Medicines from abroad
Certain medicines for which you need a prescription from your GP from us are freely available abroad. Just at the pharmacy. Handy, especially if they are also cheaper there. But what should you pay attention to?
On the Spanish coast you can buy a box without ever having seen a doctor antibiotics purchase. Or two. In England nobody asks for a prescription when buying medicines for a too high cholesterol or a prostate disease. And in Italy there are pills with the hormone melatonin (to sleep better) with much higher doses for sale than in the Netherlands.
These are just a few examples of the differences between countries when it comes to over-the-counter medicines. She notes that anyone who gets sick, gets hurt or who takes a look at the shelves of the local pharmacy out of curiosity.
Less and less differences
Is there a clear overview of which drugs can be purchased without a prescription in which countries? No, says Annemieke Horikx, pharmacist at the professional organization of pharmacists KNMP. There used to be big differences within the European Union. But they are getting smaller, because the registration procedures for medicines have been harmonised, she explains. “You can buy about the same range of over-the-counter medicines in all EU countries. I estimate that only 10 to 15 percent varies from country to country.”
More is allowed on the Spanish coast
What determines whether a drug is freely available in the Netherlands? Bernard Mauritz is director of the Dutch Association of Manufacturers of Over-the-Counter Medicines and Health Products Neprofarm. “Our maxim is that medicines are only available over the counter if they have few side effects and are intended for short-term complaints that would also go away on their own. In other countries they deal with this very differently.”
Maarten Vasbinder, general practitioner in Moraira, Spain, on the Costa Blanca knows this too. “I have been working here for 23 years and have seen so many Dutch people who take antibiotics back home. Not smart, but I can’t do anything about it. It’s fighting the beer quay.” Officially, antibiotics cannot be sold without a prescription in Spain either. In the large cities, pharmacists usually adhere to this, but in practice things often turn out differently on the coasts. There you can buy everything at the pharmacy without a prescription, Vasbinder discovered. Until antidepressants and even antipsychotics. “You do need a prescription for erection drugs and sleeping pills, sometimes even your passport,” he says. “That must have to do with ecclesiastical morality.”
Buying medicines without a prescription abroad? 5 tips:
1. Go to the pharmacy
Don’t look for a drugstore on vacation; that is a unique Dutch institute. There are many more pharmacies abroad than with us. In some countries, such as England, Denmark and Poland, they sell certain self-care products in the supermarket, just like in the Netherlands.
2. Translate the package leaflet
Spanish, Italian, Turkish; an incomprehensible leaflet? Ask the pharmacist to write down the name of the active ingredient. Anyone who carries a smartphone or goes to an internet cafe can find a lot of information about this drug by googling the name of the substance. on self-care.nl packaging of the Dutch products is shown (including the original leaflet). Handy to compare with packaging that is for sale abroad. And who on pharmacy.nl typing the substance name can find out what kind of medicine it is and read the package insert. Important, especially for people who are already taking other medicines. Because do they go well with this over-the-counter medicine?
3. Don’t take back too much
Medicines (whether or not on prescription) ‘for own use’ may be imported from abroad to a limited extent. If customs find more, the medicines can be seized. This happens about 225 times a year.
4. Don’t think: I’ll buy that there
Just take medicines that you really need on holiday from the Netherlands. For something that is freely available with us, a prescription may be required in other countries.
5. Consultation with the GP or pharmacy
Home again? Let the general practitioner or pharmacy know which medicines you have taken abroad or have taken from there. This way they can monitor whether the use is safe in your case and whether the medicines are still needed.
Sources):
- Plus Magazine
