Not Allowed into the Drugstore if you have any of these Symptoms!

hi all,

im currently recovering from a horrendous flu thats been hitting me for 6 for a full 7 days now.

From sore throats to crazy coughs etc etc, im still ill!

Went down to the Drugstore, Chemist, pharmacy, whatever you call it and they have these notices pinned up everywhere outside the storesaying,

"STOP! do not enter this shop if you have any of the following symptoms - runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever, aches etc etc"

So what, i am not allowed into the shop to get my things? What if i dont know anyone else that can help?

Am i supposed to just turn around , go home and suffer??

I have never seen this kind of thing before. I am in New Zealand and this was at a major Pharmacy in a large, Central shopping mall.

Maybe this weekend i can go back and photograph this madness.

G.

reply to post by grantbeed
Call your doctor. He may know of a drug store which delivers or has a drive through.

So the implication here has to be that some sort of flu, whatever has been deemed more troublesome / dangerous than any in the recent past. Of course, this is assuming that this pharmacy hasn't done this before. Interesting!

reply to post by grantbeed


I am sorry, but I know where they are coming from, with the swine flu going around. Just to tell you my story, I was in the grocery store shopping the other day and a kid and his father were in front of me buying cough medicine and some gatorade, I heard him tell the kid"we'll get you better, ok". Right then and there I backed up slightly and covered my nose and mouth, But I was discreet about it I turned my head to the side. Well I was trying to be discreet. I can't afford to get sick, so I can understand the pharmacy's policy... it sucks, but people want to protect themselves from getting sick.

reply to post by grantbeed


No such problem in the UK, we just fill out an online questionaire and get someone else pick the anti-virals up, without any imput from doctors!

Check this out!

I'm healthy but became a UK Swine flu case in 15 easy clicks & got a code for Tamiflu-read the Q's

Really is more worrying that way.

reply to post by ldyserenity


i know what youre saying. But sometimes you dont have a helping hand to get the things you need.

So then what do you do?

reply to post by kiwifoot


wow. theres nothing like that here in new zealand kiwifoot!!

reply to post by grantbeed


Oh yeah! Where abouts? I'm from Papakura,Auckland.

Long time ago now, been in the Uk since 97, the NHS is quite good, you know, free when you need it (we pay national insurance so technically it's not free!). But the MSM here is going crazy with the swine flu, and everyone here is in a panic, it's a load of poo!

yeh, im from scotland originally, been here for 5yrs.

there are tonnes of people with the flu here at the moment. never seen anything like it. I think swine flu is overhyped though so the drug companies reap the benefits.

Not only do the Pharmacies have these signs up but the supermarkets do as well.

reply to post by grantbeed


I can see it two ways.

Eiother they don't want to get the flu and spread it to all the people coming in to get advice.

OR

They are worried that they'll get too busy if they let them all in.

Actually it sounds like they're just trying to sensationalise the whole thing, get everyone panicking!

reply to post by grantbeed


In that situation when a spouse or significant other isn't around to help, I do go out when i am sick, but I am not rude about it. I try my hardest to stay away from people, I don't get too close, if I cough i bring tissues and cough into that, and I bring my hand sanitizer. The key is not to get close to anyone. I do warn the cashier that I am not getting close to her because I am sick. She says thanks for the warning and stays away from me too.

What pisses me off is people going to department stores, movies, restaurants, bars and any place that they really don't need to be when they are sick. It's called cook at home, watch a movie at home, drink at home, shop online!! That's what irritates me.

Also here in some states at Rite Aide or CVS and I think Walgreens also have drink thru service. So what I do is if I just came from the doctor's and I am sick, I use the drive thru. I have my doctor send my prescription to that pharmacy, I pick it up within the hour at the drive thru, and they have this huge glass in front of them, so if you do happen to cough, your coughing on glass not on the pharmicist, it makes things easier for them and us.

Originally posted by grantbeed
hi all,

im currently recovering from a horrendous flu thats been hitting me for 6 for a full 7 days now.

From sore throats to crazy coughs etc etc, im still ill!

Went down to the Drugstore, Chemist, pharmacy, whatever you call it and they have these notices pinned up everywhere outside the storesaying,

"STOP! do not enter this shop if you have any of the following symptoms - runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever, aches etc etc"

So what, i am not allowed into the shop to get my things? What if i dont know anyone else that can help?

Am i supposed to just turn around , go home and suffer??

I have never seen this kind of thing before. I am in New Zealand and this was at a major Pharmacy in a large, Central shopping mall.

Maybe this weekend i can go back and photograph this madness.

G.

So what a heck did you do? - did you put on a grim face and went in for your stuff?

Or did you just went home again - really baffled??

Crazy chit indeed!

Is this just another set up for the vaccines? I have to wonder.

I took my family to a resurant for breakfast the other morning and the waitress was coughing! I almost yelled at her to STOP coughing towards us.

We should have gotten up and left, instead I went out to my car and got some robitussinDM and brought it in for the waitress.

I HAVE to learn to be stronger about things.

I Must become proactive in keeping my family safer by not compromising what I know to be the best for them.

I should have made breakfast at home...

Since this clearly will not stop current flu pandemics , and since pharmacy is the place to get stuff for runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever, aches etc (especially for ETc ) i find it a bad practice, especially since it is simply a violent flu and not something really bad. Here people can complain to ministry of health if they were not served in pharmacies and it is a big problem for all involved then.
What about public transportation? People with running noses are not permitted to use it too? Keep your noses at home??

Well I gotta go with the pharmacy on this one - they have the right to refuse any customer they wish. People have to work there and the employer has a duty of care towards them and who makes up the biggest part of their customer base? People with pre existing medical conditions I would think, that and the old and mothers with kids, all the really vulnerable ones I mean.

You only have to push the door open and lean on the counter and you can bet most people will do exactly the same thing and then touch their face without thinking - blammo, that flu that you got over easily just killed a grandmother!

reply to post by Now_Then


But flu comes every year. Every year people die from flu, and some of them surely got it in pharmacies. By far not a majority. So what is different now,then ?

reply to post by ZeroKnowledge


Well this one is defiantly getting all the media hype - I guess the pharmacy biz is more or less as completive as any other, I think I'm in walking distance of about 4 of them I think so unless that's the only one in your area I think people will vote with their feet. It's not something I've seen here yet but I have not been looking - been far too busy putting my self at risk by lowering my resistance via drinking far too much and them throwing very bad shapes in sweat pits they claim are really nightclubs! (that's one way to get sick!).

Time will tell if it's a good policy for them, they could loose some customers but out weigh that by not having any staff go down ill - Or they may gain more custom because some people feel more comfortable shopping there.

You could look up their number in the yellow pages and call them! That could be interesting, maybe they would be willing to deliver?

Edit: I wrote that thinking zeroknoledge was the OP, just so that makes a bit more sense


[edit on 24/7/2009 by Now_Then]

reply to post by Chevalerous


i did go in and get my goods. I went there specifically to get some medicine, i was not about to go home empty handed!

I don't know about NZ, but here in the US we have Drive through pharmacies. That way the other customers are not exposed to your disease. Do you not have drive throughs?

Just my 2-cents

reply to post by Aggie Man


no, we dont have drive thru pharmacies here. Sounds like a good idea though. New Zealand tend to be about 10 years behind the rest of the world with most things!!