Image description: A bottle of Ibuprofen containing 1000 tablets.
(Originally published earlier today on mastodon.social)
this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2024
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Imagine being an American with pain or explosive diarrhea while in Europe or wanting to get a coffee before 10am.
Can someone explain this comment to me? It makes too little sense to be GPT.
Many common over the counter drugs in America are banned or require prescriptions in Europe. Ibuprofen and pesto/imodium require prescriptions, and they’re not too fond of giving you them. Fun things you learn while traveling Europe with migraines and shiting thunder. Remember to pack enough while traveling.
No they don’t?
Ibuprofen and imodium can be bought from the pharmacist’s counter and yes, are limited in the number you can ask for but like - how many do you mean by ‘enough’, there’s like 24 in a pack? And, to tell the little secret - you can go to the next pharmacy over if you desperately need more than that on one go?
Oh and even if they were prescription, you know getting a prescription is usually free or cheap right?
I’m guessing you went to a supermarket and expected to buy “Tylenol” and misunderstood what you were told.
You’re right, pain medication like Aspirin and Ibuprofen don’t require a prescription but can only be sold in pharmacies or licensed online stores. Where I live, one does need a prescription for Ibu’s above 400mg though.
Painkillers are sold in supermarkets, what are you on about?
In my country medication isn’t sold like groceries because we don’t use them as if they were groceries.
Nah, I’ve traveled through a shitload of countries and know a pharmacy from a market. It’s just a bit more inconvenient to get what we have over the counter here.
OK but what you said is just patently untrue? Ibuprofen does not require a prescription, but you do have to get it from a chemist, yknow, over the counter. Imodium is available off the supermarket shelf.
I’m generalising of course but I’m generalising from Ireland which is one of the more controlled places in Europe. In others medicine is even less controlled.
I think I prefer that to living somewhere where 50% of ads are “ask your doctor for Valium today!”
France and Germany required a pharmacist for ibuprofen, and France banned imodium/pepto. I’ve been through most of western Europe and it’s just better to not forget the most basic of things we carry at gas stations…including a gun. Jk…ish.
Do you understand that “required a pharmacist” is not “required a prescription”? When people say “over the counter”, do you know what counter they’re talking about?
Based on this thread from that other site, imodium is also available over the counter in France:
old.reddit.com/r/…/de_gasimodium/
So again the theme seems to be Yanks not knowing what OTC means because the idea of involving a trained medical person in a purchase presumably terrifies them.
I’ve been to every country in Western Europe (except Andorra), extensively, and I’ve never once bothered to pack medicine except when traveling by ferry.
It does depend on the country. In the Netherlands you can buy ibuprofen no problem for instance.
Have a medical problem in Europe at an inconvenient time? See an emergency doctor, get a prescription, visit an emergency pharmacy, pay a deductible amount, get your medication.
For the coffee before 10am thing: Bakers and shops open at around 6 to 7am and there is a thing called 24-hour petrol station.