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> some more common drugs like Ibuprofen are much more expensive in Germany. What's stranger to me as an American living in Germany is that you can't get it at

> some more common drugs like Ibuprofen are much more expensive in Germany. What's stranger to me as an American living in Germany is that you can't get it at "drug stores" like DM, Rossman, etc. that are the equivalent of CVS/Walgreens, let alone grocery stores. You have to get it at an apotheke (pharmacy) that's a separate business. In practice that means it's both more annoying (due to more limited business hours) and more expensive. No going to Costco to get a bigass bottle of more ibuprofen than any one family could reasonably use here. But you can order it online at Amazon, oddly enough, though it's still much more expensive than in the states, and it looks like the largest size on offer is 50-count. I get that German society is somewhat more regulated than in the US, but I just don't see what's the threat with basic medicines like ibuprofen that necessitates them being sold at specialist stores.

jlangenauer 8y ago
Yes, this is a constant irritation here, presumably to protect the awful Apothekes, who have a protectionist guild, and also - shamefully - sell complete nonsense like homeopathy. I normally stock up on OTC medication like Ibuprofen when I’m in the UK.
pas 8y ago
The idea was that you can talk with a professional pharmacist, help you set dosage, etc. Sometimes doctors write a recipe that has to be mixed, and so the pharmacist can do that. Of course since pharmacies are also for profit shops, this aforementioned role is less and less important, and there's a pretty constant push to make the publicly available (so doesn't require prescription from a doctor) drugs free to sell at any other shop. (Eg. 0-24 petrol stations.) Eventually that push will go through.
cleansy 8y ago
Even though ibuprofen is considered a basic medicine, it's still a medicine. Ibuprofen is not totally risk free and therefore needs to be sold by "professionals". Either way, Americans tend to overuse this drug as a pain killer for every little bit of ache they may have, which is dangerous. The first time I took ibuprofen was when I broke my arm with 12-13 for the first day. The next time was with 24 after I got a root canal removed.
- benj111 8y ago
  "it's still a medicine. Ibuprofen is not totally risk free and therefore needs to be sold by "professionals"" I don't know if you're using medicine as an official term here. There are plenty of things that are medicine like, plenty of things that aren't risk free. Peanut butter isn't risk free if you're allergic to nuts. Honey isn't risk free for young children. Alcohol isn't risk free.
- TulliusCicero 8y ago
  > Even though ibuprofen is considered a basic medicine, it's still a medicine. Ibuprofen is not totally risk free and therefore needs to be sold by "professionals". This is absurd on its face. Even when I buy ibuprofen here, they still just sell it to me the normal way. They're not quizzing me about how much I'm taking or whatever. It's less convenient and more expensive for zero benefit.
pgeorgi 8y ago
The "bigass bottle" of Ibuprofen isn't available in Germany and won't be, the limitation in size (IIRC 50 pieces) and prescription-free dosage (400mg) is to avoid having too much of it easily available due to the side-effects on the kidneys. The theory is that it makes you think twice if you have to visit the pharmacy all the time. They won't sell you 10 packages at once either. Unless you rotate pharmacies all the time, at some point they will notice and ask you to consult the doctor to root-cause the issue. That's the value pharmacies (are supposed to) bring, and it shows in that they have pharmacologically trained staff, while those drug stores hire whoever is able to operate a cash register.
- MagnumOpus 8y ago
  The reason for the high cost is not the fact that you can't by a 1000-count bottle -- it is the fact that German pharmacists form a cartel that is protected by laws that they lobby for extensively. In the UK you also can't buy more than 32 pills of ibuprofen/aspirin/paracetamol at once without prescription -- but the cost is 1-2 cent per pill because every supermarket including ALDI can sell them.
majewsky 8y ago
You can buy non-prescription medications online, e.g. I regularly use https://apo-rot.de https://apo-rot.de or https://docmorris.de https://docmorris.de for my bulk purchases.

jlangenauer 8y ago

Yes, this is a constant irritation here, presumably to protect the awful Apothekes, who have a protectionist guild, and also - shamefully - sell complete nonsense like homeopathy. I normally stock up on OTC medication like Ibuprofen when I’m in the UK.

pas 8y ago

The idea was that you can talk with a professional pharmacist, help you set dosage, etc. Sometimes doctors write a recipe that has to be mixed, and so the pharmacist can do that. Of course since pharmacies are also for profit shops, this aforementioned role is less and less important, and there's a pretty constant push to make the publicly available (so doesn't require prescription from a doctor) drugs free to sell at any other shop. (Eg. 0-24 petrol stations.) Eventually that push will go through.

cleansy 8y ago

Even though ibuprofen is considered a basic medicine, it's still a medicine. Ibuprofen is not totally risk free and therefore needs to be sold by "professionals". Either way, Americans tend to overuse this drug as a pain killer for every little bit of ache they may have, which is dangerous. The first time I took ibuprofen was when I broke my arm with 12-13 for the first day. The next time was with 24 after I got a root canal removed.

benj111 8y ago
"it's still a medicine. Ibuprofen is not totally risk free and therefore needs to be sold by "professionals"" I don't know if you're using medicine as an official term here. There are plenty of things that are medicine like, plenty of things that aren't risk free. Peanut butter isn't risk free if you're allergic to nuts. Honey isn't risk free for young children. Alcohol isn't risk free.
TulliusCicero 8y ago
> Even though ibuprofen is considered a basic medicine, it's still a medicine. Ibuprofen is not totally risk free and therefore needs to be sold by "professionals". This is absurd on its face. Even when I buy ibuprofen here, they still just sell it to me the normal way. They're not quizzing me about how much I'm taking or whatever. It's less convenient and more expensive for zero benefit.

pgeorgi 8y ago

The "bigass bottle" of Ibuprofen isn't available in Germany and won't be, the limitation in size (IIRC 50 pieces) and prescription-free dosage (400mg) is to avoid having too much of it easily available due to the side-effects on the kidneys. The theory is that it makes you think twice if you have to visit the pharmacy all the time. They won't sell you 10 packages at once either. Unless you rotate pharmacies all the time, at some point they will notice and ask you to consult the doctor to root-cause the issue. That's the value pharmacies (are supposed to) bring, and it shows in that they have pharmacologically trained staff, while those drug stores hire whoever is able to operate a cash register.

MagnumOpus 8y ago
The reason for the high cost is not the fact that you can't by a 1000-count bottle -- it is the fact that German pharmacists form a cartel that is protected by laws that they lobby for extensively. In the UK you also can't buy more than 32 pills of ibuprofen/aspirin/paracetamol at once without prescription -- but the cost is 1-2 cent per pill because every supermarket including ALDI can sell them.

majewsky 8y ago

You can buy non-prescription medications online, e.g. I regularly use https://apo-rot.de https://apo-rot.de or https://docmorris.de https://docmorris.de for my bulk purchases.