Is it True about pharmacies?

[Get Thai'd]

I have heard references to, here and other places, that you can walk into any pharmacy in LOS and get whatever you ask for, without a prescription. Is this true, can you get what ever you want, from viagra to codiene-laced cough syrup, just for the asking? And how do the prices compare to, say, the US?

[Daryle]

It's true - but if places are named on here, the BIB will pay them a visit.

[BaldPlumber]

Thailand is not the USA, the UK, Australia or the rest of the developed world. Prescription drugs are available, the pharmacists are very good, the prices are cheap - personally, I find it very convenient.

[jojomecanic]

No idea about prices compare to US, but yes, you can walk in and ask what you want. Some pharmacie could say no, but the small ones in soi Buakhao might sell you whatever you want.

Ie, 4 pill cialis is around 800 to 2400b when it is 60b in Cambodia !

 

However, I would suggest you to go to your Doctor in your country to get a prescription so he can talk with you about risks for your health (how old are you, did you do a cholesterol check, have you heart problems, etc). Then it's up to you to buy in thailand if you think it's cheaper, and when you bring back some home, you have a prescription to go through the customs.

 

Don't forget drugs are illegal in thailand, and I'm sure viagra or Cialis without a precription can be considered as illegal drugs.

 

Don't be paranoid anyway about this, but maybe find a good middle... don't buy 25 packs of viagra...

[On Borrowed Time]

 

However, I would suggest you to go to your Doctor in your country to get a prescription so he can talk with you about risks for your health (how old are you, did you do a cholesterol check, have you heart problems, etc). Then it's up to you to buy in thailand if you think it's cheaper, and when you bring back some home, you have a prescription to go through the customs.

 

 

Good advice. Never actually though about getting an Australian prescription to show customs should I be queried on them. With the added benefit of making sure your body can handle it!

[Get Thai'd]

Thailand is not the USA, the UK, Australia or the rest of the developed world. Prescription drugs are available, the pharmacists are very good, the prices are cheap - personally, I find it very convenient.

 

I'm not sure what you mean. How are Thai pharmacies different than the "developed world"? And is a prescription requred, as I asked?

[Dr.Winston]

More and more drugs are becoming prescription only but you can still by things like antibiotics without prescription. Some places are willing to skip the prescription requirement though so it might be worth asking around. Many drugs are a lot cheaper than buying them in the West. Usually they are generic rather than branded by by and large I've found them to be good quality. Fluconazole, an antifungal is often sold in the UK in flash packaging for as much as £13.00 for one 150mg capsule (aimed at women with thrush outbreaks). Fluconazole is often prescribed for people with HIV as their weakened immunity can leave them vulnerable to fungal infections. For that reason the Thai government fought for and won the right to manufacture it generically and you can buy it there for 20 Baht for a 200mg capsule.

 

Zithromax (Azithromycin) a celesphorin antibiotic, can be purchased in branded form much cheaper than in the West (and even cheaper in generic form). Another one I noticed recently was Provironum, which is often used by body builders which is available much cheaper than in the West in a branded form manufactured in Thailand.

[Daveo]

mate your doing the right thing in coming on here and asking questions and read between the lines with some things and be aware of a few cynics and you will enjoy Pattaya as do the rest of us.