Case · Contextual word error
FDA DailyMed warning said "ever" instead of "per"
Human-verified by ContextRx · Company class: US OTC repackager / private-label distributor · Severity: high
Why do short words in stock warnings get skipped?
A patient or caregiver opens Drug Facts looking for the severe liver-damage warning — specifically the concurrent-alcohol language that names how many alcoholic drinks a day matter while using the product. That frequency slot is part of how the warning is supposed to stay usable under real use. Alcohol warnings are stock language for a reason; the concurrent daily limit has to stay clear.
Under a stock skim, the line almost holds. Liver-damage framing is familiar. Concurrent-alcohol copy sits where habit expects it. Short function words are where tired eyes glide — the rest of the block looks finished while the frequency word fails.
Then the daily limit is nonsense.
Published word: ever.
Required word: per.
ContextRx human-verified the contextual word error on this FDA DailyMed label. The intended sense is drinks per day while using the product — the named daily limit patients need. What shipped was ever, a correctly spelled word that turns that limit into nonsense. Spellcheck accepts both. A reader who knows how those warnings are supposed to sound catches the swap.
"Ever" and "per" are short, common, and easy to swap in paste, OCR, or template edits. The line still reads as English. The concurrent-use frequency does not. For a medical writer, RA reviewer, or labeling QC lead, that is the useful shape: ordinary spelling tools clear it; a human reading for sense does not. Dual review of warning blocks exists partly for short words like these — easy to miss, easy to ship, hard to defend once someone reads the line aloud. You can almost hear the intended phrase. The published word is still wrong. A garbled frequency word does not rewrite toxicology; it does make the warning harder to use correctly when it matters. That is why this pair earns a place next to the louder swaps — small word, high-stakes warning, spellcheck silent.
Short wrong words hide inside familiar frames. If you review warning stacks, the concurrent-drinks line is worth a slow pass even when the rest of the block looks stock.
Company class: US OTC repackager / private-label distributor. No product names, no strengths, no DailyMed URLs.
Related: FDA DailyMed NSAID warning said "attach" instead of "attack" · FDA DailyMed wipe label said "doctor" instead of "water" · FDA DailyMed Poison Control line said "night" instead of "right".
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How do you check function words in boilerplate?
Questions about this case
Why doesn't spellcheck catch "ever" instead of "per"?
Both are real, short words. Spellcheck passes them, and the stock warning around them looks finished.
Why do short function words get missed?
Short function words are where tired eyes glide, and the rest of the warning block looks finished.
How do you catch them?
Give boilerplate a separate read-for-sense pass, including frequency words, instead of waving it through as already-approved text.
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