Hello

How do I find out what medications are available in London that we have here in the USA?

As London, England, the UK and virtually all of Europe are places of the 3rd world, no advanced medications will be available over there....

Seriously, practically all medications available in the US are registered in Europe. They may be sold on prescriptions only. However, check for the active ingredient and avoid asking for a brand name, as these tend to vary because of marketing and copyright reasons.

workerbee--I've tried finding a website that would give that info easily. But no luck yet. Yes, practically all drugs available in the USA are available in Europe, but that doesn't help if your drug is not one of the "practically all" drugs.

The best I've found is to find an on-line drugstore website in the country I'm visiting and see if they have my meds.

The easiest thing to do would be to find the name of the active ingredient and try a google search of UK sites, by typing in the active ingredient name in inverted commas followed by site:uk
Or, if it's a more common medication, you could try looking up the active ingredient in the medicines encyclopaedia at http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/

If you're that concerned why not bring your medication with you?

Why not list the names of what it is you are looking and our European counterparts can advise whether these are available in the the UK or on the continent; whether available OTC or by script; and possible range of prices.

I have a friend bring back from the UK Paracetamol w/codein (8mg) which is similar to our Tylenol w/coedein (30mg)... means I have to take more of the Para, but this is available OTC in the UK. There are other comparable drugs.

I think it would be best that you list which are of interest.

Are you looking for something in particular? Or do you want to just make sure that if you have an unexpected headache or stomach trouble you can pop into a chemists and buy something without prescription? If you can be more specific we may be able to help.

This website may help, the UK Gov's department of health:
http://www.dh.gov.uk

Kate
London

HI--I don't know what you are looking for either, but I do know that when I tried to help someone get a prescription refilled in the US that was of Canadian origin, the pharmacist said they could not do it, even if the person's MD called it in.

..across the counter drugs are readily available in the UK..they may be named differently but the active ingredient the same. Prescription drugs are an issue. An MD is licenced to a jurisdiction and his licence is limited to the jurisdiction. For a prescription to be filled by a pharmacist, Rx must be written by a MD who has an active lisence within that jurisdiction so you will be out of luck for the most part. If you ever loose your meds, always carry a list from your pharmacist at home. The klist will have the generic name and if you go to a clinic, a local doctor can review your history and give you another Rx.

If you are talking about prescription meds - bring your own.

As for OTC - there are differences - some drugs that are prescription are OTC in the UK and vice versa. For instance Claritin was OTC in the UK long before it was in the States. Or like sandi's example of a low dosage codein product.

But even if a specific OTC isn't available, any chemist (druggist) will be able to lead you to a comparable product or an even better one for your needs.

If there is a very specific product or dosage you must have - bring it w/ you.

I was surprised to find that antibiotic ointment is not available without a prescription in England.

So now I always include a little packet of it in my first aid kit, just in case.

While Vienna may not be the same as London, my friend has asked me to bring her some Melatonin when we visit her in May as it is not available there. Just an example of some of the differences you can encounter.

I highly recommend that you take a first aid kit with you that includes your usual OTC meds for upset stomach, colds, sore throat, sinus, etc. Much handier to have this with you than running around trying to find similar products in London.

If you are concerned about replacing any lost prescription meds, just be sure you have a list with the GENERIC names.

Just make sure you have the chemical/generic names. I buy the 2 meds I use..zyrtec & flonase in both the UK and France for about 1/4 of what I pay in the US and with no prescription..

At Boots and other pharmacies, you can purchase paracetamol (tylenol) with codeine, Nurophen Plus (ibuprophen) with codeine, aspirin with codeine without a prescription. You must consult with the pharmacist.

You can even purchase these items at the Boots at Heathrow or Gatwick.

Will a drug-sniffing K9 alert to codeine? Nothing more embarrassing than getting cavity-seached at JFK because of the Brit OTC meds in your kit.

no use speculating until the OP provides more information. as others have said, finding this information is not too hard on the web.

raspberry's sarcasm is not well placed as a lot of american meds are not available in the UK and vice versa. the approval process for new drugs is cumbersome in both countries so the timing of approval is often very different.

Most american meds will have a counterpart in the UK that serves the same purpose (and may even contain the same active ingredients) but often it is not safe, advisable, or comfortable to substitute one for the other.

I travel with all my basic over-the-counter and prescription allergy medications but I got very sick while in England a few years ago and had to see a doctor for a prescription for an antibiotic. I'm allergic to most antibiotics like erythromycin and zithromax and can only take Ceftin/Cefzil. It turns out they were unavailable in England. The doctor was calling pharmacies all over London to see if anyone had one of them. They "could be ordered from the continent" I was told and available within 2 to 3 days. By that time, I was returning home. (Not a fun flight home with a 103 degree fever and a 4-year-old to occupy.)

The lesson here is don't assume that you'll be able to get the same medications as you get at home.

"Message: I was surprised to find that antibiotic ointment is not available without a prescription"

I'm amazed too. I think that you mean an antiseptic cream for things like cuts? In which case there are several that are on the shelves, not even over the counter, let alone by presciption. Obviously you didn't ask.

This is a silly question, and if serious, incredibly naive. There are obviously variants, and made by different manufacturers, but believe it or not, London does have every medication that is used in the western world.

M_kingdom,
No, I didn't mean antiseptic cream, but antibiotic ointment, such as bacitracin, or triple antibiotic ointment containing bacitracin, neomycin, and polymyxin.

I did ask a pharmicist in London, and was told that it was only available by prescription there, whereas in the US it is available OTC.

I may be wrong, but I believe I saw neomycin on the shelf of a large pharmacy either in or just out of the Tower tube stop.