Pepto Bismal!!

I always stock up on on the 500 tablet bottles of ibuprofen in the US. 

Me too. Or, rather, I get my Dad to send it to me. It doesn't work any better or worse on me than the UK stuff - it's just cheaper and more convenient.

That's funny... I always stock up on paracetamol when I'm in the US (acetaminophen is paracetamol... same drug, different name) - because you can buy it in much larger quantities in the US than in the UK.

Unfortunately, you're not going to find anything non-prescription for an ear infection in the UK unless they decide to make some of the current prescription-only drugs available over the counter. UK pharmacists are not actually allowed to sell anything for an ear infection... they have to refer you to a doctor (usually you'd need something with an antibiotic to treat it, which will be prescription-only anyway).

I had no idea that it was the same thing!  I bought a large (100 count) bottle from a Boots in Thailand as that was all they had and have just kept buying it!  I'll have to switch to the US larger packs!

That's what I was told about stuff for ear infections.  It's been an annoyance of mine for years and I think that it will continue as one!

...I tell the pharmacists that in the USA you can just buy it from the shelves on the store floor and they look at me as if I am mad!! ...

And if you told an American pharmacist that you could buy codeine by just asking for it in the UK, they'd look at you as if you were mad.