;Resize=(1200,627)&hash=492fe3a829cc1ab0a94a3cafe645f30ab2a32966e85a979793a357ec936f7de7 "Experts warn why you shouldn’t buy cheap medicines abroad")
Aspirin and ibuprofen are sometimes cheaper and available in higher doses when on vacation than at home. But what seems like a bargain can be at the expense of quality – or simply banned in Germany.
Buy medicine cheaply and in large quantities on holiday and take it home with you? According to the law, you can only bring as much as meets your usual personal needs, explains the Lower Saxony Chamber of Pharmacists. This is usually the amount for a maximum of three months, calculated according to the respective dosage recommendation for the drug.
Beware of counterfeit medicines
In addition, the chamber warns of counterfeit medicines. It could be a complete forgery, but also an incorrect dose of active ingredient or a manipulated expiration date. Not only that such medicines can endanger your health, their import into Germany is also strictly forbidden.
Antibiotics abroad without a prescription
Unlike in Germany, antibiotics can be bought without a prescription in some holiday destinations. Here, too, the chamber warns: With an antibiotic, the dosage, duration and time of administration are important and individual. A package leaflet, in a foreign language at that, cannot replace real advice. For an antibiotic, a doctor should also have diagnosed a bacterial infection.