Could someone please explain......

[only1billybonds]

After 2 days of trying, I have finally secured a doctor's appointment and I should be picking up some antibiotics later to shift this cսnt of a chest infection. These things are dished out 18 at a time (ish) and necking a pack might give you a headache.
So why is it that I can buy enough booze in tesco to drink myself to death before the pubs open but i cant get a course of pretty harmless tablets without seeing a doctor first? 
Seems fucking bonkers to me but am happy to have this explained to me. Feel free to do this as if you are talking to a carrot!

[zico]

I must say the packaging of paracetamol especially seems to ward off the possibility of taking too many as well.  Maybe I got dodgy packs but it isn't easy breaking them through the wrapper and when you finally do get there the whole saga breaks them into two!  If you have arthritic fingers forget it!

[Bungo]

By the way, the antibiotics thing is easily explained.

Since their introduction, antibiotics have been badly overused. This has led to reduced efficacy when they are REALLY needed. If they were available over the counter, huge numbers of people would buy and use them when they didn’t need them, destroying their remaining efficacy for when people DID need them.

In fact this reduction in the power of antibiotics is arguably the biggest threat there is to world health today. Huge amounts of money are being spent on research to find viable alternatives.

[Bungo]

I believe that is why they stopped selling paracetamol in bottles.  Theory was that someone might pour out a handful and neck them but if they have to pop them out one at a time they think more about what they are doing.

 

 

Yup. Of course the well motivated individual will find a way around all this, but many attempts are spur-of-the moment, and these are often the ones that then change their minds. Best if they haven’t been able to neck a large amount of paracetamol before they decide that they do want to live after all!

[northbankfrank]

A major reason is that both paracetamol and ibuprofen quickly turn into fairly dangerous and then lethal drugs if taken in quantities that could easily be assembled if there were no limits to what you can buy in one go.

The theory goes that many spontaneous suicide attempts will happen using tablets that are easy to get hold of, so if somebody has to go to the effort of visiting multiple pharmacies, they are likely to be a lot less likely to follow through.

By the way, a paracetamol overdose is proper nasty. Ibuprofen has its own very unpleasant side effect of screwing up your stomach lining. Both well worth avoiding,

I believe that is why they stopped selling paracetamol in bottles.  Theory was that someone might pour out a handful and neck them but if they have to pop them out one at a time they think more about what they are doing.

[El Scorchio]

A major reason is that both paracetamol and ibuprofen quickly turn into fairly dangerous and then lethal drugs if taken in quantities that could easily be assembled if there were no limits to what you can buy in one go.

The theory goes that many spontaneous suicide attempts will happen using tablets that are easy to get hold of, so if somebody has to go to the effort of visiting multiple pharmacies, they are likely to be a lot less likely to follow through.

By the way, a paracetamol overdose is proper nasty. Ibuprofen has its own very unpleasant side effect of screwing up your stomach lining. Both well worth avoiding,

My missus works in medicine and she's told me about paracetamol overdoses. As you said, proper nasty!

[Bungo]

A major reason is that both paracetamol and ibuprofen quickly turn into fairly dangerous and then lethal drugs if taken in quantities that could easily be assembled if there were no limits to what you can buy in one go.

The theory goes that many spontaneous suicide attempts will happen using tablets that are easy to get hold of, so if somebody has to go to the effort of visiting multiple pharmacies, they are likely to be a lot less likely to follow through.

By the way, a paracetamol overdose is proper nasty. Ibuprofen has its own very unpleasant side effect of screwing up your stomach lining. Both well worth avoiding,

[zico]

As nurse says it's the supermarkets way of covering themselves with painkillers, although as you say if you filled up your basket with alcohol you would probably be fine!  

I was lucky when I got a dry socket earlier in the year after a tooth removal that dentists also can prescribe stronger meds, in my case a far stronger codeine that you get over the counter.  That was a blessing rather than waiting for a GP appointment.

[Takashi Miike]

bill, next time ring up 111. they'll chase up the cunts for you

[Lee Trundle]

If you're private, use an online GP.

Night and day compared to the pile of shit you'll get at a doctors surgery.

Plus they work 7 days a week.  Your regular GP seems to think we're only ill Monday-Friday.

[Far Cough UKunt]

Yeah I noticed the two packet limit of painkillers.

[Nurse Ratched]

The 2 pack restriction on painkillers is probably the retailers' attempt to limit potential liability if someone decides to try to kill themselves that way. That's our world now. 

[El Scorchio]

The Co-op only let me buy two packs of hay fever medicine last year which seemed a bit restrictive. 

[only1billybonds]

Fair enough Nurse, thank you.

Zico.
When i got through, I was sent a link containing a set of questions. Filled this in, sent it back and half hour later the surgery called me to say pop in about 12.15! The paracetamol restrictions are interesting, i'll look into the reasons later. Its the same in tesco, 2 packs per shopper. 

[zico]

Not antibiotics and not sure about Tesco but with Sainsbury I found out that sales are restricted to a maximum of 2 packets of a combination of any paracetamol, aspirin or ibuprofen based products in a single transaction.  With a bout of man flu last year I was unaware of this and felt like a drug pusher at the till when denied trying to buy three packets of paracetamol!  Would be interesting if they would say anything if you experimented and went through a manned till (rare) with merely two packets of paracentamol and two bottles of whisky.

Congratulations on getting a GP appointment.  I called earlier in the week and the receptionist is now like the gestapo. What do you want to see a GP about, they now demand.  If you don't tell them they now ask you to fill out an online form on their website outlining your issue and they triage you for either a phone call or appointment or a bottle of pills and on your way.  Three weeks wait for me so guess it isn't serious!  

[Nurse Ratched]

It would be extremely foolish to let people buy antibiotics OTC, if that's what you're suggesting. We are already facing the prospect of antibiotic resistant infections due to over prescribing, and that's in a system where you have to go via a quack to get them.