The pharmacy in Spain

The pharmacy (farmacia) needs a special licence and has a responsible pharmacist, and dispenses medicines with and without prescription and sells care products and vitamins.

• The parafarmacia is a shop selling health and cosmetic products and medicines that need no prescription (under local rules), often at lower prices, but does not dispense prescribed medicines.
• Large stores sell some vitamins but not painkillers in quantities.
• Choose a nearby pharmacy and use it to build a relationship, so that the pharmacist learns your medicines and allergies and avoids dangerous interactions.
• And do not hesitate to ask ¿Qué me recomienda?
• meaning what do you recommend, for simple symptoms such as cold, headache and heartburn.

You go to any pharmacy with your health card, and it reads the electronic prescription in the doctor's system and dispenses the medicines.

• The medicine may be unavailable and is ordered and arrives within a day or two.
• The pharmacist sometimes offers the cheaper generic medicine (genérico) with the same effect.
• You pay a percentage of the medicine's price (aportación) often between forty and sixty per cent depending on your income for workers, and ten per cent for pensioners with a monthly cap, and some groups do not pay, and some medicines for severe chronic illness are paid at a reduced rate.
• Allergy and cold medicines and most vitamins are not subsidised.
• Ask about the price before buying, and make sure you understand the dose, timing and whether it is taken with food.

For headache and fever paracetamol is used, for pain and inflammation ibuprofen (ibuprofeno) with caution in stomach problems, for heartburn antacids, for colds symptom medicines, and for allergy antihistamines.

• Keep to the dose and do not continue longer than recommended, and if symptoms last more than a few days see the doctor.
• Antibiotics are sold only by prescription, and do not take old leftovers.
• Always ask the pharmacist before combining medicines or with herbs, and tell him if you are pregnant or breastfeeding or have allergies or chronic illness.
• Some medicines available in your country may need a prescription or be unavailable here, so carry the name of the active ingredient to know the alternative.

At night and on holidays on-duty pharmacies (farmacia de guardia) operate, announced on every pharmacy door and on the pharmacists' college sites in your city and apps such as Farmacias de guardia.

• Some pharmacies work around the clock.
• When travelling abroad carry your medicines in original packaging with a prescription or medical report, since some medicines are banned in other countries.
• To buy medicines online look for licensed pharmacies bearing the approved European logo for online pharmacies, and avoid unknown sites that sell counterfeit medicines.
• Do not share your prescribed medicines with others.
• And return expired medicines to the SIGRE point (the green bin) in the pharmacy for safe disposal.

What does the green cross indicate?