2023-07-11 04:03:12
Switzerland-Türkiye
Turkish pharmacies refused antibiotics to a child on vacation
Suffering from Lyme disease, a 7-year-old boy was unable to get treatment during his stay in Antalya. The pharmacists demanded the original prescription written by his Swiss pediatrician.
Posted11 July 2023, 06:03
If Lyme borreliosis is detected at an early stage, antibiotics are sufficient.
Freepik
“I visited six pharmacies near Antalya. None of them agreed to sell me the antibiotics for my son.” For Nathalie*, the two weeks of vacation in Turkey were not easy. Her 7-year-old son, bitten by a tick in mid-June in Switzerland, developed Lyme borreliosisa few days after the arrival of the family in the seaside resort.
Original document required
“He already had all the symptoms before he left; headaches, excessive sweating, pain and swelling. But the pediatrician found nothing…”, details his mother. However, the child’s condition quickly deteriorated in Türkiye. “A few days later, I sent photos to his pediatrician, who prescribed him antibiotics and sent the prescription by email. But Turkish pharmacies demanded the original document. The Swiss embassy did everything it could, but in vain”, continues this Valaisan.
She is still chilled by these numerous refusals, often rough from the formwork. “Given what I had been confronted with, I did not want to test the Turkish health system. And then my son had pain to the touch but for the rest, he was fine, ”says the one who still asked for the opinion of several doctors. The 7-year-old boy ended the stay last Friday with a very swollen cheek. He still has a red, swollen, painful ear and cheek. He has to take antibiotics for another two weeks.
things that happen
“It happens that medical prescriptions issued in Switzerland are not accepted abroad or that the medicine prescribed by a Swiss doctor is not available abroad. And these problems are not limited to a specific country”, reports the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), however without giving figures.
In such cases, the Swiss Society of Pharmacists pharmaSuisse also recommends consulting a doctor or emergency services abroad to obtain a prescription that meets local requirements. And to take no risk, the FDFA adds that on request, the Swiss representations can provide addresses of hospitals and doctors on site.
Lyme borreliosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria transmitted to humans through the bites of infected ticks. If the disease is detected at an early stage, antibiotics are enough. Otherwise, microbes can attack the nervous system, joints or organs and cause serious problems there, warns pharmaSuisse. According to a 2022 meta-analysis, more than 14% of the world’s population had contracted Lyme disease.
*Assumed first name.
Show comments
1689049826
#Turkish #pharmacies #refuse #antibiotics #Swiss #vacation