Thursday, December 20, 2007

british cold II

i think the weekend traveling and chilly weather prompted british cold II to appear. i did manage to find the advil cold & sinus equivalent in the UK, which cheers me to no end. i can't live without it in the states between october-april.

i guess i reluctantly understand why, in the states, you need to show something silly like photo ids, proof of address to buy pseudoephedrine, but thankfully, you don't need it here. you just have to walk in looking like death and they ask no questions. they sell the same things--tylenol, caffeine and phenylephrine (which is absolutely useless as a decongestant), or you can get the pseudoephedrine ibuprofen mix over the counter.

sorry if this post read a little dull--it's hard trying to find the same meds/ drugs over here. you can find them, with a little effort, but when you have something like a cold or allergies, the first thing you want is your reliable standbys. just so happy they have the same stuff here now. no more echinacea and chamomile tea--yay!

3 comments:

kelmeister said...

I got carded buying Nyquil at Kroger a couple of months ago. Apparently they've started cracking down on decongestants, because you can use them to "get high." Like anyone's going to drink that much Nyquil: it tastes bad, I'd fall asleep halfway through chugging it, and probably get liver failure from the acetaminophen. WhatEVAH.

I've heard that you can walk into any pharmacy in the UK and get codeine OVER THE COUNTER! Craziness! I've long argued that everyone should be able to do this; what if you have one of those headaches that a handful of Tylenol isn't touching, or you have cramps so bad you're doubled over? The ass-backwardness in the US is ASTOUNDING

Betty said...

oh yes, nurofen plus is ibuprofen and codeine--it's a miracle hangover cure! they have other mixes too, but that's the only one that doesn't make me dizzy. i'll travel with some next time i head back and 'leave' it max's for you. i sometimes think how much better the UK OTC selection is than that in the states, but then i hear people talking about their pharmaceutical purchases in say, south america, and i'm supidly jealous.

kelmeister said...

That would be much appreciated, although you don't have to. I'd hate to have you arrested for being a mule. :) I have actually amassed quite a stockpile recently, due to a root canal.

Oxycotin is the most fun I've had on pain pills, though. I had lots of very freaky hallucinations while taking that.