Auxiliary container for physical association with conventional medication container

[0010] In operation, a user simply couples the auxiliary container with the conventional container using the coupling mechanism. Regardless of the type of coupling mechanism used, it is not necessary to unseal, remove, or replace the conventional container's original lid, thereby eliminating potentially damaging exposure of the contents of the conventional container. It will be appreciated that, depending on the coupling mechanism used, the auxiliary container is potentially usable with any size or type of conventional container, thereby reducing manufacturing and inventory costs by requiring fewer versions than the replacement lids or caps of the prior art. The user then fills the auxiliary container and closes the lid to engage the closure mechanism, thereby securing the lid and preventing loss or exposure of the contents. Thereafter, the contents are available for immediate use whenever and wherever the conventional container is present, without the burden of carrying a separate large container, such as, for example, a large aspirin bottle, or the loss or contamination risk associated with loosely carrying individual pills or doses.

One reason for this may be the inconvenience of having to carry a separate bottle of aspirin in addition to one or more bottles of the patients' other medication(s).

Unfortunately, though this results in less carrying inconvenience, the small tablets are easily misplaced or lost or are otherwise not immediately accessible when needed.

Furthermore, where the supplementary medication is carried loosely, an undesirable or unsafe risk of contamination may arise.

In certain cases, such exposure can be highly undesirable.

Sublingual nitroglycerin tablets, for example, can lose potency if exposed for repeated or prolonged periods of time.

Furthermore, it will be appreciated that such a replacement lid or cap must be dimensioned to fit a particular size or type of bottle, thereby requiring that an impractically large variety of such lids or caps be manufactured.