Everyone's Sick in Paris: la Pharmacie et le Medecin

It started about three weeks ago, I was still packing up from Lyon to move to Paris and I felt I had an uncomfortable fever, slight cough and a stuffy nose.

Fast forward three weeks later and I'm now getting over one of the most annoying colds that I've ever had.  It was about a week and a half ago that I started coughing, it was a raspy and productive cough.

See but Sasha from two years ago wouldn't have known how to handle such a situation.  In the States I'd be zipping down to the local Kaiser clinic and getting a 10 dollar check-up.  In France, there are normally a few ways to handle it, but the first is always a visit to the Pharmacy.. which is exactly what I decided to do on Monday evening after I was coughing so hard during a business meeting I thought okay, this is just ridiculous.

Pharmacy Signs from here

Pharmacies in France can be found in every farm, city, village and large tourist areas.  You can tell from about  a mile away, there is often a neon green cross symbol floating above a shop that states, clearly, Pharmacie.  Of course, it should be noted that even though there are Pharmacies on every street corner, not every Pharmacie has the same pricing.  In fact, each one is owned and managed by a different pharmaciste, and some like to hike prices upwards of 120% of average price.

Some medications are completely regulated by the French government, disallowing the practice, called les medicaments génériques or generic drugs.  Often a drug has a générique counterpart which reduces the cost by quite a bit.

Take for example birth control, while there are the various methods, la pillule rests the most common form.  For a price of 5€ a box (3 month supply) and 60% reimboursable if prescribed by a doctor, that's an average of .60 cents a month for protection!

So when getting sick, the norm is to pass by the Pharmacie before going to a medécin.  On Monday I swung by my local pharmacy (243 rue vaugirard 75015), and explained my symptoms.

Me: Bonjour messieur.
Pharmacist: Bonjour madamoiselle (still not sure when I will hit the "madame" status, but that's for a whole nother post)
Me: Je voudrais savoir si vous auriez quelques choses pour une toux grasse, et un nez tout bouché.
Pharmacist: Bien sûr, (he goes and shuffles around pulling various pills and bottles) ceci est très efficace, prennez 3 fois par jour.


6€ later and I had a small bag full of medicine.  Just for future reference, "un toux grasse" means basically a cough that's productive, and a "un nez tout bouché" means a stuffy nose.

Now if it gets worse, the best option is to hit up a medecin generaliste by looking up a local name.  My personal doctor is M. Missonnier at 81 bis Rue Blomet 75015, totally a great doctor... in fact now he's my medecin traitant.

Doesn't matter which one you choose really.  Each time you go to the doctor, if you don't have a Carte Vitale (which often exchange students don't) it's important to ask for a feuille de soins, basically a sheet that will enable you to receive a reimboursement.  Same for the prescribed medication, at the pharmacy as for a feuille de soins and they'll type up the price.  Send this in to your chosen insurance and presto! A check for a percentage.

The doctor can also give a certificat médicale if you are sick, allowing for days off from work or school with no penalties, and often with pay.

If you want the doctor you visited to be your main doctor, ask for a feuille de medecin traitant and then send into your chosen insurance or mutuel.

All-in-all la bronchite, le rhume and all these lovely sicknesses are prevalent in the large cities in Paris.  Sort of normal considering the recent the sudden drop of temperatures from the last few weeks and the lack of local hygene (métros).  If you live in Lyon or in Paris, remember to:

1. Wash or disinfect your hands after every metro ride
2. Don't wander out in the cold if you're already a bit sick
3. If you are sick, don't go out and spread it around

And of course, some fun and useful sick terms:

• Je tousse (I am coughing)
• Je suis malade (I am sick)
• C'est contagieux (it's contagious)
• Une allergie (an allergy)
• Je dois moucher (I need to blow my nose)
• Un mouchoir (a tissue, usually a Kleenex)
• J'ai de la fièvre (I have a fever)
• J'ai une mal à la tête (I have a head-ache)
• au ventre (stomache-ache)
• à la gorge (sore throat)
• aux yeux (sore eyes)
• au nez (hurting nose)
• etc

Soignez-vous and try not to catch the epidemie de maladie in Paris!

The Perfect Burger

Don't judge me but sometimes I am a horrible person and crave a juicy burger. Granted, I'll never find a replacement for the typical American burger but I did find a pretty freakin' good version the other day. Bri and I went out hunting for lunch on Friday and I was utterly miserable. My grandfather had died that morning and I wanted to drown my sorrows in a burger- strange? Yes. When sad I either don't eat or I do eat... Lots. When we wandered out, we decided to go by our typical joint: BIEH or best I ever had. Normally restaurants who market themselves in English scare me off... But honestly? I wanted a bacon cheeseburger.

So BIEH located on Rue Merciere, another touristy food place, is my typical go to place. They have milkshakes, Dr.Pepper and an awesome student menu for only 10$. Better to buy a burger in a restaurant than in MacDo in my opinion.

The burgers are thick, often in France a burger is what they call a 'steak haché' which is a thin hammered out ground beef patty flash cooked and served with French fries and not often with a bun.

At BIEH the burgers are served with typically cheddar style cheese, bacon and the squishy dough bun. Sauces on the side, home made French fries- yum.

If not I have heard only good things from Ninkasi, although Bri tells me it's horrible.

Worse comes to worse it's easy to by some steak haché from the boucherie- mine if you wish (Boucherie Centrale) and make it at home. Monoprix has all the delicious go-alongs and hey hen you can stack it.

Although I sure do miss a good Henry's burger or a mass produced Red Robin.

Any other recommendations?

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