For most minor problems on a trip, a pharmacy is the right first stop and is usually enough. In Vietnamese cities they are easy to find, often open late, and the staff are used to visitors pointing at things. This page is about two practical questions: what you can realistically buy without a prescription, and how to tell when buying one more box is the wrong move.
How pharmacies work here, in practice
- They are dense in urban and tourist areas — in beach districts there is often one within a few minutes on foot, and some operate around the clock.
- Staff frequently speak enough English for a simple request, and are generally comfortable with gestures and photos.
- Many items that need a prescription in Europe, North America or Australia are handled more loosely here. That is not a reason to self-prescribe — see the antibiotics note below.
- Brand names differ from what you are used to. The active ingredient is the reliable way to ask.
- Keep the packaging of anything you buy. If you do end up seeing a clinician, it tells them exactly what you have taken.
The single most useful trick: take a photo of the medicines you normally use before you travel — the box, and the small print with the active ingredient. Showing that photo at a counter works far better than remembering a brand name, and it works in any language.
What is worth having for a trip
This is not a shopping list to buy all of; it is what commonly turns out to be useful, and what each is actually for.
| For | What to ask for | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Dehydration from vomiting or diarrhoea | Oral rehydration salts (ORS) sachets | The most useful item and the one people skip. Mix exactly as the sachet says — stronger is not better |
| Fever and general aches | Paracetamol (acetaminophen) | Stay within the dose on the packet. See the dengue caution below before reaching for ibuprofen |
| Minor cuts and grazes | Antiseptic solution, sterile gauze, tape, plasters | Motorbike grazes get infected easily in heat and humidity — clean and cover early |
| Motion sickness | An antihistamine-type travel sickness tablet | Causes drowsiness; not for the driver |
| Itching, insect bites, mild allergic rash | An oral antihistamine | Some types cause drowsiness; ask which |
| Indigestion, heartburn | An antacid | If pain is severe or focused in one spot, that is not indigestion — get it looked at |
⚠️ Three things not to buy for yourself
- Antibiotics. Most travellers' diarrhoea and most fevers do not need them. The wrong antibiotic does nothing useful, can make a stomach problem worse, and muddies the picture if you are examined afterwards.
- Anti-diarrhoeal tablets, if you have a high fever or blood in your stool. Slowing the gut down in that situation can make things worse. Rehydration first, assessment if it is not settling.
- Ibuprofen, aspirin or similar NSAIDs, if dengue is possible. Dengue lowers platelets and these raise bleeding risk. In a fever with severe aches after mosquito exposure, paracetamol is the safer choice until dengue has been ruled out.
Prescription-only medicines are a clinician's decision, not a counter decision — including antibiotics, anything for an ongoing condition, and anything you would normally need a prescription for at home. If you are not sure what you are holding, a clinician can review it with you, including things you have already bought.
What a pharmacy genuinely cannot do
This is the part that matters, because it is where people lose a day or two. A pharmacy can sell you something; it cannot:
- Examine you — take your temperature in context, check your abdomen, listen to your chest, assess how dehydrated you are
- Run a blood test, so it cannot tell dengue from flu, or see a falling platelet count
- Give fluids intravenously when you cannot keep anything down
- Write the itemised invoice and medical report in English that a travel insurer will ask for
The line: when to stop buying and get assessed
Go to a hospital or call 115 IMMEDIATELY for: severe or worsening abdominal pain, vomiting that will not stop, blood in vomit or stool or black stools, bleeding from gums or nose, chest pain, difficulty breathing, confusion or unusual drowsiness, a seizure, very little urine for many hours, or weakness on one side of the body. A pharmacy visit is not a step on the way to any of these.
Short of that, these are the signals that another box is not the answer: fluids will not stay down for more than half a day; a fever that is still there after three days or keeps climbing; a cut that is getting redder, more painful or starting to discharge; a child or an older relative who is drinking poorly or unusually sleepy; or anything that is clearly getting worse rather than slowly better.
What a visiting clinician adds
- An examination where you are staying, so you are not travelling while unwell
- Blood tests taken on site when the cause is not obvious, including dengue testing
- Fluids by IV where there is an indication, with monitoring while they run
- A review of everything you have already bought at a pharmacy — bring the boxes
- An itemised invoice and a medical report in English for an insurance claim
Not sure whether what you bought is the right thing, or whether this now needs a clinician? Call +84 94 368 81 15 (24/7) or leave your details — asking and booking over the phone is free, and we confirm what can be done where you are before anyone sets out. Not an emergency service: for the red flags above, go to a hospital or call 115.
