A pharmacy (US), the chemist’s (UK) (une pharmacie) is the place where you can buy prescription medicine.
The pharmacist (un pharmacien) is a healthcare professional qualified in all aspects of handling medication.
The pharmacist supervises a team composed of one or more pharmacy technicians. (préparateurs en pharmacie)
The active ingredient (le principe actif) is the part of the molecule that causes the desired effect.
Some medicine have side-effects (effets secondaires) like drowsiness, nausea or adverse effects. (des effets indésirables)
When a patient fills a prescription, they go the to pharmacy to buy medicine. (acheter des médicaments sous ordonnance)
A generic drug (un médicament générique) is the copy of a drug whose patent has expired.
Medicine you have to swallow is taken orally. (par voie orale)
Medicine you can buy without a prescription are sold over-the-counter. (en vente libre)
Reasons no to take a medicine are called contraindications. (des contre indications)
Liquid products are often administered by the drop. (par goutte)
People with allergies may need antihistamines. (des antihistaminiques)
Cotton buds (UK), cotton swabs (US) (des cotons-tiges) should not be used to clean the ear canal but to apply and clean makeup.
Cough syrup and cough drops (sirop et pastilles pour la toux) are remedies against coughing.
To disinfect a wound, you can use an antiseptic. (un désinfectant)
The most common types of packaging for pharmaceutical products are vials (fioles ou boîtes à pilules oranges), bottles (bouteilles), blister packs (des blisters), sachets (sachets-dose), syringes (des seringues) and ampoules (des ampoules).
Typical preparations of medicine include:
- suppository (un suppositoire)
- caplet (une pilule)
- capsule (une gélule)
- effervescent tablet (un comprimé effervescent)
- powder (de la poudre)
Even though the metric system is used everywhere, prescriptions are occasionally written using old apothecary units of measurement. Some units of volume and weight have the same names and differ between the USA and the UK.
A dram (US) or drachm (UK) (un drachme, environ 3.88 g) is used to measure weight. It is abbreviated ʒ or ℨ or dr.
A fluid dram (US) (un drachme liquide, environ 3,69 ml ) or fluid drachm (UK) (un drachme liquide, environ 3,55 millilitres) is abbreviated fl dr, ƒ 3, or fʒ. They are still used to measure the capacity of pill containers or pharmacy vials.
An ounce (une once, 28.3 g) is abbreviated ℥ or oz ap.
A fluid ounce (once liquide ou 28,41 ml au Royaume Uni et 29,6 ml aux États-Unis) is abbreviated fl oz.
