While in BA - common medications.
While staying in BA, you may unfortunately come down with some common ailments - here's a quick cheat sheet with spanish lingo for what to get / ask for when visiting a pharmacy.
Note - both for personal prescriptions as well as just curiosity how the medical / pharmacy relationship works here in BA, I've had a number of chats with a couple pharmacists in the Recoleta area. Neither spoke much english oddly enough given the touristy area of Recoleta, but they seem pretty well qualified. As long as you can get across in spanglish or minimal spanish what your symptoms are I think they'd be able to prescribe the correct medication, although neither I spoke to understood "cold" or "flu". If you speak to them using medical terminology then it's a slam dunk - both pharmacists I spoke to understood all of the english medical terms for symptoms as well as drug compounds.
THE COMMON COLD or FLU:
I'd recommend Clarifriol - while rummaging through what stocks of medication they had, this seemed the most common across various pharmacies and had the best mix of drug compounds to dosage that shouldn't knock you off your feet and be too drowsy. Each dose is two pills, which you'll easily see in separated compartments, once every 12 hours. The main active ingredients are 500mg of paracetamol (an analgesic, more commonly referred to as acetaminophen in the US) 60mg of pseudoefedrina (a decongestant) and 2.5mg of loratadina (an antihistamine, loratadine in the US)
Best comparison is to a Sudafed Cold / Flu tablet - all in one medication for runny nose / eyes, congestion, coughs, aches and pains.
If you can't get the Clarifriol, ask for a medication that has an:
Antihistaminico, descongestivo, analgesico, and antipiretico properties.
TD (TRAVELER'S DYSENTERY, DIARRHEA:
Common symptoms include most or all of the following: vomiting, nausea, frequent diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, flatulence, gaseous sensation in chest.
Treatment: ask for any type of quinolone antibiotic, such as Cipro (ciprofloxacin or ciprofloxacino in spanish) or Levaquin (levoflaxacin or levoflaxcino in spanish) Personally, I prefer ciprofloxacin. Normal dosage course is 500mg tablets, twice daily every 12 hours. A normal 10-tablet (500mg) pack will cost you about 75 pesos at a local pharmacy. Take it for the full 5 days even if you feel better after the initial dose.
common medications (Zantac)
Although I always pack some generic Zantac (ranitidine) sometimes I forget to take a pill before leaving my hotel room or to take one with me to a restaurant. Thus I have learned that pharmacists here in BsAs and in other cities in Argentina are familiar with the brand name Zantac and will sell you ranititine - it's called ranitidina here. And you can buy just a few pills. The other night in Puerto Madero I bought just 10 on a blister card. But for some reason the pills are 150mg (they told me, I do not see that anywhere on the package) while the default pill in the US is 75mg. But then when I look at the portion sizes here it's probably a good thing that the pills are double the dosage!
Bob
Zantac (ranitidine) - acid reflux (GERD) ulcers
Good post from Bob below, just clarifying for those that may not know what Zantac (branded name) or ranitidine (generic) is for:
-primary benefit by taking ranitidine is the reduction of stomach acid produced.
-prescribed for treatment and prevention of abdominal ulcers, acid reflux disease (GERD) heartburn, or other generic condition in which the patient has acid coming up into the esophagus.
150mg is a common US dosage, as is 75mg, and to a lesser extent 300mg. Always see a physician prior to taking this medication to ensure a) you should be taking it, and be) what recommended dosage you should take as the recommended dosage varies by person and symptomatic conditions in the patient.
International Health Coverage
I thought I would interrupt the fascinating posts involving Redondo's idiocy and Mpexy's money with a question about international health care. I am thinking about doing some traveling about southeast Asia and looking to find the most cost effective way to cover myself. My Swiss Medical policy will only cover me for a period of three consecutive months after leaving BA, and then I am on my own. I have a friend who is covered with IMG (International Medical Group) and I have researched that. I am wondering if some of you fellows who travel extensively have any ideas about this topic, or any hands on experience with the various companies who offer coverage. PMs are welcome.
Thanks and cheers.
Dogg