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Tesco nonsense

(21 Posts)
HowVeryDareYou Fri 07-Jan-22 21:12:56

I've got Conjuctivitis in both eyes. My husband was going to a very large Tesco, so I asked him to get me some eye drops. He picked up a bottle, from the shelf, went to pay, only to be told "We can't sell you tose, they're not meant to be on the shelf, you'll need to go to the Pharmacy here" (there were several bottles on the shelf).

He went to Pharmacy, was told they hadn't got any eye drops in stock! (that's because they're on the bloody shelf). So he wasn't able to get them! Meanwhile, my eyes are sore, weeping and itchy.... and he's gone out now to Asda.

ginny Fri 07-Jan-22 21:47:15

Could he not have taken the drops to the pharmacy and told them where their stock was? Maybe I am missing something.

Jaxjacky Fri 07-Jan-22 22:02:28

I don’t get it either ginny.
Can you explain why he didn’t just point them out on the shelf please HowVeryDareYou?

crazyH Fri 07-Jan-22 22:05:44

I’m not a Doctor, but have you got antihistamines at home ? It won’t harm to take one or you can buy it off the shelf from Tesco ..

crazyH Fri 07-Jan-22 22:08:50

It may help with the itching

BigBertha1 Fri 07-Jan-22 22:09:10

Shouldn't you be seen by a clinician and have a prescribed treatment ?

Casdon Fri 07-Jan-22 22:19:11

You can’t buy conjunctivitis treatment at the supermarket, so it should not have been on the shelves. It is available without prescription at the pharmacy counter, it needs to be approved by a pharmacist for sale to you.

annodomini Fri 07-Jan-22 22:35:39

You really should see a GP about conjunctivitis which can be either bacterial or viral and a treatment for one might not work for the other,

mumofmadboys Sat 08-Jan-22 07:31:32

Most cases of conjunctivitis are viral so antibiotic drops don't help. It is best to bathe red, sticky eyes with cooled boiled water using cotton wool 4-6 times daily. If no improvement after 3 -4 days buy some chloramphenicol drops from the chemist and apply 4 times daily, continuing with the bathing. Only need to see a GP if these measures fail.

HurdyGurdy Sat 08-Jan-22 07:54:40

I wanted to stock up on nose drops a few years ago, also at Tesco pharmacy, although I suspect the rules are the same everywhere.

I asked for four bottles (one for my desk at work, one for in the car, one for my handbag, and one spare), to be told I could only buy two. When I queried why, I was told it was to prevent substance misuse.

I burst out laughing and said "I am 57 years old. I have never so much as taken a single puff on a cigarette. Should I decide at this stage in my life to dabble with substance misuse, trust me, nose drops will not be my drug of choice "

Cue much laughter both from the pharmacist and the rest of the queue.

I left with my two bottles and went to the local chemist for the other two bottles.

Juliet27 Sat 08-Jan-22 08:03:41

But rules is rules and the assistant was doing her job.

yggdrasil Sat 08-Jan-22 09:19:57

Buy 2, then walk round the aisle and go buy another two. I have done this with paracetamol which only allows 2 packets per transaction

Nana56 Sat 08-Jan-22 11:52:20

Chloramphenicol eye drops are pharmacy only and kept in the .fridge .
If they were on the shelf they would have been of no use.

Pepper59 Sat 08-Jan-22 11:55:25

Boots usually have them if you ask the pharmacist or assistant. If you have Boots in your area.

Calistemon Sat 08-Jan-22 11:57:08

yggdrasil

Buy 2, then walk round the aisle and go buy another two. I have done this with paracetamol which only allows 2 packets per transaction

GP recommended 8 paracetamol a day which means trawling round shops picking up a couple of packets every few days.
The chemist said she couldn't understand why our GP didn't prescribe them as the other practice prescribes them by the hundred!

marionk Sat 08-Jan-22 12:02:45

Had something similar once when we went to Sainsburys for breakfast (when they were still running their own cafes) only to be told they were out of eggs and bread! 20 paces would have taken them into the main store where there were plenty of both?

EllanVannin Sat 08-Jan-22 12:19:00

Anyone remember the " Golden Eye Ointment ?" It seemed to have been the cure-all for eyes once upon a time.

Maggiemaybe Sat 08-Jan-22 12:26:03

They still sell it, EllanVannin. Whether it's as gum-your-eyelashes-together sticky as it used to be, I don't know!

Deedaa Sat 08-Jan-22 12:39:19

marionk I was a supervisor in a Sainsbury's cafe. I Know we used to take tea and coffee from the shop floor but for the life of me I can't remember what we did for eggs and bread (certainly can't remember ever running out of ingredients for breakfast!) I know there wasn't much flexibility between departments, when I worked for Asda they were much better and just interested in getting customers fed rather than worrying about where the food was coming from.

When I was a child I got through an awful lot of Golden Eye Ointment for my styes. We once took the cat to the vet and he took one look at my eye and said "Here, I can give you some Golden Eye Ointment for that" In those days (don't know if it's still the same) vets could treat people because people could consent to the treatment. Doctors couldn't treat animals because they couldn't give consent.

HowVeryDareYou Sat 08-Jan-22 16:24:30

ginny He asked. They said no. He got drops from Asda.

HowVeryDareYou Sat 08-Jan-22 16:26:39

crazyH Thanks. I'd taken antihistamines, I've usually got some at home. He got some eye drops from Asda Pharmacy, (to be applied 4 times daily) and my eyes are a little bit better today.