Although you can buy first aid items such as plasters and cotton wool in French supermarkets, they are not licensed to sell pharmaceuticals – not even the mildest junior aspirin – so for all your first aid needs, you will have to go to the pharmacy.

It takes six or seven years to qualify as a pharmacist in France, so you can be sure that their advice is reliable. Apart from dispensing prescriptions, pharmacists will look at infected insect bites or small cuts, dress minor wounds and advise about strange rashes, sore throats and mild aches and pains, so they are often a good place to start if you have minor health worries. If you have something which needs to be seen by a doctor the pharmacist will give you directions to the nearest GP or specialist.

They also give general health and lifestyle advice. For example they can help with weight control, nutrition (ie dietary requirements for pregnant women) or giving up smoking. They also have details of all health-related services in your area and are trained to check your basket of mushrooms and tell you which are edible and which are poisonous.

Pharmacies also stock alternative remedies such as homeopathic kits to help you give up smoking and herbal teas to increase vitality or help you relax. And you can buy a wide range of animal and veterinary products, as well as get information on controlling pests such as fleas, ticks and worms. They do also sell some cosmetics but for the widest range and the best advice, you’re better off at the parfumerie. (Cheaper brands are sold in supermarkets and street markets.)

Pharmacies are all individually owned and run, there are no pharmaceutical chains in France. They are thick on the ground however, and easy to spot as there shop signs all sport a large green cross.

For burns, the tried and trusted remedy is Biafine. Doliprane is the most common brand of paracetamol, and Smecta (sachets of powders) is the standard answer for diarrhoea. Other trusted standbys include Betadine (a yellow liquid used to disinfect and dry wounds); MycoApaisyl (an anti-fungal cream); Gel d'Arnica (for bumps and bruises); Onctose Hydrocortisone (for mosquito bites); and Apaisyl (scratches stings and bites. 

TCP is unknown, as the French prefer specific remedies for specific problems rather than one catch-all solution.  (If the pharmacy is closed however, it's almost a certainty that your neighbour can help you out as French people tend to have bulging bathroom cabinets.)
Generally, prices are lower than in some other EU countries as they are state-controlled.  This is especially true when buying generics.  For example, if you want some Nurofen, ask for "ibuprofen" and they'll sell you a generic brand for under 2 euros.  The same goes for everything.  If the price seems a bit steep, ask if there's a generic brand.

If you are ever unlucky enough to have prescription drugs stolen out of hours, many pharmacists can be persuaded to give you enough to last until you can consult a doctor during normal hours since GPs don’t generally relish being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night to write a replacement prescription.

The service de garde rota is posted in pharmacy windows if you ever need out of hours emergency service and often includes a map showing the locations of local chemists offering this service. (It is also worth noting that as part of the French HIV/AIDS prevention policy, all pharmacies have condom-vending machines outside the shop so that they can be used 24 hours a day.)

Prescriptions have to be paid for when collected and, depending on your insurance, all or part of the cost is then reimbursed. Once you enter the French system and have a carte vitale you may not have to pay anything as the pharmacy can bill the insurance company direct (service tiers-payant). This again however, depends on the type and level of your insurance cover, as well as whether or not the shop is connected to the computer system. If you pay for reimbursable drugs or products, you will be given a form (feuille de soins) which you then send to your insurance company for a reimbursement.
 
Fact file
• The local paper usually lists the emergency rota for pharmacies and doctors. Doctors also operate out-of-hours services; ring any local doctor’s answerphone for the mobile number of the current duty doctor/pharmacy

• In France you now have to nominate a GP and you can incur a financial penalty if you don’t consult them – except in an emergency, when you can in anyone you like

• GPs will make emergency house visits, even out of hours, (especially when the sufferer is an old person, a baby or a young child) but if they are deemed medically unnecessary, the cost may not be reimbursed

• The E111 has been replaced by the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which is available from UK Post Offices. For more information, pick up the leaflet Health Advice For Travellers from your nearest branch. Remember that once back in the UK, you can claim back emergency medical costs incurred within the EU even if you don’t have an EHIC. It does not, however, cover elective non-emergency treatment such as cataract operations. For more information see the Department of Health’s website www.dh.gov.uk.

• But in an emergency, don’t worry about insurance – by law you will be treated whether or not you have the relevant papers with you and whether or not you are insured; the bureaucracy has to be sorted out afterwards.

Top tips for when you’re not tip-top
• Remember that Latin words for diseases and parts of the body tend to be internationally understood. For example, say ‘rubella’ rather than ‘German Measles’, ‘cardiac arrest’ rather than ‘heart attack’, and ‘hyper-tension’ rather than ‘high blood pressure’

• As in the UK, carry information about any medical condition (penicillin allergy, diabetes, pace-maker, etc) on you at all times

• If your French is on the rusty side, tape a list of useful phrases on the wall beside the phone. (See language section over the page for suggestions)

• Don’t panic! The French medical system is one of the best in the world so if you do need assistance, you’ll be in good hands
 
On the other hand
If you’re nervous, or are planning to indulge in high-risk sports, why not complete a St John’s Ambulance course before you leave the UK? That way, you’ll at least feel more in control should an emergency arise. St John’s Ambulance National Headquarters
Tel: 020 7324 4000 Website: www.sja.org.uk

Disclaimer
This dossier article is intended as a general guide only.  For specific information relative to your own situation, please use the contact details in the factfile.  The information given here was correct at the time of publication.  However, if you notice a gremlin causing typos or any other inaccuracies, do please let us know.

Updates
This article was last updated 15 September 2007