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rbos
Joined: 22 May 2010 Posts: 69
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 12:08 pm Post subject: Good Pharmacies in Cairo |
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It looks like I may be accepting a job offer to teach in Cairo. Does anyone know of some good pharmacies that are fairly inexpensive but yet sell high quality U.S. medications (i.e. that are not counterfeits)?
-Thanks |
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justcolleen
Joined: 07 Jan 2004 Posts: 654 Location: Egypt, baby!
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 1:51 pm Post subject: |
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It really does depend on the pharmaceutical and stock level if it's imported.
If you'd like, you can PM me the name of the product and I will check with my pharm friends about availability in country and pricing.
Note that because a medication isn't available in one pharmacy doesn't mean it can't be retrieved from another because they do network with each other. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 4:22 pm Post subject: |
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There are good pharmacies all over Cairo. I probably dealt with a dozen different places near the neighborhoods where I lived and they were all good. In fact, most of us used our local pharmacist as a doctor for the minor stuff. They tend to know medications much better than doctors. The major pharma companies have factories in Cairo, and I used many medications manufactured there over the years. Basically you can go in and get almost anything without a prescription. The prices are usually 1-10% of what they cost in the US unless it is some newly developed drug that is hard to find. (for instance, one drug that cost $100 in the US cost $7 in Egypt... in the same container from the same factory. One medication that I take costs $4.25 a pill in the US and the Egyptian version that I have taken for 20 years now costs about $.03 a pill.)
Personally I never worried any more about getting counterfeit drugs there than I did in the US. Every pharmacy seems to have at least one good English speaker... it is very helpful to have a relationship with one. If you are ill, you can call on the phone and they will deliver what you need.
My only quibble with them is that they tend to push antibiotics for things that don't need it (like a cold or the flu)
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justcolleen
Joined: 07 Jan 2004 Posts: 654 Location: Egypt, baby!
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 10:46 pm Post subject: |
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The only problem is that not all medications are available because some do have to be imported, so it's best to check.
I, too, will substitute a pharmacist for a doctor visit. I learned to do this after one doctor diagnosed what was surely a stomach but as appendicitis, because then he could get paid for an unnecessary surgery. They've always been good with me and always speak English (they're taught in English). One even put medication and a bandage on a boo-boo for me. Plus I like that I can buy just one headache tablet if that's all I want. |
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Big_H
Joined: 21 Dec 2013 Posts: 115
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Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 5:30 pm Post subject: |
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Most pharmacies are good in major cities like Cairo and Alexandria, and the prices aren't that different. But if you need a brand name, I'd recommend "El Ezaby" (written العزبي) because they're available in most districts and their employees' English level is conversational at worst. Its larger and better furnished pharmacies will give you the impression that you're getting higher quality remedies, a fake ease of mind if you will. |
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