Boots refusing to sell canesten to men! Wtf!

[Stressedgiraffe]

Dh went to boots to buy canesten today and the sales person refused to sell it to him as he was a man! Apparently the pharmacist stepped in and he bought it.
Wtf? Surely men can get thrush or could have been buying it for someone else. It's bonkers
Apparently she said it was a boots policy!

When you said "millipedes" I was thinking of the tiny little things I find in my garden and trying to figure out why anyone would keep those.

The photo of Dave took me aback somewhat. I didn't know millipedes could get so big.

This thread is amazing! Best plot twist ever! Get well soon Dave’s multiple legs!

I always say the eye ointment/drops is for my child when it's actually for a pony

Am I missing something? Sense of humour fail?

Ok, the cream was for a pet millipede, but Boots' policy still stands as they thought he was buying for himself.

I think most pharmacist prefer to give advice direct to the adult taking the medication (or if a minor/dependant, the person responsible). I once tried to buy some eye drops for my cat but wasn't able to. I went back another timecard said it was for my husband and they were still reluctant to sell. I don't think it's a rule that men can't buy canasten. More likeky but they asked 'is it for you?' If he said no they probably thought it was for a human partner. I doubt they get asked about millipedes often!

But you can't say that because they're not allowed to sell med if they know it's for animals.
I made this mistake when buying Piriton . They asked if I'd had it before and I said it's for the dog and they said sorry we are not allowed to sell it to you!

My chemist wouldn’t let me buy thrush treatment because I was 61, said I had to get it from the doctors as it ‘might be something else’ - so my daughter went back up there to buy it.

Hope Dave gets better ! 😁

In that case, he wouldn't need it for vaginal thrush.

My husband gets an odd skin condition, often on his back, previously diagnosed as a fungal infection, which flares up occasionally but always responds well to canesten. He's not had it for a while so hasn't bought it for ages. I assume it could also be used for athletes foot and that condition that often happens in the summer when their nether regions get a fungal infection (name escapes me). I'm quite well endowed and sometimes use it if there's a similar issue there 😚

Love Dave! The thread took an interesting turn. On a more serious note though, as a pharmacist we can only sell canestan to men for thrush on the penis if their partner has passed it on to them. We would give canestan 2%, not the 1% you can buy from, say home bargains or wherever. Any other cause of thrush on the penis really does need investigating, as it could mean diabetes, an STI presenting as thrush or even an immune problem, it can be quite serious for men.

I once sent my husband to buy me a thrush pessary. He got asked if the pessary was 'for his own use' 😄

Thrush in men, particularly if your partner doesn’t have it at the same time, can be a symptom of diabetes. Which is probably why Boots encourage them to see their GP.

He's the one limping.

The rest need brightly coloured socks.

Wait, are there 5 millipedes total?

Can we see them all together

This is not where I thought this thread was going!?

It’s all pretty simple.

We’re not talking about gender here, but sex.

Men don’t have vaginas.
Men are significantly less likely to get thrush. Thrush in a man can be a sign of underlying immunodeficiency e.g. HIV or a sign of diabetes (caused by excess sugar in urine).
Boots policy is there to prevent this being missed. This could put people at risk, as well as open up potential cases for litigation.

I’m glad that the staff member on the counter did what they were meant to. The pharmacist is registered with a professional body and can make these decisions against their membership. The dispensing staff can’t.

Oh my god OP just keeps giving, nearly spat out my tea 😂

Hello Dave! I got funny looks taking a snake to the vets last week, thankfully we have a local exotics vet :)

Perhaps it’s got athlete’s foot.

You can get Canesten as a general sale (GSL) medicine in the supermarket. It’s for athlete’s foot but I suspect that’s Dave’s problem anyway.

Last time I got Canestan in the supermarket (a big one - don't think the one in walking distance would have it,) they had Canestan with a pessary and just plain cream, definitely for thrush. There were also tests for BV and some other products I never thought you'd be able to get just off the shelf. (Can't remember the details now.) They may also have had Canestan for athlete's foot, but that would have been a couple of shelves away, and my feet are fine, so I didn't look.

Well clearly next time, Dave needs to go in and buy his own canestan. See how the sales assistant reacts to that.

This reminds me of a proper told off I got in Boots trying to get eye drops for my dog! They refused to sell them even when they were sold over the counter and it was my vet who sent me there in the first place 🤣

In my vast experience of these things, pharmacists will always err on the side of caution and not supply you with otc meds if your reasons are not satisfactory. Which is why everything I buy at my local chemist is for Aunt Audrey, she has many problems bless her.

When I first read "millipedes" I assumed your phone had done one of those presumptive autocorrects! Now I need to know - how did you spot Dave's poorly leg? There are so many of them, all kind of hidden under their body.

It can only be sold for a man if he has been diagnosed with thrush. It’s less common in men so needs to be checked out. The person in the pharmacy was doing her job and what she has been trained to do.

And it’s not licensed to be sold for animals…🙄

So if the person who needs the canestan is housebound, the person who goes to buy it for them must have a vagina?

"Is this for your personal use" would have done the job just as well as a flat no.