Can you buy medication in Turkey?

johnston352

Hi all,
Can you buy antibiotics in Turkey , I will not bore you with details but I need them reguarlly. Been to the Doc who is old school and will not prescribe them. Which I kind of understand to be honest just I like to be prepared for the worst!

I can not seem to get an answer on Google as it's bringing up lots of genetically modified Turkeys!!

I just worry that I will be stuck with no medication!

Thanks

Becles

I bought antibiotic eye drops from a chemist in Turkey after developing conjunctivitis. The chemist said if it didn't clear up, there was a doctor who would be able to prescribe something stronger. Managed with the eye drops until I got home and saw my own doctor. Not sure if that helps!

You could try asking on forums like Trip Advisor. I'm reading the Olu Deniz forum as we are due to travel there soon, and there are locals who log in and will answer questions such as yours.

LEJC

I'm guessing that medication is available abroad....afterall everyone gets sick to some extent...however I am also guessing your question may be more of can you buy them without a doctors perscription or not?
Well again I would guess you may need to see a doctor who would prescribe whatever was necessary......
Personally I would chat to your doctor before going away and see if they would perscribe whatever medication you would need whilst abroad..

arthurx1234

Last year my wife ran out of her anti biotics so we went to a chemist told him the name of the medicine , took a bit of time to find it in his book as the english medicine is Cephalexine and the turkish is Kefalexine but got the medicine cost £5.00 bargain--but be careful as the turkish tablets were twice the dose and so we had to snap the tablets in half. Stock up over there cheaper than here

skintdragon

Please don't think I am being awkward but how can you prepare yourself with a supply of antibiotics if you have no idea what bacteria you will catch??

I suspect that's why your GP did not prescribe any for you!

ellay864

When a drug is licenced in a particular country it also has a prescription status attached to it - prescription only, Pharmacy only, over the counter. Some drugs that may be available without prescription in one country may not be the same staus in another, and as arthur says, their local names may be different. It would help if you know the generic name of your particular one, rather than the trade name - you may be given the same drug but a different generic version
You should always get pharmacist advice on antibiotics - they're not to be taken lightly and taking one does not mean you can assume you can just take another

simongregson

Antibiotics are not prescribed in advance for a reason, as antibiotic resistance in bacteria will aways increase with their use. This is a real problem when few new antibiotics have been developed recently. If the doctor won't prescribe them there will be a good reason, probably because you don't currently need them.

If you need them in Turkey you may be able to buy them without prescription from a pharmacy, but it will depend on the antibiotic - you can buy the eye drops (chloramphenecol) mentioned above over the counter in the UK.

Leigh-Anne_60

I was able to buy penicillin over the counter when i had tonsilitis come on whilst on holiday over there a few years ago.

On another occasion, i needed anti-inflamatory tablets which my hubby got over the counter

But last year when my daughter eczema flaired up and i wanted to buy her hydrocortosone cream(which she has on prescription here) they wouldnt sell me it, insisted om me taking her the docs first

So whether they are tightening up with it - or it might have just been the fact that she was a baby ...

Word of warning on doses as mentioned above. When i took the anti-inflamatorys, i came over with palpitations/ hot n colds sweats etc. When i checked the on the net, the dose was 4 x the amount you would be given in the UK. So please be careful

redwineguzzler

Im asthmatic, and was able to but ventolin inhalers in Turkey (Dalaman), 3 for 10euro's, which is actually cheaper than one prescription here at £7.25! so I bought 9!

Becles

simongregson wrote: »

If you need them in Turkey you may be able to buy them without prescription from a pharmacy, but it will depend on the antibiotic - you can buy the eye drops (chloramphenecol) mentioned above over the counter in the UK.

It was a different antibiotic that I bought in Turkey but I forget the name now. It didn't work, so I saw my GP when I got home and got the chloramphenecol from him.

holidayhunter2010

I often buy both cephalexin and metronidazole in Turkey over the counter for an ongoing medical condition. As stated by other post, the name is often spelled differently and the dosages are packaged differently, so be careful. My husband is turkish, so is able to check for me what the pharmacist is actually dispensing, so that helps. If you have a bottle or packaging from you previous prescription this should help. It is usually much cheaper, ie 5 lira for a course of antibiotics and as stated ventolin inhalers are cheaper too, but are not usually the CFC friendly ones now dispensed here. The chemists are usually very helpful, but beware of misunderstandings in the languages or you could massively overdose on something you buy over the counter.