Over the last five years, it has been possible to plan ahead for weeks what I would write about for the Italy Roundtable. Other topics I realize only a few days in advance that there is a Roundtable post.
This month falls under the second category.
It’s good to know that I was just calling a friend about a trip to Italy when I came across the topic of Health. She had a question that she wanted answered and I didn’t have the answer on Italy Explained. This is one-third packing and one-third shopping. It might not be the perfect match for this month’s topic, but that’s part of being your boss.
When I say I want readers of Italy Explained to feel like they are getting travel advice from a friend when I mean it, My high school friend Amy contacted me via Facebook to ask questions about her trip to Venice. I knew a few links to send her, and the information I had already written was nearly identical to what I would have typed to answer her questions.
One exception was one I had not yet answered. I knew I had looked at it in a few articles, but I didn’t know the answer. Amy was right to wonder what liquids she could not bring from home due to the liquid restrictions on flights. However, she didn’t want half an hour searching for toothpaste.
So, I’m here to tell you all about the wonderful Italian pharmacies and the many random items you can pick up upon your arrival. You should bring some items with you. I have listed them below.
This means that I don’t just think of my Italy explained readers as my friends; I also think of them as my friends.
Continue reading:
- Learn everything you need to know about medicine in Italy
- Check out my
The Pharmacy in Italy Sells Liquids
You may be surprised to find that many of your favorite brands are available in Italy. Even if you don’t speak the language, it makes buying toothpaste or shampoo much simpler. You will still need to learn some words so you don’t buy hand lotions when you were supposed to use body wash.
(Just ask me why that is an example.
Here is a list of vocabulary for your pharmacy visit:
- Shampoo – shampoo (SHAM|pooh)
- Conditioner – balsamo (BAL|sah|moh)
- Shower Gel/Body Wash – saponetta (sah|poh|NET|tah)
- kah)
- Hair Gel – gel (jell)
- Toothpaste – dentifricio (den|tee|FREE|chyoh)
- ZYOH
Indigestion Remedies
As I mentioned, Italians are semi-obsessed in digestion. Therefore, Italian shops stock many treatments for stomach problems. Maalox and Immodium can be purchased at your local pharmacy. Also, Citrosodina is a water-soluble tablet similar to Alka-Seltzer. If you don’t have any severe digestive problems, you can probably pick up some medication for a tummyache while you’re in Italy.
What pharmacy items should you bring from home?
- Prescriptions– Although it may seem obvious, any prescriptions that you have should be taken with you. You can pack them in your bag and keep the original bottles in your luggage. This will make it easier for pharmacists or doctors to refill prescriptions.
- Painkillers These are pills, not liquids. However, there is another reason to buy painkillers in Italy from your home. It’s cheaper. they are likely to be more expensive than those that you would find at home. When family members visit from the United States, Advil bottles purchased at Costco are a common item that they request.
- mah soh It’s common to spend a lot of time outdoors in Italy during summer, whether you’re at the beach or walking through Pompeii. So it is advisable that you bring your sunscreen with higher SPF.
++ Reader and friend Laurel, who lived in Rome, left a comment. I wanted to highlight it here for anyone who doesn’t like comments. “I found high-sun sunscreen easy to find in the Italian pharmacy.” Dermatologists are now recommending that SPF 50 be used in order to prevent skin cancer. … These brands include La Roche-Posay Anthelios and Eucerin as well as Vichy, Heliocare, and Vichy.
Pharmacy vs. Grocery Store
Italy’s most charming food market is not a large grocery store, but it does have them. There are often small pharmacies inside, just like in big grocery stores.
I find pharmacies more common (they are even found in most train stations), but if a grocery store is nearby before you go to a pharmacy, you will usually be able to find the basic necessities (shampoos, toothpastes, etc.). there. Most medications of any type can be found only in pharmacies.
Italy Roundtable: Other Voices
Follow me to each link to read their posts. Please leave comments and share them with friends. Tune in next month to see another topic on Italy Blogging Roundtable!
- ArtTrav
- Home in Tuscany Natural remedies and herbs for health in Tuscany
- Bleeding Espresso –
- Brigolante –
- Ciao Amalfi –
- Driving like a Maniac
- Girl from Florence
- Italofile
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