Reply from Chalgrove Pharmacy
Fri, 30 Jun 2017 17:45:02 +0100

Chalgrove Pharmacy, like all pharmacies in the UK (including internet pharmacies with an NHS contract) is regulated, and the pharmacist in charge must follow set protocols. Specific treatments for various conditions are available. The manufacturers of these treatments research the products for safety and effectiveness. Out of this research come the guidelines for use (and non use). The guidelines are written very specifically, and tell pharmacists when they should not sell, or doctors when they should not prescribe, a product. Pharmacy only medication can only be sold in line with the manufactures product licence, based on the research. To prescribe or sell medicines outside these guidelines would be to ignore the research evidence, and may be dangerous. Pharmacists have to use their drug knowledge, based on 5 years of full time training, to assess on a case by case basis whether a product is, effectively, safe for each particular use. In the case of the sty, it depends on whether it is inside or outside the eyelid, along with other related symptoms. When inside, Golden Eye is not recommended for sale. Treatment for fungal nail infections is also dependent on symptoms. The symptoms relayed by the patient's partner were in the exclusion criteria for the treatment requested. If the condition presents outside of those criteria for the product, it should be seen by a doctor. This is because it may not, in fact, be the condition that the patient/ patient's partner has self diagnosed.