Parisian pharmacies are like American gas stations in the
1970’s, one on every corner. French pharmacies are individually owned, personality
driven and well frequented. As with your butcher or your cheese monger, if you
spend any time in Paris
you will develop a relationship with your local pharmacist. Your pharmacien or pharmacienne can recommend a local internist or pediatrician, often
for a same-day appointment, and treat minor scrapes and illnesses potentially
saving you a doctor’s visit. If you do end up at the doctor’s office it won’t
set you back that much. A visit to a General Practitioner, or Specialist with
Generalist certification costs 23€. For those enrolled in the French healthcare
system, the co-pay is 1€.
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© 2010 Alertesante.unblog.fr
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The major distinction between French pharmacies and American
drugstores is that medications of any kind, even non-prescription ‘over the
counter’ remedies such as aspirin and ibuprofen, are available only in
pharmacies in France.
For travelers it’s a good idea to carry copies of your
prescriptions as well as the generic name of any medications you take.
Prescription drugs in France
are often a fraction of the cost of the same product in the U.S. Many
pharmacists are aware of these enormous price discrepancies and will happily
send you on your way with a several month supply of reasonably-priced medications.
Pharmacies also function as parapharmacies with a wide selection of beauty and personal hygiene
products as well has non-prescription vitamins and supplements. The range of
creams, lotions, hair-removal waxes and hair-restorative potions rivals that of
most beauty supply shops. While prices are fixed for medications, they can vary
considerably for beauty supplies so it’s worth doing some price comparison in
stand-alone parapharmacies, or in the
parapharmacie sections of
supermarkets like Monoprix.
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Woman’s Best Friend
© Paris City Hall
|
While the news in the U.S.
these days is rife with debate about access to contraception, this is not a
discussion you’ll have anywhere in France, and the topic hasn’t been
on the table for decades. France
has one of the highest contraceptive use rates in the world. Most oral
contraceptives are covered by insurance, and in any case, are very inexpensive,
generally from 2-10€ per month. The morning after pill and emergency
contraception, as its name would imply, are available in pharmacies without a
prescription. Condom dispensers are to be found outside pharmacies for off-hour
access and the Paris
City Hall regularly has
amusing campaigns to increase awareness of and protection against maladies sexuellement transmissibles (STDs).
Last spring, the greater Paris
region, Ile-de-France
inaugurated its “pass santé contraception”,
a coupon book distributed to high school students by the school nurse, with
tickets for free consultations with health professionals, free blood and
medical testing, and free contraception for a 3-6 month period. The impetus
behind this move was to encourage responsible behavior and to reduce the number
of teen pregnancies and abortions in France. Could it be that similar
policies might decrease the teen pregnancy rate in the US which is three
times higher than that of France? It’s something to think
about.
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© 2009 Têtu
Condoms Protect Against AIDS
Odette 13,874 Condoms
|
La Pharmacie/ The Pharmacy
Le pharmacien, la pharmacienne/pharmacist
La parapharmacie/drugstore specializing in
beauty and hygiene products
La pharmacie de garde, de nuit/On-call, or night, pharmacy
L’ordonnance/prescription
Le rhume/cold (n.)
Le rhume des foins/hay fever
Le mal à la gorge/sore throat
Le nez bouché/stuffy nose
Les états grippaux/flu symptoms
La fièvre/fever
L’ibuprofène/ibuprophen (Advil, Motrin)
Le paracetemol/acetaminophen (Tylenol)
Le somnifère/sleeping pill
Les boules Quiès
en mousse/foam ear plugs
La malade
sexuellement transmissible (MST)/sexually transmitted disease (STD)
L’infection
sexuellement transmissible (IST)/sexually transmitted infection (STI)
SIDA/AIDS
VIH/HIV
La pilule/birth control pill
La pilule du lendemain/morning after pill
La contraception d’urgence/emergency contraception
Le préservatif/condom
L’additif/additive (don’t
ask for condoms when you want to know about preservatives!)
La capote/condom (slang)
JE VEUX LES BONBONS!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWkZ_StRjU0&feature=player_embedded
Sources
The Guttmacher Institute, http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3011498.html
Advocates For Youth, http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/component/content/article/419-adolescent-sexual-health-in-europe-and-the-us
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