Painkillers

At the local pharmacy.

Me: Hi, I would like some Ipren (a brand of ibuprofen [iso-butyl-propanoic-phenolic acid]).

Pharmacist: Have you tried it before?

Of course I have tried painkillers before, I'm 21... surely at some point during that time I've must have been in some sort of pain. Tempted to say: "No, does it hurt?" I pushed away that very amusing thought and said...


Me: Yes, I've used it before.

Pharmacist: Do you use some other medicine at the moment?

Me: No.

Pharmacist: Have you had problems with stomachache, reflux or anything like that?

Technically yes, but I had already gotten irritated at the lenght of this interrogation and my throbbing head wasn't helping either

Me: No.

Pharmacist: So you know how to use them?

Me: Yes.

All you need for this experiment is a glas of water and a painkiller, open your mouth, put the pill in, take a sip of water, swallow... there, pretty sure there doesn't need to be a "Don't try this at home" warning after the instructions

Pharmacist: I would recommend you to eat something before taking the pill.

Me: Ok, thanks for the tip.

Pharmacist: Do you want a box of 20, 50 or 100?

Oh no, I'm not making this up. Danes must be irony-blind. No sane person could miss it. Ipren is rated to "dangerous" to sell as an OTC (over the counter) over 400mg but you can buy 200mg in boxes of 20, 50 or 100. In Sweden you can buy Ipren 400mg in your local supermarket and without the long interrogation bit, that I assume is supposed to scare me?

Me: 20 is enough.

Ah, that's better. My headache is finally gone and believe it or not, I still live in a house and not on a bench or under a bridge. I'm not vomitting blood all over the place either. But to be on the safe side: DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!