amyb

>>Why would you just buy drugs to stock up on if you don't need them, just because they are OTC?<<

I don't know about the rest but Voltaren is a topical anti-inflammatory, the oral equivalent of which wreaks havoc on my intestinal tract. The directed topical application works like a miracle drug, seriously, and is not even available here in that format by prescription.

ekscrunchy

You can buy Voltaren in a lower dose online w/o prescription:

http://www.amazon.com/Voltaren-Emulg.../dp/B00503MPD2



I think Donormyl is sold in the US under the name UNISOM.

Cathinjoetown

Paracetamol is virtually the same as acetaminophen (active ingredient in Tylenol).

Paracetamol does not contain codeine.

Dafagan and Doliprane are manufacturers of paracetamol in France. You can get paracetamol with codeine ADDED OTC, but that is stated clearly on the box. The OTC version that contains codeine is not particularly strong.

I think I mentioned on another thread, do not expect to buy tubs of 500 generic tablets like you can in the States. The version with codeine is sold in boxes of 16 tabs or capsules. Come to think of it, just plain paracetamol is only available in boxes of 16.

You can purchase a reasonable number of boxes.

lateinlifetraveler

Justine Paris - DH gets kidney infections once or twice a year. At home he can text his doctor and the doc can call in a RX for him. DH has medical training and doc is comfortable with doing this.

BigRuss

<<I believe paracetamol is panadol with codeine. That is OTC.>>

NO NO NO.

Paracetamol is the international name of the drug acetaminophen. Paracetamol is not "virtually the same" as acetaminophen, it IS acetaminophen. Acetaminophen is used in the United States as the United States Adopted Name, Paracetamol is the International Nonproprietary Name. Paracetamol does NOT contain codeine. Panadol is a brand name like Tylenol.

Panadol Ultra contains acetaminophen/paracetamol plus codeine. But if you want a better codeine-enhanced painkiller, go for the ibuprofen-based ones (Nurofen-plus).

Voltaren is a brand name for another NSAID, diclofenac. There is no OTC version of diclofenac in the US.

kenav

OK, I think we have the Paracetamol/acetaminophen question done!

Any other OTC meds in France?

Cathinjoetown

Russ,

I used the wording "virtually the same" as I was waiting for some smart a$$ to write "the same except for one molecule of dichlorylltetrahegonrubik's cube." Sort of like the French ham discussion.

Learned many years ago they were the same because I have to stay away from NSAIDs and wanted to be sure paracetamol was acetaminophen, not an NSAID such as ibuprofen.

travelgourmet

<i>I do love to buy Donormyl, though; it's the only thing that has ever enabled me to sleep on a plane (and I have no idea what's in it, or whether it's something that wouldn't be OTC in the USA).</i>

Unisom (25mg) has the same active ingredients as Donormyl. The same ingredient is also in Nyquil.

To the OP: Voltaren and Codeine-containing products are the primary items I would think of. Personally, I would NEVER buy antibiotics over the counter.

RM67

I would hope no-one would be buying antibiotics in the places they are available off prescription (thankfully not here in the UK) after the recent high profile concerns about bacterial resistance.

I would be especially interested to know how those buying antibiotics are sure of getting the correct type for whatever bacterial infection they don't yet have but are going to suffer from, given the specificity of many antibiotics for particular classes of bacteria and the gradual reduction in efficacy of some broad spectrum antibiotics.

klieghj

I know, not my thread but since you are on the topic.... What is a good OTC cough drop, sinus medication and the equivalent to Aleve? On our last trip I could not find anything and what I ended up purchasing did not work. I hate bringing a bunch of medicine with me on the off chance I might need them. But when I don't I end up confused in the pharmacy.

Pvoyageuse

"My friend got Metformin and Lipitor without a prescription in Spain. You might be able to get them in France."

No, I take both and they aren't sold without a prescription in France.

TommieG

@klieghj

I can only speak for The Netherlands, but here the best/strongest available cough medication is Natterman Broncium Extra Sterk (contains a small dosage of codeine among other things), sinus medication is Otrivin (active ingredient: xylometazoline), Aleve (if you mean the pain killer with naporxen) is OTC available under the Aleve brand and generic names.

Painkillers containing paracetamol, diclofenac and iburprofen are also available OTC. No OTC painkillers with codeine here. Except the above mentioned cough medicine.

Diclofenac is also available in gel form (the 1,16% tube of Voltaren Emugel).

Something additional they sell in Germany OTC is Formigran. A powerful painkiller specific for migraine. Containing naratriptan.

And to make you all find the OTC quickly: in the Netherlands OTC medicines are sold in regular drugstores (which you will find about every 200m in the high streets and shopping malls) and in pharmacies. In most other EU countries (at least Germany, Belgium, france, Spain, Italy, Greece) you can only buy OTC medicines in real pharmacies.

Christina

I don't really understand the concept of stocking up on antibiotics that you don't need, any kind you can buy. DO people really routinely self-diagnose and take antibiotics that often that this would be something they need to do on vacation? Stock up on drugs? How often does one need an antibiotic, anyway, maybe once a year?

There are various kinds of Abs and they are not the same, and a physician should prescribe a certain kind for your cause. I remember once I had a bad tooth abscess and when it didn't clear with the cheapest common kind, I had to get a prescription for some different one, which worked. And the regular common antibiotics aren't particularly expensive anyway, why would one stock up on those abroad when not currently needed? A lot of people don't even understand that antibiotics are not for viral diseases.

If one needs a mild painkiller like Tylenol, Aleve, whatever your choice is, I wouldn't think it difficult if you know the chemical name of it. I don't like Aleve, it doesn't do anything much for me, but my boss swears by it for his bad back. But I think in France you do need a prescription for naproxen, but a pharamacist could tell you, you just use the chemical name. These pills are pretty small, how much could one need without knowing in advance, if you just really want Aleve, can't you just take some with you on your vacation? After all, you aren't supposed to take more than 2-3 a day max anyway, for a short time. I take small baby aspirin on a trip because my cardiologist wants me to take one a day anyway, but I just put them in a very small plastic zip bag (a couple inches long) and stick that in a purse zipper pocket, it takes up hardly any room at all. That drug isn't trivial which is why it is not OTC in most of the world, actually.

kenav

kleighi - I know what you mean. If language is a barrier especially.

Was in Hungary with terrible allergic reaction of some kind on my hands. Their pharmacies have "tellers" like in a bank. You go to one and tell them your problem. Of course I had to mime since I don't know Hungarian! She gave me some topical stuff to reduce the itching, I think. Anyway, it didn't work. Wasn't strong enough. When I got home to an allergist he said I needed a pill that worked throughout my body. My allergy wasn't contact dermatitis. Pill worked.

I always carry some kind of pain reliever.

Wouldn't buy OTC antibiotics either, Christina.

willit

As an aside, some of the medics at my lab had a microbiology conference in Cairo some years ago. One of the discussions was on providing "important" travellers (CEOs, diplomats etc) prophylactic antibiotics against food poisoning and travellers diarrhoea. The overwhelming response was that this would be a bad idea.

They then asked how many present at the conference had self proscribed prophylactic antibiotics for this trip - and the response was greater than 80%.

I agree with the posters above that OTC antibiotics are not a good idea.

BigRuss

<<DO people really routinely self-diagnose and take antibiotics that often that this would be something they need to do on vacation? Stock up on drugs? How often does one need an antibiotic, anyway, maybe once a year?>>

If you get a particular malaise often enough, then yes, you self-diagnose. And needing antibiotics is variable.

Say you have small children just entering school, which has dozens of other little snotbags running around, and the little tackers come home to you at night and decide that sharing is good in some instances. . .

RM67

Colds are viruses and cannot be treated by antibiotics.

I'm still waiting for more details of this miracle self-diagnosis method that tells you exactly what bacterium you are carrying and what antiobiotic it will be sensitive to without you ever having to culture it.

PalenQ

I believe paracetamol is panadol with codeine. That is OTC.>

Must be recent development because in years of travel in France I have never seen anything with codeine in it being sold OTC - perhaps I was missing out on something I always bought in Britain in case I had a tooth ache, headache (hangover), etc.

klieghj

Thanks TommyG, Yes I meant Naproxen, the pharmacist didn't know what I was talking about when I said Aleve or naproxen and suggested pandadol which did nothing for me. I thought maybe naproxen went under a different name. Christine it is good to know that naproxen requires a prescription in France because I will definitely be taking my bottle with me next time. However, I disagree with packing most medicine on the off chance I might need it. I know pills seem like a small thing but when you start packing for what might happen it starts adding up. Upset stomach, headache, sore throat, body pains, sinus issues or a cold...I think it is easier just to go to the pharmacist and purchase what you need. However I would rather be prepared and know what to ask for instead of spending time playing charades and ending up with the wrong thing, which happens more often than not with me.

willit

"I'm still waiting for more details of this miracle self-diagnosis method that tells you exactly what bacterium you are carrying and what antiobiotic it will be sensitive to without you ever having to culture it."

At a guess, the same one as most GPs use.
Throat infection, penicillin
Chest infection , Amoxicillin
UTI, Ampicillin or trimethoprim.

I strongly suspect that most of the work I get in the lab is because the first line guess didn't work.