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Trying to open any package with rheumatoid arthritis hands can be next to impossible. In my new column for HealthCentral, I write about the problem with packaging design and share some workarounds:

“AS SOMEONE WHO lives with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), packaging is the bane of my existence. From medication dispensed in childproof caps and blister packs to theft-proof plastic clamshells encasing the scissors I need to open these packages, this is one of those daily frustrations that seems small but actually looms large. So many of the products we interact with every day are encased in packaging, so we are continually presented with barriers, as well as reminders of what we can’t do—use our hands and fingers to grab hold of the thing and pry it open. It hits both physically and emotionally, each individual moment adding to the ones that went before and at some point, you snap and collapse in a heap of tears (hopefully not in public).

One of my favorite movie scenes happens in “Words and Pictures” when one of the protagonists, a woman with RA, tries to open a bottle of painkillers. As anyone with this condition knows, this can be an impossible task for RA hands, especially when your symptoms are flaring. Desperate for relief, she finally gets a hammer and breaks the bottle, scattering those essential tablets all over the floor. It’s funny because it’s true. Although I’ve never personally taking a hammer to a medication bottle, I certainly have thought about it.

It’s a small moment, but it perfectly captures both how inaccessible packaging can be when the strength and dexterity in your hands are affected by RA and the violence of the emotions that accompany such situations. It can feel humiliating, reminding you of everything RA has taken from you. There is desperation as you face the possibility of not getting to this essential item you need. And there is a building anger at yourself, your hands, the makers of this packaging, and this unfair world in which we live. No one needs to be reminded of what they can’t do on such a frequent basis. Thankfully, there are gadgets and workarounds that you can use to sidestep the struggle.”

Read my column about opening packages with RA on HealthCentral.