S.Susan

Hello everyone !


I hope it's not a silly question but I really don't have any idea .

Can we buy calpol ,Piriton in US easily for children ?

If they don't have them, what do they use over there? What are the names and where can I buy them?

the normal stuff, like ibuprofen , limsip ,can they be purchased easily there?

Do I need prepare some medicine once we move there?

Last but not least , my son , who is only a 4 and a bit , asked me that if US sells Digestives tea biscuits the other day .

If anyone can help me answer that , I will be very grateful.

Thanks

tom169

I would say there are more over the counter stuff over here than the UK. However, The brand names will likely be different. I believe Calpol's closest here would be Tylenol.

If someone who is moving requires prescribed medication I would take enough supplies to last you until you get set up here with insurance and Rx.

You can buy digestives here - likely to be found on a British aisle in a major supermarket. I found some at Publix.

lansbury

You can buy UK biccies and other stuff on Amazon or at some grocery stores. They are a lot more expensive here than in the UK.

As to medicine, my kids are grown but there are equivalents here often with a different name. Ibuprofen and the like you can buy in large bottles unlike the limited number at a time in the UK.

Bob

Depending on where you are, if you have a Ocean State Job Lots, they often have Digestives and Hob Nobs for $2

Lemsip, not something you find here. There is a similar product but never find them as good.

The rest of the stuff shouldn't be a problem to find.

robin1234

Tylenol is just one brand name for acetaminophen. Best to know the actual name of the medicine, rather than a brand name.

Wibblypig

And to add onto this, acetaminophen is the American name for paracetamol.

If you can, I would bring some, just so you don't have to rush out and find what suits your child. My kids much prefer Calpol over Tylenol, due to the flavour. Calpol seemed cheaper too, so we stocked up when we were in the UK at Christmas.

I have friends who have mentioned that they haven't found a Lemsip equivalent over here, so it might be worth bringing some. I don't use it so can't say for sure.

Pulaski

I can't think of a single common OTC medicine that has the same brand name in the UK and the US*. Aspirin and ibuprofen are commonly understood pharmaceutical names in both countries, but both countries, and especially the US loves to use brand names as proxies for pharmaceutical names. .... I know what ibuprofen is, but I couldn't tell you what is in Tylenol.

* It's the same for biscuits/cookies. British biscuits are not sold in the mainstream in the US. .... Many US groceries (supermarkets) sell "international" groceries, such as British biscuits, which are insanely expensive.

Suz16

I'd definitely bring Calpol if you can. You can get the equivalent, children's Tylenol, everywhere here but it tastes horrible, even the flavored ones. Or so my kids tell me! We always stock up when we go back to the U.K.

Another thing I always bring back with me is Beechams Flu Plus tablets, tried lots of cold and flu remedies here but nothing quite cuts it like the Beechams one.

I've never seen Piriton as such, but there are lots of over the counter antihistamines available here. However, they do tend to be expensive, so if you use them a lot I'd stock up.

Ibuprofen is Advil here and yes, available everywhere. Have never seen Lemsip here but then again, have never really looked for it.

As for digestive biscuits, depends where you are really. I'm in NJ and have never seen them here, however my friend who lives in Florida told me that she can get them in Publix.

Chesten

I'd add that Im finding OTC stuff much more expensive over here - kids and adults. OP, I stocked up on Calpol and brought lots over. Teething bubba so we are getting through a lot. Im at the point now of buying local versions but it bought us time and eased the transition.

Question to others - is there anywhere close to the cheap 25p generic ibuprofen and paracetamol tabs I used to buy in UK for adults?

Pulaski

..... You mean the absurdly expensive 25p ibuprofen and paracetomol tablets!

You can buy 100 for $2.48 or 500 for $6.98 of both from Walmart (Equate is the Walmart generic brand). Other places will be competitive or not much more for generics.

Chesten

I must be looking in the wrong places. Thanks for the heads up. The earlier posts clarifying US name for paracetamol also helps.

MsElui

we STILL bring back lemsips from the UK. You can get beechams powders here or something like that but they taste bloody awful so we vastly prefer the uk lempsips ans always have several boxes in the cupboard.

calpol - we just use a generic liquid acetaminophen (ie paracetamol) or a generic liquid ibuprofen. most grocery stores or pharmacies have their store brands that are cheap. can buy in varioua flavors and 'dye free; etc. my kids switched from calpol to these without a murmur. THE ONLY exception is that calpol used to sell in the uk in the ready measured packets which were fabulous to take out and about in the nappy bag. They dont have that at all here and sell it only by the bottle so if you LIKE the little sachets - bring them.

Things like Nightnurse (placebo par excellence lol ) have very similar formulations over here called Nyquil (plus many store brand equivalents).

Guindalf

Theraflu is the US equivalent of Lemsip - or at least a close approximation.

My advice, get the actual drug name and go to Walmart. The Equate version of many name brand OTC medicines is very similar (and often exactly the same) at a fraction of the price.

As for Digestives, as I sit here munching my way through a packet of McVities plain chocolate digestives from Publix, at his age, you may want to try some Graham crackers. Not the same, but if they work, it might save a bob or two, and they come in teddy bear shapes too!

Britexmom

Children's Motrin, the orange one, is the best tasting you can get here. Stores will have their own brand cheaper and it always states on the box the corresponding name brand it compares to.
As previously mentioned knowing the actual medical name of the drug will be the easiest way to find a cheap alternative. Try to avoid actual drugstores, they have jacked up prices and it's going to be much cheaper in the supermarket .

World market is a store that sells a large selection of British foods and drinks

My local supermarket chain has an international aisle and we can get salad cream, hp sauce, gravy, along with a large selection of sweets and biscuits. Just this month the store actually introduced their own store brand of 'European style digestive cookies'. I haven't tried them yet but in general HEB (store name) puts put pretty good tasting stuff.

robin1234

Good point about biscuits. Another incredibly cheap type of biscuit, British or euro-style, can be found in the Israeli food section and the Hispanic food section. Both Goya (from Puerto Rico or FL, I think) and Osem (Israeli) have a very acceptable rich tea type biscuit - about 75c a packet. Should be able to get them in Walmart or any large grocery.