Know what to ask for, wherever you land.

Also sold as Calonal A (カロナールA), the same ingredient; plain Calonal is prescription-only. Japanese Tylenol is a lower dose (300 mg per tablet) than the 500 mg standard elsewhere, so one tablet does not equal one of yours.

Up to 500 mg is sold over the counter; 1 g needs a prescription.

Turkey’s best-selling paracetamol brand, made by Atabay since 1973.

Tablets up to 400 mg are sold without a prescription. 600 mg and 800 mg tablets, and some larger packs, need one.

Some strengths need a prescription. Many pharmacies have a doctor’s office next door that can examine you and prescribe on the spot for a small fee.

EVE A has 75 mg ibuprofen per tablet (adult dose 2 tablets), plus caffeine and a sedative (allylisopropylacetylurea). Loxoprofen (brand "Loxonin S") is the more common OTC pain reliever in Japan.

200 mg packs are on the general sale list; 400 mg strengths are prescription-only.

200 and 400 mg are sold without a prescription (some 400 mg forms only in pharmacies); 600 mg needs one.

Pain-relief aspirin (300 mg) is sold without a prescription, on general sale or at the pharmacy counter. Some other aspirin products are prescription-only.

The brand originated here (Bayer).

Some strengths need a prescription. Many pharmacies have a doctor’s office next door that can examine you and prescribe on the spot for a small fee.

Without a prescription, naproxen is sold only as Feminax Ultra, for period pain, from the pharmacy counter. Other naproxen tablets are prescription-only.

Low-dose packs are sold in pharmacies without a prescription; higher strengths need one.

Some strengths need a prescription. Many pharmacies have a doctor’s office next door that can examine you and prescribe on the spot for a small fee.

Not sold over the counter in Japan; loxoprofen ("Loxonin S") is the usual OTC pain reliever.

Aleve is on the general sale list; other naproxen brands are prescription-only.

The gel is over the counter; diclofenac tablets need a prescription.

Voltarol Back & Muscle Pain Relief gel is on general sale; the other Voltarol gels are pharmacy-only, and the tablets and suppositories need a prescription.

Flector gel is another diclofenac gel sold without a prescription.

Spelled "Clarityn" in the UK, not "Claritin".

Pharmacy-only (apothekenpflichtig); no prescription needed. Generics are sold as "Loratadin STADA" or "Loratadin AL".

The Clarityne brand was discontinued in France (marketing stopped 2020-2021) and is no longer in the government drug registry. Loratadine is still sold generically. Packs labeled “Conseil” are sold without a prescription; the other generics are prescription-only (liste II).

Cetirizine tablets are easier to find than loratadine.

Sold as a Class 2 OTC medicine.

Regular 5 mg and 10 mg Reactine is sold without a prescription; the 20 mg tablet is prescription-only.

Zyrtecset 10 mg tablets are sold without a prescription; Zyrtec drops are prescription-only (liste II).

Prescription-only. The common over-the-counter antihistamine is fexofenadine (Allegra FX).

Tablets are sold over the counter; the oral solution needs a prescription.

UK "Benadryl" is a different medicine (acrivastine or cetirizine). Diphenhydramine is sold as a sleep aid, under Nytol and pharmacy own-brand names.

Sold as a sleep aid in Germany, not for allergies.

Sold for motion sickness, and the only diphenhydramine product on the French market. It is not sold as an allergy or sleep medicine; for sleep, pharmacies offer Donormyl (doxylamine).

Sold without a prescription only in combination cough syrups. Plain diphenhydramine needs a prescription.

Sold as a sleep aid, not for allergies. Look in the sleep section of the pharmacy. 25 mg per tablet (adult dose 2 tablets).

Vietnamese pharmacies use the international spelling, so the name is written the same way.

Benadryl is not registered in Singapore. Paxidorm 25 mg is the only single-ingredient diphenhydramine product on the HSA register, and it is pharmacy-only.

Pharmacies in Morocco work in French, so use the French name. Spoken Darija uses the same word.

Allergan is a skin cream for itching, not a tablet. For allergies, ask for loratadine (Clarityn) or cetirizine (Zirtec).

Flonase nasal spray switched from prescription to OTC in the US in 2014; Flovent for asthma remains prescription-only.

Flixonase nasal spray is prescription-only in the UK. The hay fever spray sold without a prescription is Pirinase (also Nasofan Allergy); fluticasone inhalers for asthma need a prescription.

The Flonase allergy nasal spray is sold without a prescription; fluticasone inhalers for asthma are prescription-only.

Fluticasone nasal spray was switched to prescription-free, pharmacy-only (apothekenpflichtig) status in Germany in 2016; inhalers for asthma remain prescription-only.

Unlike the US, UK, Canada, and Germany, fluticasone nasal spray has not been switched to OTC/pharmacy status in France and remains prescription-only; azelastine and levocabastine nasal sprays are the non-prescription options there instead.

Sold as a free-sale (libre venta) product in Mexican pharmacies.

Flunase nasal spray is sold over the counter for seasonal allergies (hay fever). Allermist (nasal spray) and Flutide (inhaler) are prescription-only. Other over-the-counter steroid nasal sprays use beclomethasone dipropionate (ベクロメタゾンプロピオン酸エステル) instead, for example Nazal αAR (ナザールαAR) and Contac Hana-en Spray (コンタック鼻炎スプレー).

Sold at several Vietnamese pharmacy chains. Needs a prescription.

Classified Pharmacy Only, so a pharmacist can dispense it without a doctor’s prescription.

Sold in Morocco. Its exact prescription class there is not known.

INFARMED has a pharmacy-exclusive-dispensing (Dispensa Exclusiva em Farmácia) protocol for fluticasone nasal spray, and Portuguese pharmacies list it among non-prescription (MNSRM) allergy products, as in the US, UK, Canada and Germany.

Allevia 120 mg is sold without a prescription; Telfast and the 180 mg strength need one.

Lower strengths are on the general sale list; others are prescription-only.

Bring what you need from home.

Sold from behind the pharmacy counter without a prescription. You must show photo ID and be 18 or older, and purchase limits apply.

Pharmacy-only, with purchase limits.

Not sold on its own. It comes only in combination cold remedies with a painkiller (aspirin or ibuprofen) or an antihistamine, so check the other ingredient. Aerinaze, the higher-dose version, needs a prescription.

ANSM made a prescription mandatory nationwide for all pseudoephedrine-based medicines effective 11 December 2024, citing documented stroke, heart attack, and death cases; the Actifed Rhume combination products have themselves been withdrawn from the market. The French medicines register currently lists no pseudoephedrine product as marketed.

Banned since 2008. Mexico was the first North American country to prohibit pseudoephedrine outright.

Combined with an antihistamine or paracetamol. Plain pseudoephedrine is not registered.

A stimulant raw material under Japanese law. Products with more than 10% pseudoephedrine need written permission before you travel; products with 10% or less are excluded from that rule.

Almost all products combine it with paracetamol or an antihistamine. Plain pseudoephedrine tablets are rare.

Plain pseudoephedrine is not registered. Purchase limits apply.

The local rules are not known. Many countries have tightened controls on this ingredient because it can be used to make methamphetamine, so it may not be freely sold.

The only pseudoephedrine product on the market here.

Only combination products such as Coldaway are sold behind the counter. Products with pseudoephedrine alone need a prescription.

Usually one ingredient among several in OTC cold remedies rather than sold on its own.

Also the "DM" in Robitussin DM and many multi-symptom cold remedies.

Robitussin DM also contains guaifenesin. Dextromethorphan is in most Canadian multi-symptom cold remedies.

Silomat Hustenstiller also comes with a different ingredient (pentoxyverine), so check the pack says Dextromethorphan.

Most cough products with it are sold without a prescription; some need one. Many pharmacies have a doctor’s office next door that can examine you and prescribe on the spot for a small fee.

Medicon itself is prescription-only; "Medicon Sekidome Pro" is the over-the-counter version.

Sold from the pharmacy counter. Bringing your own into Singapore is different: dextromethorphan is on the controlled list for travelers, so it needs Health Sciences Authority approval first.

Decongestant nasal sprays need a prescription in France.

Xylometazoline ("Otrivin") is the more common decongestant spray.

Needs a prescription. Many pharmacies have a doctor’s office next door that can examine you and prescribe on the spot for a small fee.

Lopemin is prescription-only. Over the counter, look for Tomedine Kowa or the Stoppa (ストッパ) range. These are brand families with more than one formulation, so confirm loperamide (ロペラミド) is the active ingredient on the pack.

Imodium 2 mg capsules are pharmacy-only: ask the pharmacist, no prescription needed.

Imodium Rapid melt tablets are sold over the counter; Imodium capsules need a prescription.

OTC only at the 14-day short-course dose; higher/longer-term doses need a prescription.

Losec itself has never held a UK OTC licence and remains prescription-only; the branded OTC product is Pyrocalm Control 20mg, sold in pharmacies and supermarkets for a maximum 14-day course.

Sold OTC (pharmacy-only) at 20mg for a maximum 14-day course, with at least a 4-month gap before repeating; 40mg and longer-term use require a prescription.

Mopral 10 mg and 20 mg capsules are prescription-only (liste II); Mopralpro 20 mg is sold without a prescription.

Prescription only. Over-the-counter PPIs are uncommon in Japan.

Widely sold. Needs a prescription.

Losec itself is Prescription Only (POM) in Singapore; Promesec 20 mg is registered in both a Pharmacy-Only (P) pack, dispensable without a prescription, and a prescription pack.

Pepcid is sold over the counter; higher-strength famotidine is also dispensed on prescription.

Famotidine is prescription-only in the UK.

List II prescription drug in the government drug registry (BDPM). Doctors usually try a PPI first, but famotidine is registered and available. The Pepdine brand is no longer listed.

Some strengths need a prescription. Many pharmacies have a doctor’s office next door that can examine you and prescribe on the spot for a small fee.

Antacids (aluminium or magnesium hydroxide) are sold without a prescription.

Gaster is prescription-only. Gaster 10 is the non-prescription version, sold only after a consultation with the pharmacist.

For heartburn without a prescription, ask for an antacid such as Amadolox or an alginate such as Gaviscon-type Gasta.

Every famotidine product on the HSA register is prescription-only; Pepcid is not registered.

Bring what you need from home.