Day Nurse Capsules and Pharmacists

[Dodsy]

For whatever reason Day nurse capsules (which are excellent for colds) are an over the counter medicine. If I go to Boots to buy them I am served by a shop assistant and I just buy them. No checking with a pharmacist no questions they just hand them over and I pay.

So why when I go to my local pharmacy do I get the third degree ?. First the woman on the till asks me a questions about who they are for, do I have heart problems and a few other things. Then they ask the pharmacist if its ok to sell them. Last week they were umming and ahhing about selling them to me as I'd bought a pack earlier in the week already and they recognised me! Yes my cold has lasted more than the 3 days that the pack lasts so I need another one and you can only buy 1 pack at a time grrr.

Are boots breaking some rules/laws or is my pharmacist just a pain in the arse ?

ETA: By over the counter I think I meant behind the counter - as in you have to ask for them, they arent oout on the shelves in the shop

Edited by Dodsy on Wednesday 25th November 09:42

[marshalla]

Different interpretations of the Paracetamol rules, probably.

https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/16069

[Cybertronian]

Dodsy said:

For whatever reason Day nurse capsules (which are excellent for colds) are an over the counter medicine. If I go to Boots to buy them I am served by a shop assistant and I just buy them. No checking with a pharmacist no questions they just hand them over and I pay.

So why when I go to my local pharmacy do I get the third degree ?. First the woman on the till asks me a questions about who they are for, do I have heart problems and a few other things. Then they ask the pharmacist if its ok to sell them. Last week they were umming and ahhing about selling them to me as I'd bought a pack earlier in the week already and they recognised me! Yes my cold has lasted more than the 3 days that the pack lasts so I need another one and you can only buy 1 pack at a time grrr.

Are boots breaking some rules/laws or is my pharmacist just a pain in the arse ?

ETA: By over the counter I think I meant behind the counter - as in you have to ask for them, they arent oout on the shelves in the shop

Have had this very problem before in the past. Really find the Day Nurse capsules work a treat. In my case it was Boots that recognised me and refused to sell me another box after a couple of days and told me to go see my GP! Thankfully, I'm within walking distance of three Boots stores and just pop in at different times to avoid any hassle.

[Prof Prolapse]

Lack of training.

Just buy online or buy elsewhere.

[Dodsy]

Prof Prolapse said:

Just buy online or buy elsewhere.

Might not be a bad idea to just buy a few packs and stash them away for when needed. Interesting the the 2 top google returns ro UK online pharmacies have none in stock, the 3rd one only allows you to buy 1 pack at a time but the next one allows you to buy what is according to them to legal limit of 5 packs = 100 tablets.

ETA: Although its a pain when I want 2 packs due to more than 1 of us having a cold I get one at the pharmacy and then drive into town and get one at boots. If the colds persist and I need more I go back within a few days I head back to boots as they never remember me.

ETA2: After doing some reading I now understand why I can buy a pack of day nurse and pack of night nurse at the same time. Night nurse is only 10 capsules, add to to 20 day nurse and its under the 32 tablet limit, but 2 packs of day nurse = 40. Lightbulb moment.

Edited by Dodsy on Wednesday 25th November 17:13

[xjay1337]

Prof Prolapse said:

Lack of training.

Just buy online or buy elsewhere.

Yeah, I would do the same.

I hate being given the third degree by a pharmacist. They're not really well trained enough to be asking loads of questions.

Give me some day nurse, I'm not buying hardcore drugs here. Idiots.

I think you can buy Day Nurse liquid off-the-shelf, this is pretty good. Not quite as good but another option?

[TheEnd]

I think it is because it contains Pseudoephedrine (aka Sudafed) as opposed to phenylephrine as the decongestant.

Pseudoephedrine is the stuff used for making meth, so people keep an eye on it. Phenylephrine doesn't seem to be as effective, some tests and studies are pointing to the usual dose being too small to make a decent effect.

[skeggysteve]

xjay1337 said:

I hate being given the third degree by a pharmacist. They're not really well trained enough to be asking loads of questions.

Actually I believe pharmacists know much more about the drugs they hand out are very well qualified to ask questions.

[otolith]

TheEnd said:

I think it is because it contains Pseudoephedrine (aka Sudafed) as opposed to phenylephrine as the decongestant.

Pseudoephedrine is the stuff used for making meth, so people keep an eye on it.

^^ this.

And phenylephrine is useless.

[Patch1875]

Much prefer the liquid, taking a teeny wee bit extra makes for a good nights kip!

[otolith]

The promethazine in Night Nurse knocks me out with even a half dose, which is great if I've got a stinking cold and feel like crap, but it inevitably also makes me groggy and tired in the morning.

[Farmerpalmer]

to the op.
Boots , and every other Pharmacy, are supposed to ask questions when purchasing some OTC ( over the counter) medicines.
This is to check that it is appropriate and safe for the customer.
We all know Boots are ste, and rarely ask any questions.
Your local pharmacy is doing the correct thing in asking questions.
Day nurse can increase your blood pressure, and is therefore unsuitable for someone with high blood pressure, due to a possible increase in stroke etx

[Dodsy]

Farmerpalmer said:

to the op.
Your local pharmacy is doing the correct thing in asking questions.

Agreed and I dont have a problem with this. The issue is them deciding if I should be allowed to buy them because I bought a packet already 3 days ago. My cold was improving but still there and I need to go to work so another packet is needed to see it through to the end.

As you say , boots never ask any questions so I just go there instead. Funny one the other day, went into boots and they couldnt sell them to me as the Pharmacist was on lunch. They never ask the Pharmacist if they can sell them and never ask any questions so I guess that their approach is that the Pharmacist must be present and on duty when they sell stuff - minimum compliance with the law I suppose.

[Flibble]

TheEnd said:

I think it is because it contains Pseudoephedrine (aka Sudafed) as opposed to phenylephrine as the decongestant.

Pseudoephedrine is the stuff used for making meth, so people keep an eye on it. Phenylephrine doesn't seem to be as effective, some tests and studies are pointing to the usual dose being too small to make a decent effect.

It's probably this, but given day nurse has paracetamol in it would be a poor choice for making meth anyway. You can get sudafed (and generic) pseudoephedrine with nothing else in the tablets after all.

And yes phenylephrine is junk.