Allergies, Asthma and the Pharmacy

You marvel at the sights and sounds the City of Light has to offer. The Eifel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame, not to mention the plethora of cafes all capture your attention. You plan your day accordingly with what you want to do next while you are here. You are dripping with enthusiasm, but unfortunately your nose is dripping from the cold you acquired along the way. That's ok. There are pharmacies practically on every street corner. You will recognize them from blocks away due to their green cross flashing different designs at you.

So, with the ubiquitous amount of pharmacies out there, you inevitably think you can run into one of them and pick up some Nyquil (or Dayquil for the daytime), but oh no, they do not carry that here! What will you do? Your French isn't on par enough to tell the pharmacist that you have a cold (which by the way is rhume).

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You can pretend to sneeze and maybe he will get it. But after hearing a story how a Portugese woman told a French doctor what was wrong with her in her language, he misinterpreted the meaning and prescribed medicine for constipation when she wanted medicine for a cold. I think that it's best to either carry a dictionary with you or just know that Fervex is the answer to cold symptoms. If you don't read French you take one packet and pour it into hot water and drink up, but only take it at night as it promotes drowsiness. You don't want to fall asleep and miss all the Parisian action after taking it. I took some just last night and most of my cold symptoms from yesterday have moved through its course. Yahoo!

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So, that answers that, but what about skin allergies? I have been here awhile and long since ran out of my lotions, creams and soaps that work for my sensitive dry skin. Soaps are a no-no for people like me with chronic dermatidis and exzyma. With products from home I know exactly what to buy. Noone ever guesses that I have skin problems. But being abroad it has been about trial and error for me trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. Marseilles gels and laits (milk cleansers) can easily be found in the supermarchés and are inexpensive. While I can't use them on my face, they work well for the body and they have an array of nice scents too.

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For washing the face, that is a different story. What works for me is Lipikar Surgras Douche-Creme Concentree Anti-Dessechment by La Roche-Posay. Whew, that was a long one. It can be found at the parapharmacies that I talk about below.

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As for lotions, I tried every lotion from the grocery store here only to find I was allergic to them all. I became so desperate, I had a friend who was visiting the U.S. pick up 2 large bottles of my lotion while she was there. Poor girl had to carry her heavy suitcase filled with all the stuff I had her buy for me.

I then ran out of my Progres eye cream that I have used for the last 20 years. Unfortunately, Lancome doesn't make the product anymore and I am allergic to all their other eye creams. I tried practically everything I could, but my eyes reacted badly to them all. Waking up every day with swollen eyelids that would eventually go down from putting a cold damp cloth on them for several hours, only left severe wrinkling and flakiness I normally do not have.

After six weeks of this hell, I then discovered the Parapharmacie. When the word Para is thrown into the front of pharmacie, it essentially means the store is bigger and has topical products. This is the place to shop for your skin care. Vichy is a fabulous brand that works for me. You may have to spend more, but who cares, your face will be happy you did! After using my Vichy cream around my eyes, the swelling and wrinkling went away almost immediately and my skin is back to its youthful look. THANK YOU VICHY!

For you asthma patients, you will need a prescription to replace your order. Doctors here are generally only 22€ if you do not carry French insurance. The meds will be different, but I think they are on par with what we have at home.

So, the moral of the story is to not worry. No need to spend hundreds of dollars shipping a bottle of lotion over from the States or having friends do your shopping for you while at home. You will find things here eventually. You just may have to do a little work to get there. But that is ok, Paris is worth the effort!

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Thank you for reading and bonne journée!

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Please note I am not a physician. These are just some things that have worked for me. Please consult your physician before trying any of the products listed above.