubes will make the cream stick.

–B.G.–

That particular SD card is not the type you are after.
You need a waterproof version, both Samsung and San Disk make them.
Like Gore Tex as they can keep liquids out they can also keep liquids in.

now, I'm hooked. What creamy medicine do you need in that small (tiny!) of quantities, and what advantage does the capsule hold over a tube. Do you ingest it? Suppository? As a nurse, this has me in suspense…

It seems as though David has this stuff all figured out.

–B.G.–

It seems like if you can crush the container, whatever is inside will come out, but I guess I've never tried it with straws.

You could get one of those vacuum sealers that you can use to make your own bag. You should be able to make tiny little bags (vacuum sealed) just the right size you need. The cheaper route would be to try press 'n seal plastic wrap. Put a glob of cream in it, fold over and press, then cut to size. I should be durable enough for such a small amount of cream. You could also try heavy duty aluminum foil cinched and glued

1st World gram weenie problems. I hope Bob finds and shares his solution.

Guilty as charged.

In the old days, I would simply go without since the containers were too heavy or two bulky. I didn't carry too much in the way of first aid or toiletries. But then, when some problem came up, I would have to deal with it until the trip was over. As time went on, I got smarter about carrying minute quantities of stuff.

The tipping point happened in the late 1980s. I went on a group trip (eight people, four days), and one woman was severely struggling with her load on the uphill trail. Before the rest of us helped her carry parts, we examined the details. She had a cosmetics/toiletries kit that weighed 6 pounds! It seemed like half of that weight was in containers.

In some cases I packaged a food supplement into a piece of plastic soda straw. In some cases it was a skin cream that I had crammed into a larger tube. Otherwise it was firestarter material all sealed up. I kept collecting small containers, and I found ultralightweight applications for many.

The gelatin capsules are about as lightweight as I can find for some things. Alas, they won't work for liquids or creams.

–B.G.–

Bob, I have no idea if this will work for liquids/creams or not, just a thought hit me while reading the thread…

My daughter takes prescription meds, and when she goes away to summer camp they require meds be packed in individual foil packs (easier for them to distribute to kids, I'm sure less liability, etc). When I explained what I needed to my local pharmacy they had some empty sheets of blister pack and just handed me one. 10×10=100 plastic bubbles, and a separate foil sheet that adhered to back of the bubble sheet. You can cut the sheet and carry only the number you need.

Normally these are for carrying a pill or tablet, but might work for creams/liquids? Certainly you couldn't open it by pushing through like with a pill, perhaps nick the foil back with the tip of your sharpie?

Depending on the viscosity of the cream, you might be able to use the 1"x1" (or larger) tiny ziplocs. The plastic thicknesses vary — those you buy in craft stores are typically 2 mil and those you get at the pharmacy for meds are typically 4 mil or greater.

The blister pack idea is clever.

" When I explained what I needed to my local pharmacy they had some empty sheets of blister pack and just handed me one. 10×10=100 plastic bubbles, and a separate foil sheet that adhered to back of the bubble sheet. You can cut the sheet and carry only the number you need. "

This sounds interesting, and it is all DIY. I guess I need to make some inquiries at a local pharmacy. I would buy it online if I knew what it is called.

–B.G.–

This might work
http://www.pillthing.com/products/weekly-or-monthly-blister-pack-kits

Gerard, very interesting, thanks.

–B.G.–

Whoa that is awesome and I never knew such a thing existed!

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