23 February 2007

The Down Side of an Early Spring

The unusually warm winter in Switzerland has been wonderful.

It feels like spring already. The sun is shining. The birds are singing. The children are playing. The flowers are blooming...

Oh. The flowers are blooming.

GLH and I are both red-eyed with running noses and lots of sneezing.

No, we do not have colds. We have allergies.

The aspect about winter I appreciate the most is the nice break from allergies in the spring, summer and fall. Not much of a break this year.

When I come back from my trip to the United States next week, I will be fully stocked with my favorite allergy medicine. It's going to be a long time before the hard frost next fall...

And I'll have to go from pharmacy to pharmacy because of that stupid law limiting how much allergy medicine you can buy at a time.

C'mon. Do I really look like I am going to make crack from the stuff?

I hope it's not a problem at the airport. Does anyone know?

6 comments:

Impossible Jane said...

I'm not sure about the airport but the last time I bought cold/sinus medicine they made me feel 1 foot tall. I did not know of the law and was pissed when I had to sign my life away for a stupid pack of cold medicine. These laws are crazy. Then I have my clients who go to the emergency room, complain of a toothache and walk out of there with Vicadins (sp?). That's crazy. The doctor should have given her motrin and called it a day.

Anonymous said...

Doctors give out Vicodin and Percocet like crazy in ERs to get rid of the patients. Sad but true.

The Big Finn said...

We often bring back a couple of boxes of Tylenol allergy &/or nighttime cold tablets when we come back from the U.S. We've never had a problem. As far as I know, there's no law against bringing over-the-counter medicine onto an airplane...or back into Switzerland. However, I would put it in your carry-on (except for things like cough syrup) instead of your checked bags; that's the kind of stuff the TSA would confiscate (read: steal) from your bag while doing their inspections.

Unknown said...

Also - I'd venture to the local pharmacy and ask them for sinus/allergy medication. IF you know the ingredients that you need, maybe write them down and ask that way...

I found one that was great but for me Tylenol allergy sinus is the only one that works for me. IT has the pseudoefrein(sp) in it...

Anonymous said...

I bring OTC medicine back all time. Just separate between bags. I've never had a problem.

CanadianSwiss said...

I'm afraid I won't be of much help here. I have no allergies. The only thing I bring back are Tylenol and maybe a bottle or two of Advil gel caps for a friend of ours in Swtzerland. Never had any problem.