Europe - Getting benadryl in Switzerland

Hi

My wife and I are currently in Geneva and we will be here for another week. She is having an allergic reaction to something and I was wondering if benadryl (diphenhydramine) is sold in pharmacies here under a different name? if not is there any other antihistamine that I can get here OTC?

Sorry about your wife's troubles. I have the same problem when I visit France. Antihistamines in Europe are generally by prescription only. I have friends there that let me use some of their drugs on my first trip.

If you don't have anybody to borrow from you are going to need to ask a pharmacist the easiest way to get some. Good luck! Oh, and be careful about taking too much of the non-drowsy kind. I could not sleep for sneezing, then I couldn't sleep because of the sneeze remedy. Not a good way to spend your vacation.

If you don't get benadryl ask for loratadin. It is a newer and much better antihistamine which you should get over the counter at a pharmacy wihtout a prescription. I don't know about Switzerland but in Germany no don't need a prescription for antihitstamine.

Google diphenhydramine switzerland:

http://www.drugs.com/international/diphenhydramine.html

Benocten, Benylin mit Codein N, Makatussin Comp., Nardyl, Rhinitin, Somnium

Then when I googled Benocten, I found a thread on another board that says it does not need a prescription.

https://www.santesuisse.ch/fr/banque_de_donnees_des_medicaments.html

is the list of authorized medications in Switzerland (the site is only in French and German)
Diphenhydramine produced 137 hits some of which are prescription free. I would suggest going to a pharmacy and asking.

Go to a pharmacy and ask. The pharmacists are more generally knowledgeable than in the US and can recommend something.