Does anyone know anything about Swiss pharmacies?

[FelicityBeedle]

Sorry to use chat for traffic.
I’m in Switzerland at the moment and just had a bit of a fall from a bike. Fine but very grazed and bruised. I brought paracetamol and ibuprofen but no co cofamol. Do you know if I can get codeine or anything stronger than what I’ve got over the counter at the pharmacy?
Thanks in advance.

If they are anything similar to German and Austrian pharmacies then unfortunately not. All codeine based painkillers are on prescription only. Even then, they're usually only prescribed for broken bones or post-op recovery. If you go to a doctor with cuts/bruises/sprains then you'll usually get prescribed a slightly stronger NSAID (eg 400mg dexibuprofen or mefenamic acid).

I also tried looking for co-codamol (paracetamol with low-dose codeine) but I'm not even sure that exists. It seems like the German/Swiss healthcare systems either offer low-strength OTC painkillers or jump to much stronger opiates. DH was given Tramadol for a broken bone during a skiing accident and I was given synthetic morphine after my csection. The "in between" level of low-strength codeine is rarely used.

Not very helpful - but they do sell a version of Lemsip in Swiss pharmacies with amphetamines in. You will feel focused and organised enough that you won't mind about pain from fall!

The initial pain has died down now, hopefully will be fine but I imagine I’m going to be very stiff tomorrow. Thanks for all the advice, and I’m tempted to get that lemsip just to try @Badabingbadabum