Anti-biotic creme

I was at the chemist yesterday looking for some anti-biotic creme such as Neosporin, etc and was told by the chemist they don't have over the counter anti-biotic creme it's only available on perscription. I couldn't believe it! Why don't they sell anti-biotic creme over the counter and save us a trip to the GP? 

Who knows. That's why I bring my neosporin over. I had the privilege of having home nurses get all in a tizzy with me about it when I used it on my c-sec scar that was slow to heal.

Who knows. That's why I bring my neosporin over. I had the privilege of having home nurses get all in a tizzy with me about it when I used it on my c-sec scar that was slow to heal.

Well I'm putting a few tubes on my 'to-get' list! I wish I have neosporin for my slow healing C/S scar. I had absolutely nothing. 

I wonder why that is when you get get antibiotic eye drops over the counter.

This is weird because my mother used to always get her sisters to send her scar-healing cream to the US from the UK! The stuff over here was way better than Neosporin! It wasn't antibiotic cream, but was some special stuff made from placenta (yes!) that wasn't approved for sale in the US. I have no idea what it was called, but my mother swore by it.

I just did a search to see if I could find out why you can't buy antibiotics over the counter here (the only thing you can buy is chloramphenicol eye drops for conjunctivitis) and it appears that the main reason for them being prescription-only in the EU is because overuse can lead to resistance. By only getting them on prescription, you are prevented from using the antibiotics too often/when you think they are needed, which stops you building up a resistance to them in the future.

A scientific study apparently showed that chloramphenicol was not actually very effective in treating conjunctivitis in children - some children were given the antibiotic and others were given a placebo. The antibiotics cured 86%, yet with the placebo (no treatment), 83% were cured!!

A scientific study apparently showed that chloramphenicol was not actually very effective in treating conjunctivitis in children - some children were given the antibiotic and others were given a placebo. The antibiotics cured 86%, yet with the placebo (no treatment), 83% were cured!!

I used it last year when I had an eye infection and it was brilliant!

I remember asking our GP for some, when my son was younger, probably two, or just under. The GP asked who it was for, and when I said my son, he REFUSED to give me a prescription!! I was LIVID to say the least. Since then, I've not bothered to ask, I just store up when I go back home to visit.

I used it last year when I had an eye infection and it was brilliant!

Me too, actually and it cleared it right up (I did get it on prescription, although it's cheaper to buy it over the counter, so I did) !

However, I did get 2 infections within a couple of months (I stupidly used the same mascara so I caught the infection again) and the pharmacist was reluctant to sell it to me because I'd used it only a few weeks earlier - I guess because of the resistance issue.

I remember asking our GP for some, when my son was younger, probably two, or just under. The GP asked who it was for, and when I said my son, he REFUSED to give me a prescription!! I was LIVID to say the least. Since then, I've not bothered to ask, I just store up when I go back home to visit.

Well I got questioned by the chemist simply for asking for a bottle of peroxide! 

Well I got questioned by the chemist simply for asking for a bottle of peroxide! 

Pebbles-me too!  I asked for some hydrogen peroxide because I have found it useful for getting stains out.  The Boots person behind the counter person first told me it's really expensive, and didn't seem willing to get it for me. She told me I should just buy bleach instead. I was adamant that I wanted Hydrogen peroxide, so she sighed and got it for me. She surprised herself when she realized it was only 88 pence.  What on earth is the deal with that??

Well I got questioned by the chemist simply for asking for a bottle of peroxide! 

I work in the pharmacy at Boots and we're trained to ask questions about whatever the customer buys - we even have a list of prompts for the questions on our till screens - and we can get into trouble if we don't ask every customer.

There are some pharmacy products that can be used to cut drugs or for other illegal activities, so we have to make sure you're not going to be using the product for any of those things (for example, it's been revealed that the 21/7 failed bombers used hydrogen peroxide in the bombs).

We also have to make sure that what you buy isn't going to interact with any medication you are already taking - example: the other day, an old lady asked for Voltarol gel and my colleague asked was medication she was on. It turned out that she had high blood pressure, but you can't use Voltarol if you have high blood pressure, so my colleague couldn't sell it to her. The lady got angry, because she'd been using it for years. However, she also admitted that even her doctor wouldn't prescribe it for her, so she had to buy it over the counter - who knows what kind of damage she might have done to her body?!

 we even have a list of prompts for the questions on our till screens - and we can get into trouble if we don't ask every customer.

Yes, but is the sighing necessary?

I also bring Neosporin back from home.

I think it's a bit backwards that you can buy codeine here and not antibiotic cream!

Pebbles-me too!  I asked for some hydrogen peroxide because I have found it useful for getting stains out.  The Boots person behind the counter person first told me it's really expensive, and didn't seem willing to get it for me. She told me I should just buy bleach instead. I was adamant that I wanted Hydrogen peroxide, so she sighed and got it for me. She surprised herself when she realized it was only 88 pence.  What on earth is the deal with that??

Probably thought you were going to mix it with chappati flour!