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A lot of Americans who go abroad don't realize that not every country has the same controls on medicines. Where I live, drug stores do not sell narcotics over the counter without a prescription, or so I hear. I never tried to buy any. But they will sell antibiotics. I've had some kind of upper respiratory thing that feels almost like cold, and I kind of felt like I had a fever half the time. I either had it for two weeks or had one, then another. So I decided to get some amoxicillin to get rid of it. But they didn't have the $.75 amoxicillin for it, and they were going to charge me 2 or 3 bucks for the fancy brand. I thought I'd ask about erythromycin. They use amoxicillin all the time here, and I figured the bug might be less likely to be resistant to erythromycin. They gave me a strip of 10 for 3 days. I figured that was too short, but decided to look it up before I went next door to buy some more. The web says 7 days for upper respiratory so I went back and bought another strip today.It does seem to be helping. I feel better, at least. If I had gone to the doctor, I probably would have spent $20 or $30 (which my employer could refund if I filled out all the online forms, which is a hassle), and I would have wasted probably an hour or an hour and a half of my time. I can look up how long to take an antibiotic. When I was here before, they'd give amoxicillin for the common cold. Now they are a bit more reserved about that.If you do go abroad to a developing country and you need antibiotics, you may just be able to buy them at the drug store. I had a throat infection by the time I got off a long flight to China for a job interview I had once. I stopped at a drug store and bought some amoxicillin before I got to the campus I was applying at. If you get a prescription, you can legally bring a supply of an antibiotic back with you into the US, too when you go back, but it expires after a while

Our daughter went to Italy for 3 months when she graduated high-school. One day she got really ill and of course we were worried sick. To our surprise and relief, her host family just took her to the drugstore, told her symptoms, and the pharmacist gave her antibiotics for about 10 euro, whereas here in the good ol' USofA it would have been a $200 office visit and another 3 hour delay waiting for a USDA approved $100 drug. I was shocked that amid all the cries of European social medicine, that they do something right and that it would save HUGE amounts of money in this country.

When my son was four, I took him to an urgent care in Columbus. He'd been coughing all night for several nights and I was really concerned for his health and his life. After 7 hours of waiting, at a so-called urgent care, the doctor gave him nothing at all. He had a terrible night again and got worse. I took him to another doctor. After 5 hours or so, the doctor gave him some amoxillin. My son spit out most of the first dose. He did get better and survived. Some time later, we were at a church gathering at a park. The kids were throwing rocks into the river, and someone hit my three-year-old in the head with a rock. Someone from church escourted us to a branch of our hospital in Dayton. We might have been the first ones in line, or there may have been another child or two there. Service was fast and professional, not the downtown Columbus madhouse. After that, I figured we'd drive an extra 12 or 15 miles so as not to wait in line. I didn't have any time to wait when I was in the MBA program. In Indonesia, you can usually just go to the hospital to see a doctor, at least during the day, and they see you in about 10 minutes to half an hour in my experience, a drop in. I think I have spent $30 or $40 with medicine. A filling at the expensive dentist was about $60

Guys - I hate to be the bearer of bad news - but widespread use of antibiotics has caused them to not be as effective anymore.Now I see where the widespread comes from. Self medicating from symptoms is old school. Now they can test in the office and see if you have an actual infection - or if that is ruled out - it is a virus and the medication does no good - and usually you will get better anyway

Its not self-medicating, the pharmacist is trained and makes the same determination a doctor does here, just cuts out the over-priced waste of money. I disagree.If they don't test for an infection - it is old school. Our pediatrician has his own lad - that can tell in a few minutes - however most ins won't pay for it. SO he does it anyway and doesn't charge for it. Medicating for things that have NO effect on your well being only helps with a placebo effect.One day everyone will do it that way. Of course by then - all our antibiotics will be of no use to real infections

I know very little about medicine. I have had one prescription in my life. But in Mexico I learned something by several other travelers. I was there for dental work. The other had bought Prescription drugs (they had prescriptions). The drugs they bought were labeled 'Packaged in the USA' at about a third the price here in the USA.Side note. I just had a tooth pulled in /Belmont, NC. Bill $430.00. I had a root canal, 3 fillings and three caps for less than that in Mexico. That hurt! LOLSumting wong here Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/

I had a tooth filled for about $10 in Jakarta before, but that was many years ago. You could probably find a place for $25 nowadays, maybe. One dentist charged me $10 for a temporary filling and didn't tell me it was temporary. They rented out rooms to dentists so I could find the one who ripped me off.I also found out I had to request novacaine beforehand. In the US, they give it whether you ask or not. In Indonesia, you have to request it

Its not self-medicating, the pharmacist is trained and makes the same determination a doctor does here, just cuts out the over-priced waste of money. I disagree.If they don't test for an infection - it is old school. Our pediatrician has his own lad - that can tell in a few minutes - however most ins won't pay for it. SO he does it anyway and doesn't charge for it. Medicating for things that have NO effect on your well being only helps with a placebo effect.One day everyone will do it that way. Of course by then - all our antibiotics will be of no use to real infections. Indonesian doctors used to give a strong antihistamine and an antibiotic for the slightest cold. My wife complained when US doctors made you wait and hour, charged you money, and gave you some advice you didn't need and sent you home. I think they give tests more often before giving out meds now, but they still send you home with syrups, etc. If you get digestive problems from eating food that laid out of the refrigerator half a day like they all do in Indonesia, amoxicillin usually helps.A lot of people, if they had a choice between a $200 visit to the doctor to make sure they really need an antibiotic, or a few bucks for an antibiotic would take their chances and buy the antibiotic.Doctors know things pharamacists don't, though pharmacists in the US are well trained. Most drug stores outside of the hospitals seem to be run by non-pharmacists who don't give the right advice in Jakarta. You can ask for advice, but you have to look up dosages online. The antiobiotic I purchased seems to be working quite well and I am pleased with my purchase. But I hear 30% of the drugs sold are fakes

While visiting the Ukraine I noticed a dispensary where individuals walk in and get what they want/need.Wal-Mart offers a plan where you bring your prescription and if it is on their list of generics you can get a 30-day supply for $4, 90-day, $10. You don't have to use your insurance card God-HonoringChrist-CenteredBible-BasedSpirit-Led