to find it annoying when the pharmacy won't sell you something because you're pregnant?

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Don't want to bother GP as I have a painful, itchy, discoloured fungal infection on a patch of my skin that I've had a few times before and Canesten will sort. Went to buy. Pharmacy said no and that I need to speak to pharmacist who is unavailable. This is because I'm pregnant. It says on the packet 'safe for use in pregnancy'. NHS states it is safe for use. Even BNF says safe to use.

Went to another pharmacy today in a baggy dress, didn't even ask if I was pregnant, I didn't mention it, sold me the canesten. Infection has since got worse (literally overnight) and spread right underneath my boob. Will now take much longer to fix.

AIBU to think that this is a bit OTT? I understand with any sort of medicine that doesn't clearly state whether it's safe to use in pregnancy, but this was IMO verging on silly and simply meaning that I have to suffer a bit longer.

Hmmph...

I think it’s assumed we are stupid. I never took anything when pregnant unless I had to and had looked it up first.

Neither do I. I hate the way they treat women as if we are unintelligent.

I just hide my bump with loose clothes and a bag etc. I'm not stupid and am capable of making my own decisions on what goes in/on my body

I do appreciate there are laws/guidelines but I think applying a bit of common sense wouldn't go amiss either, I mean, come on...indigestion remedies and haemorrhoid treatments must be used by millions of pregnant women without any risk?!

I know we get free prescriptions but I prefer not to waste precious NHS resources on unnecessary appointments or prescriptions for things I can buy cheaply over the counter myself

I've also had the issue where I actually have a prescription (for codeine for sciatica) and the Pharmacist refused to issue it as I was pregnant. I pointed out it was prescribed due to pregnancy related sciatica, by a doctor who was well aware I was pregnant and got it in the end but it was a ridiculous battle!

I was refused blister plasters when pregnant, pointed out baby was in more harm with me in pain than from a plaster (swollen feet in new shoes). Then after birth refused piles treatment cream. Cried in the car for that one and DH went into a different store and said it was for him.

It depends who serves you, i used to work in a pharmacy, and until you had passed your healthcare training you were supposed to refer certain things on. Not neccessarily to a pharmacist though, could have been another member of staff who has passed it (pharmacists are usually busy so this would be a nightmare as in the OP)!

Annoying but we are lucky in the UK that a lot of medication we can get outside of a pharmacy other countries you can't even pick up paracetamol without discussing it with a pharmacist.
I dunno about that, on here i often see posts about not being able to get things from your chemists, yet here in NZ we can get blister plasters, paracetamol, ibruprofen and gaviscon and many other things in super markets and some supermarkets have chemists in store so you can get pharmacy strength stuff also ( like stronger does nappy rash cream or medicated skin creams) just from reading on here it often sounds hard to get simple medications over there

I have similar buying things for my kids, that I know are safe as they previously had prescribed. I have been known to lie and say it's for me. Boots would not sell me some paediatric version of something last week (so couldn't say it was for me). Went to another boots 100m away and no questions asked

Annoying for you OP but I totally agree with @Masterofkarateandfriendship. I work in a 'protected' and highly regulated profession and there is no way I'd jeopardise my career just because something says 'safe' on a leaflet. I'd always take background information into context.

Ps. I speak as a heavily pregnant woman (who has been treated like an idiot at the pharmacy many times- a quick conversation has soon sorted that out though).

Oh this really fucks me off. In my last pregnancy I would tell them it was for my husband.

Years ago I thought I had a cold sore and tried to buy Zovirax (is that what it’s called?) and they wouldn’t sell it to me because I hadn’t used it before. They point blank refused to sell it.
I wasn’t pregnant, I just wanted the bloody stuff.

My ex would always jump in when I was being asked the standard questions at the pharmacy and say "I'm asthmatic" when the medicine was for me and he wasn't even going to be using the otc medicine. It always resulted in me being refused in case I was buying it for him.

My DH was refused glycerine suppositories when I was about 8 weeks pregnant because he made the mistake of saying they were for his pregnant partner who was suffering due to the anti sickness tablets she was on. He even said ‘she’s a midwife, she sent me out for them’! In the meantime I was lying on the bathroom crying, considering calling 999 because I was in so much pain and couldn’t move. He had to go to four pharmacies before he found another one that had them in stock!

The same pharmacy that refused to sell me canesten at 12 weeks pregnant didn’t even question it when I went in and bought it at 29 weeks pregnant (including the oral tablet for DH) so it definitely depends how officious the person behind the counter feels like being on the day!

You can get paracetamol, gaviscon, aspirin and blister plasters over the counter at supermarkets and stores like Wilkos in the UK as I've brought some of it.

The aspirin is a headache though.

I had bad migraines throughout my pregnancy but was told that I was fine to take Co-codamol as the amount of codeine is very little. I could feel a migraine starting but had run out so went to pharmacy who completely refused to sell it to me despite me telling them the GP said I could have it. They told me I'd need a prescription and kept telling me it would be free if I did that too - I didn't need a fecking free prescription I just wanted the drugs!!

Drives me nuts. I went to a chemist a year ago and asked for caneston for thrush, when the woman asked if I might be pregnant I said yes (turned out a day later that I was) and she said it was “very dangerous for pregnant ladies” and I was “a silly girl” to try to buy it and refused to serve me

I’m not a girl, I’m in my 30s, was on my lunch break from work and had used caneston wheh pregnant before so knew it was fine.

Had to book a phone call with the GP, apologise for wasting their time then trek to the other side of town after work to pick up a prescription. Ridiculous.

Exactly it’s safe in pregnancy I’ve used it before , my midwife even said just go in with a big coat on what a load of nonsense , there was no element of the pagarmacist having to be responsible for it as it was off the shelf . If I want to buy a litre of vodka or fags while pregnant that’s my choice so policing canesten or anusol annoyed me greatly , especially as I was in agony from a
Massive bum grape and didn’t want to wait days for GP appointment ,ridiculous the pressure that would put on the NHS

Pharmacist not pagarmacist