February 16th 2025.
I was feeling absolutely miserable. The flu had hit me hard and I was struggling to even get out of bed. Desperate for some relief, I made my way to the local pharmacy to pick up some painkillers, Lemsip, and Calpol. It was a cold January and my family and I were all sick – my husband, our four-year-old, and myself.
But when I got to the checkout, I was met with a frustrating surprise. The teenage cashier informed me that I had exceeded the limit for painkiller purchases. I had encountered this rule before when stocking up for a family vacation, so I had made sure to only buy two boxes of painkillers this time – one ibuprofen and one paracetamol. I even grabbed a drink for immediate relief, some Strepsils, and Calpol. But to my dismay, the cashier informed me that Calpol counted as one of the painkillers.
I felt like I was at a crossroads. Do I get Calpol for my crying four-year-old or paracetamol for my ailing husband? It was a tough decision, and I tried my best to hold back my tears. The cashier empathized with me, but there was nothing he could do. I didn't want to cause a scene, so I reluctantly put back my husband's medicine and took my own with the drink I had purchased.
I could barely muster the strength to make myself a cup of tea once I got home. The flu had completely drained me, and every task felt like a monumental effort. It was disheartening to be denied something so essential when I was already struggling to take care of my family. And as the medical director of NHS had warned, this flu season was shaping up to be one of the worst in history – and I was definitely feeling it.
Each day seemed to be harder than the last. I would go to bed hoping to feel better in the morning, but I would wake up feeling even worse. It was a vicious cycle, and I could barely manage to make myself a cup of tea without nearly collapsing. My entire family was sick, and the house was in shambles. But I knew I had to go out and stock up on essentials for the weekend.
However, I was met with the same frustrating two-pack rule at every store I visited. It was a rule that had been put in place to prevent stockpiling, but it was causing a lot of inconvenience for those of us who were genuinely in need of these medications. And to make matters worse, the limit was set at 16 pills per pack, which meant my husband and I would go through a box in a single day if we took the recommended dosage of two pills four times a day.
I could either make multiple trips to different stores to buy microdoses of medicine, or I could come back every day to replenish our supply. It was an unnecessary hassle, but I had no choice but to make do. And what about families with more than one child? It was already challenging enough to take care of my family while we were all sick, and the two-pack rule just added to the difficulty.
As a parent, I know that when one child gets sick, it's only a matter of time before the whole family falls ill. And with the constant stream of illnesses going around during the winter, it was impossible to avoid getting sick. This winter alone, we had all caught colds, the flu, and even Covid-19. I had personally dealt with tonsillitis twice and an allergic reaction. On top of that, there were constant messages from school about chickenpox and viral rashes in the classroom.
It seemed like the two-pack rule was not in line with the reality of families with young children. We were not able to stockpile medicine for ourselves, and yet we were also advised not to go to the doctor for a prescription. The NHS website clearly stated that there was nothing they could prescribe for a cold or flu that we couldn't buy over the counter. And as any parent knows, it's not worth taking a sick child out of bed just to get a prescription.
So what were we supposed to do? We couldn't go to the doctor, and yet we were limited in what we could buy ourselves. The NHS also advised us to stay home to prevent the spread of illness, but how were we supposed to do that when we couldn't stock up on medicine to help us get better? It was a frustrating and confusing situation.
I understood the reasoning behind the two-pack rule – to prevent accidental overdoses. But it seemed unfair that we could walk into a store and buy as much alcohol as we wanted, but we were limited in purchasing essential medicines for our families. The rule didn't make sense, and it was causing a lot of inconvenience for those of us who were genuinely in need of these medications.
If the government was going to require us to buy these medicines ourselves, then they needed to remove this rule. It was either that or put them back on prescription and let doctors decide how much we needed. I didn't want to be caught in this situation again, so I have started stockpiling for the next illness that hits our family – one packet at a time.
Do you have a similar experience to share? Please reach out to me by email. I would love to hear your thoughts on this issue. Share your views in the comments below.
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