However, it’s not all roses. Try getting melatonin in the UK. You can buy it almost anywhere in the US. Same for any first generation antihistamines. Or a jar of painkillers - packets are limited to 16 here. Or lidocaine cream. Whenever I go to the US, I have a shopping list to restock our medicine cabinet.

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rorylawless 30 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

You can get larger packs of painkillers OTC by speaking with a pharmacist (OTC in the literal sense) or ordering online. For example, Boots sells a 96 count 400mg ibuprofen.

https://www.boots.com/boots-ibuprofen-caplets-400mg-96s-1026...

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rootusrootus an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> Whenever I go to the US, I have a shopping list to restock our medicine cabinet

Ha, that's funny, I do something kind of like that when I go to the UK. Though it's just one medicine -- Kwells. Easily available OTC there, not available at all here in the US except as a prescription-only transdermal patch.

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petercooper an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Aha! I have heard Americans say they buy Buscopan for IBS when in the Uk as it’s not available at all in the US and it has the same active ingredient! I had no idea it was good for nausea too.

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raverbashing an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

This is the "exception that proves the rule" I guess

One of the best OTC medicine for motion sickeness hand down

Dramamine is (almost literally) a bad joke

	▲	postsantum 5 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		What's the deal with Dramamine? It's pushed everywhere but it has zero effect on me, I even tried 4 pills at once, nothing at all

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Someone1234 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

That's a very selective example. The US controls TONS of hormones, Melatonin just got grandfathered in. If anything the UK system is more self-consistent than the US, even if I think both systems over-protect hormones with a low risk profile (like Melatonin in the UK).

As a counter-example, up until fairly recently you could buy Co-codamol (codeine, an opioid) in the UK off-the-shelf (i.e. no script). Which is a controlled substance.

See how people can use selective examples to play the "one system good, one system bad" game?

	▲	petercooper an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I wasn’t playing a game, but if we must, you can buy jars of naproxen off the shelf in the US as well - prescription only here. And antibiotic ointment, antitussives, antibiotic eye drops, and benzocaine throat spray, just to pick what I see in our cabinet. I only share my own experience though, but I find US pharmacies to be streets ahead in both variety and depth. If other people have other experiences, that is fine and I believe them. One big benefit, though, is you can legally import or bring in POMs from overseas, a luxury the US does not have.
	▲	standardUser 32 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		In terms of access to drugs, the differences between countries is incoherent, not really a "good vs bad" situation. A lot of it has to do with the different ways nations fumble their endless (yet fruitless) attempts to limit abuse and recreational use. But in terms of cost, the US system is bad. If we as a nation want to invest in drug development, we should do so. Instead we ask grandma and grandpa and the chronically ill to flip the bill. Hard to think of a worse approach.

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standardUser an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I save my shopping list for Puerto Vallarta where I'll buy a small amount of benzos instead of battling it out with a US doctor for a prescription. But don't try that in Guadalajara - it's in the same state but the restrictions are far stricter.

And if you're a fan of Benadryl (diphenhydramine), don't expect to buy it in Latin America. It virtually doesn't exist.

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timeon an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

> Try getting melatonin in the UK.

Maybe in UK but I had not problem with that on the actual continent.