or just naive at medication available over the counter abroad?

[PacificDogwod]

Just back from holiday (Spain) with my parents.
My father had forgotten various fairly heavy-duty heart medication (he is just 8 weeks after open heart surgery) and every single thing he needed was readily available over the counter .

Much as that was very convenient for us (no doctor visit), I was quite staggered how unsafe that practice potentially was. We had to provide no evidence that that was what he was actually on or that we knew what doses he needed, no questions were asked.

Btw, Bisoprolol (b-blocker) 2.5mg x28 tablets: 2 Euro 40
Rivaroxaban (blood thinner, NOAC) 15mg x28: 83 Euro and change
Amoxicillin 1g x30: 11 Euro + a few cent

In Spain a couple of months ago I needed some ibuprofen. I was surprised to be sold tablets that were 600mg when in the UK & Ireland it's normally 200mg. They were much cheaper than in Ireland, too.

My mother recently admitted to me that she regularly buys medication in Spain over the counter that she'd need a prescription for in the UK.

I'm in the ME and have got the pill, and high-strength antihistamines that my Dr in the UK is sometimes unwilling to prescribe, at my local pharmacy with no questions asked.
I think I'll be able to get tretinoin (retinol face cream) as well without resorting to dodgy thai websites.

yanbu.
it's shocking, especially being able to get antibiotics over the counter.
don't end up in hospital in such countries, it can leave you with nasty untreatable infections.

The contraceptive pill is available for the asking, too.

I live in Spain and can't buy antibiotics over the counter. Don't know about the rest.

Always been able to buy better derm /insect bitecreams abroad. I suffer horribly with both and have had much better options for treatments on the continent. DM brings me back bite and rash creams from Portugal every so often to top me up!

He forgot his important medicines ?

I had a dental infection in Egypt and was able to buy amoxicillin and decent strength codeine over the counter. That was back in 2005, not sure what it's like now.

I have a Canadian friend who is amazed we can't buy antibiotics over the counter here. I'm stunned that anywhere in the Western world does sell them without prescription.

My friend is Italian and stocks up on penicillin when she's home so she doesn't have to wait for the gp's "one week sick before I'll prescribe" rule.

Currently in Spain, I'm wondering what I should buy

My mum buys antibiotics over the counter in Spain.

It absolutely depends on the country - I suffer from endometriosis and left my bag with meds it at home - suffered from an attack while on holiday and whilst I knew my medication (Tramadol as and when needed) wouldn't be able to get at the pharmacy, Co-codamol wasn't either -its classed as a narcotic. (this is Greece).

I had to visit a medical centre and have a doctor sign the script - at a charge of 50 euro as a narcotic - because the doctor what my partner's family friend the fee was wavered and I only had to pay 3 euro at the pharmacy for the tablets.

I could get anything over the counter in the Middle East, I still bring back loads of painkillers when I go! I ended up using them for my c-section as what the hospitals prescribe here is crap. The pharmacists were really good though and everyone always asked for advice.

I bloody wish I could remember what it was called but I was sold some sort of soluble analgesic/any inflammatory over the counter in Italy Ina box of little white packets and it sorted me right out.

Golondrina
I live in Spain and can't buy antibiotics over the counter. Don't know about the rest.

I've bought Monurol over the counter for cystitis quite a few times (twice for myself and the other time for colleagues who don't speak Spanish / can't get off the loo). I think it's fast acting, but quite mild.

HarrietKettleWasHere

Was it called espifiden? We have that in Spain. It's ibuprofen in powder form, 600g sachets (there are also 400 mg ones). Ideal for period pain.

It comes in mint and apricot flavours, that I know of. I always buy the mint one.

Harriet could it be this stuff? It used to be in an orange box and is sold over the counter in Italy for toothache etc. www.okitask.it/

My experience in Italy with medicines is that pharmacists will let you have stuff like the Pill or daily medication if you're about to run out in an emergency just once, using their professional judgement. You also have to pay the full price (8x I remember in one case).

Otherwise you definitely need a 'script.

In Thailand you can buy big bags of Valium over the counter. Loads of my friends used to and then bring it back to the UK. No one ever got caught as far as I know.

We had to have a consultant's prescription for melatonin for dd (ASD) and then consultant approval and monitoring in order to pass the prescription to the GP.
I was able to walk into a health shop like Holland & Barrett in NYC and buy the equivalent product for a few dollars.

Oh! Thanks. I don't remember it being very flavoured...a very slight orange taste perhaps. Might well be okitask and it sounds the same stuff as espifeden. I had it for cystitis and cramps and it worked like magic.

Obviously in other countries people take responsibility for themselves, rather than needing to clog up GP surgeries and A&E like we do over here

I left some prescription eye drops for glaucoma in the fridge on cruise ship in Barcelona. We had a long drive home and i spent the next few hours of our journey worrying myself sick that I would go blind without them. We stopped en route in France and first chemist we found sold them no questions asked.

I always stock up on medications not available here when I am in a different country. I like to keep the first aid kit fully stocked for any eventuality.

You can buy Ketamine and Valium and amphetamines over the counter in India 😱😱😱

I had this in Italy as well - had dreadful mosquito bites, really itchy, so went into the pharmacy and asked for something for them and they gave me a cream that contained both antihistamine AND antibiotic, that is prescription only in the UK. It worked really well though, was very happy I'd got it!