What do you do when you have a bad flu or cold if you don't have pseudoephedrine?

aloisklink 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

You can still easily buy it here, but the over-the-counter pills are always mixed with other ingredients to make it more difficult to convert them into amphetamines.

E.g. Contac 600 Plus can be found in basically all drug stores and it has 120mg of Pseudoephedrine, 100mg Caffeine, 8mg Chlorpheniramine, and 0.4mg of Belladonna Extract. It sounds like it'll actually be illegal to import into Japan, since 120/(120 + 100 + 8 + 0.4) is over 10%, but I've previously just walked into a drug store and bought a packet.

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gravypod 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Ok, that makes sense. I am assuming it is not common to be arrested for possessing this kind of over the counter remedy?

	▲	aloisklink 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Not for the ones you buy in Japan, since those are legal. But, it's not unheard of to get randomly stopped by the police and searched, especially in touristy areas like train stations. Unless you're a Japanese citizen, you have to show ID, and although the searches are optional, most people agree to them. For customs, usually a few people from each plane are searched. Anecdotally, if you're a tourist, they're usually looking for medicine that was legal outside of Japan, but illegal within Japan, with small amounts leading to being detained for 23 days (like in this blog post). And if they decide to prosecute you, you'd probably get a suspended sentence (so no prison time), but you'd get deported and a temporary ban from coming back to Japan.

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

You wait it out. You can also take some alternatives (e.g. Sinupret) that may or may not have any effect, while waiting it out.

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themadturk 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Probably the same thing you do in the states if you have high blood pressure: make do with lesser medications, pain killers, lots of liquids, and push through it.