I've come to the conclusion that French people really enjoy shoving stuff up their behinds. The reason I say this is the French medical community just LOVES prescribing suppositories. They prescribe them even when they are not warranted. We, in the US, have a healthy distaste for shoving stuff up our behinds and will ONLY do so as a last resort. Not so in France. Medicines are routinely manufactured ONLY in suppository form. I did not fully realize their obsession with suppositories until after the fifth or sixth time my daughter's medication was given to me in suppository form. At this point I decided to address the issue with the pharmacist.
Me: Can I have the other form of this medication?
Pharmacien: What other form?
Me: The...uhhhh...you know..my daughter is old enough to swallow pills and she's not vomitting or anything so....
Pharmacien: (looking confused) I'm afraid I don't understand, Madame.
Me: Can't I have this medication in pill form, you know, the kind that goes in your mouth?
Pharmacien: Ca n'existe pas.
Me: (looking confused) So, YOU don't have any here, or there isn't any to be found anywhere in Paris?
Pharmacien: CA N'EXISTE PAS!
Me: Ah...bon.
So, if you are a person who enjoys shoving stuff up your behind, you should move to France. And then get sick. Alot.
Oh God, this is SO true! All over Europe and not just France. You'll also find that the Europeans are expected to have a much higher pain tolerance than we do in the US.
ReplyDeleteI discovered that too recently.. Except I AM french. I remember this little time of hell when I was a child, it was the only medication we had, and.. Well, no one liked it. I happily forgot about this particular time of my life, until some weeks ago, when my new mother in law offered to help me with her own prescription. I have horrible migraines, and always had pills. But she, evil mother in law (kidding, she's sweet. Except for this habit oO) takes all her medication in suppository. She claims it's the best way since it goes directly to the muqueuse. So I second what you say, but didn't know of it while being french. I don't think it's customary though, for persons under 40, except infants or toddler.
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