AIBU to get annoyed at being asked questions at chemists?

[SooBee61]

Today at the chemists (who shall remain nameless) I wanted some Solpadeine so am asked if they are for me and not to take them for more than 3 days. I've also been asked if I'm on any medication when buying other 'drugs'.

The lady before me in the chemists wanted some golden eye ointment. When asked if it was for her she commented that it was for a pet. Assistant immediately goes into police mode. 'I can't sell it to you, we're not licensed for that.' Lady says that it's for herself in that case. Assistant is implacable. I offered to buy it myself and she could give me the money. Assistant remains implacable saying she knew the circumstances!

I can understand why they might ask about other drugs as there can be a conflict but it's this policing attitude that grates.

OP your wrong - the pharmacist doesn't need to be "independent" to point out the conflict, she just need to be a competent professional - it's their job!

They'd point it out at your chemists too, they'd hardly stay quiet just to keep the GP happy.

The medicines behind the counter need extra precautions. If anyone could chuck them down their throat willy nilly without consequences then they'd be out the front where anyone could buy them.
Many medicines are very dangerous if not taken correctly or with certain other medications.
I'm sorry you feel harassed but the pharmacist/assistant was doing their best to ensure the medicine was correct and suitable for you.
As for animal meds, unless it is licenced for dogs/cats/rabbits etc then it cannot be knowingly sold for use with such animals.
Pharmacists are not trained in animal medicine and therefore cannot advice properly, if sold and the animal gets sick/ dies then it will be the pharmacists fault.
There are certain meds that can be given to animals which are identical to the human variety but you will have to say it's for yourself/child and use your judgement as to whether it is safe or not.

They are doing their job. If they get found out they get fucked. It's not worth the risk to them.

It's better people like you go online to have a mini rant then go be prosecuted.

Our GP practice has its own pharmacy (being a rural practice) so I doubt the resident pharmacist would point out conflicts in the drugs prescribed, especially as she's employed by the GP's! Sounds like it was to your advantage to have an independent chemist.

The resident pharmacist will point out all the conflicts, being employed within a GP surgery does not remove their professional and legal liability.

FarelyKnuts
If you ask for codeine in the US you're virtually arrested! My friend on holiday there asked for some in a drugstore and it's unavailable except on prescription. Yet you can buy melatonin which I believe aids sleep, but it's not available here.

Nurofen is no substitute! And not everyone can take it, especially if they take blood thinning meds.

Agree with everyone else - YABVU.
I, for one, am pleased there are knowledgeable, highly trained staff in our pharmacies to help people.

It is the law plus there are many human drugs (including topical treatments like Golden Eye) that are not safe for animals and vice versa.

But to ascertain whether a person takes said blood thinning meds, the pharmacy staff would have to ask questions. Which you're suggesting they shouldn't do...

The rules which annoy me are where you can only buy X number of pills in one go. If a person was seriously planning to garm themselves, this does nothing to prevent them from going to 3 or 4 different chemists and repeating their purchase.

Also, the rule about how you cannot get you prescription/buy otc medicine without the pharmacist being on site. 9 times out of 10 the pharmacist has no interraction with you when you buy something, only the counter staff. Wtf difference does it make if he/she is on the premises, unless you needed to ask them something? In which case, you'd wait until they got back from lunch. And the pharmacist is usually on lunch at the same time as all the office workers who need to buy medicine. Not the fault of the shop staff who are following the law but if Boots management are reading, would it kill you to provide cover pharmacists - you make enough profit!

FarelyKnuts believe me, as tired as you are of hearing the same spiel every time you buy codeine, the staff will be far more tired of having to say it fifty times a day!

If a pharmacist sells you a drug that will interact with your other medications or health problems, even if it was prescribed by a doctor, they will be held legally liable for any harm you suffer. They know far more about drugs than doctors do, so be glad they are checking your medication

Turn it the other way round. The woman with the Golden Eye for the dog, gets it with the blessing of the chemist, then the dog goes blind or does. The woman could decide to sue because the chemist said it was OK!

Rules is rules and we live in no win, no fee world these days!

I wouldn't mind if they did make it prescription only SooBee. It's the fact that it isn't and you still have to go through the whole rigmarole every bloody time and be treated like a drug seeker for a legal OTC drug.
I don't mind them asking about other drugs you might be taking etc in case of interactions btw.

I'm sure they are Captain! So what's the point? Has anyone actually studied whether it has changed anything since they brought in the new restrictions (and subsequent spiel they must give every time)?

IWILL, I think that's more to avoid people having enough paracetamol or ibuprofen lying around in their house that they can take impulsively to commit suicide. They obviously can't stop a suicidal person going into lots of shops to buy enough drugs to overdose, but it might stop impromptu attempts, or give someone long enough to think about whether they really want to do it. Nothing will stop someone who's really determined to try.

I work in a pharmacy and quite often feel like an automated parrot! We have to, BY LAW, ask these questions to make sure the product is safe for you to take. Many people are completely unaware that over the counter medication can interact with prescribed medication, stopping it from working properly or causing nasty side effects. We train hard to be able to provide a safe service and training is on going. Yes, I may get fed up of asking the same thing over and over but if it saves one persons life then I've done my job well and can sleep easy at night.

Time people took personal responsibility. If the woman gives a medicine to her dog, she should have no comeback if it reacts badly, regardless of whether the sales assistant knew or not. People have to stop being nannied and stop blaming others for their choices.

bettybear
I hope they pay you more than 'regular' assistants for the responsibility you have to bear! I've not posted on here before and am alarmed at the quite aggressive responses I've had.

Am now off to take a codeine and have a lie down. On a happier note, the swifts are back!

I've had a few people ask why it's only recommended for three days, who had no idea it was addictive. I think people have a tendency to assume that because it's readily available it's harmless iyswim?

Like paracetamol. One of the reasons they brought in the restrictions on that was because there had been a growing number of teens taking a handful of paracetamol in a desperate cry for help, thinking that it was safe and wouldn't really do them any harm. 'It's just paracetamol, so it'll be fine'.

Just this week I came across a lady who had been taking otc decongestants which interacted very badly with some of her other meds. She'd bought it at a different chemist and had told them she wasn't taking anything because she knew they wouldn't let her buy what she wanted if they knew she what she got on prescription. She ended up in hopsitsl after her blood pressure went through the roof and she collapsed...

Our GP practice has its own pharmacy (being a rural practice) so I doubt the resident pharmacist would point out conflicts in the drugs prescribed, especially as she's employed by the GP's!

Wrong. She has to point out conflicts, that's her/his job. Even if the GP is her boss.

Do you think they'd just hand over the drugs knowing they'd probably kill you? A pharmacist is a highly trained professional. Pharmacists have, many times, saved patients' lives when their GP has fucked up and written the wrong prescription.

YABVVU

I was prescribed 75mg aspirin during my last pregnancy. Ran out, didn't have the prescription with me, but realised I could pop in and buy it OTC at Boots.
The pharmacist refused to sell it to me, due to my obvious pregnancy, even though it was precisely because I was pregnant that it had been prescribed. I do understand rules are rules, but it was frustrating having to get a (male!) colleague go and buy it for me.

YABVU

I've been a dispensing technician since 2001.
It's always been this way.

You do realise that a pharmacy is different from a normal shop?
We are legally responsible for people's health care, and have a legal obligation to not sell /dispense something potentially dangerous.
These questions must be asked.

Why would you offer to purchase something for another person's animal when the pharmacy has refused it?

Chloe the problem with aspirin is that it increases your risk of miscarriage because it thins your blood. We're not licensed to sell it to pregnant ladies because of that. It's one of those things people get on prescription when the risk to their/baby's health if you don't have it is greater than the risk of taking it. Frustrating if you just want another packet without bothering your GP for another prescription, but much much safer overall.

SooBee61, i mean the charge for the medicine, with ezxactly the same name and ingredients is 10 x more than in pharmacies. It is exactly the same for peptobismol or zantac, the vets use identical medication but charge loads more for it.
I would never use anything unsafe.like golden eye etc,but it is unfair the vets charge so much more for these things.

Trust me they're as tired of asking the questions as you might be of answering them.

A few years ago I was on a pretty hefty mix of painkillers including one that I was been 'over' prescribed by a Pian control Consultant; and every single time I had to bring in a show the letter from the Cons to get my prescription.

And answer all the questions; the funny bit was the assistant was my friend's son (well he still is; but has changed jobs ) And he had driven me and his Mum to some of my appointments when DP couldn't come with me.

And I'd helped him study for some of his exams...........

Still had to ask the questions 'cause if someone else in the queue was from the what-you-call-it; offical people they could be fined etc for not asking.