JL/The Pharmaceutical Journal
During #AskYourPharmacist Week 2018 — which aims to raise awareness of the services pharmacy can offer — we asked our readers to tell us the most unusual questions their patients had posed to them. From the bizarre to the ridiculous, here are some of our favourites:
1. The farmacist
*man drops a Tesco carrier bag on the counter with a loud thud*
“Hello Pharmacist Lady, are my potatoes poisonous?”
— Helen Kilminster (@HPILLminster) November 10, 2018
2. Needless to say
The person that does the flu jabs…..they have been trained haven’t they?
— Amanda Smith (@HfxAmanda) November 10, 2018
3. Indecent proposal
Are you married?
— Nadia Bukhari (@NadiaBukhariUCL) November 13, 2018
4. Unidentified floating object
Man and lady standing a little way back from the counter looking nervous and whispering.
Me: “Can I help?”
*lady pushes man forward slightly*
Man clutching a petri dish: “Can you identify something we found in our toilet?” #AskYourPharmacist
#pharmacy— Jo (@JRChater) November 10, 2018
5. Your local taxonomist
As a pre-reg, someone brought in some Sellotape plastered with pubic lice and asked if I knew what they were!#AskYourPharmacist
— The Prescription Man (@TheRxMan1) November 11, 2018
They were still alive
— The Prescription Man (@TheRxMan1) November 11, 2018
6. Beauty 101
Customer collects two anti-wrinkle creams from supermarket floor:
Customer: ‘Which is the better anti-wrinkle cream out the two?’
Me: ‘I am sorry, i have no idea. I am trained in medication only..’
Customer: ‘How are you a pharmacist, if you don’t know which is the best one?’
— Sonia (@soniax10x) November 11, 2018
7. Do it yourself
“I’ve just creosoted the rafters in my loft. How long will the fumes stay there for?” 20 minutes later was still trying to persuade the person to ring B&Q!
— Claire Gammond (@clairebear1110) November 11, 2018
8. Medicine errors errands
From a customer on the phone, “Will you go to the shop and buy a loaf of bread then deliver it to me after work?”
— mark allen (@mark_allen02) November 10, 2018
9. Prophylactic measures
“Which one is for greasy hair?” asked the elderly lady as she perused the condoms on a display stand.#AskYourPharmacist
— Paul B (@pabakz) November 10, 2018
10. Like greased tubing
Should I grill my fry-up to reduce the chance of my catheter getting blocked by grease?
— Stephen (@Stephen64221598) November 11, 2018
11. Faint heart never won fair vaccination
#AskYourPharmacist
#pharmacy patient in for flu vacc with needle phobia had vasovagal attack before injecting! Taken by #paramedics into ambulance I was asked:
“my GP refuses to vaccinate me, will you do so in the ambulance please?!” I politely refrained! https://t.co/vqSBypx0Tn— Sibby Buckle (@sibbuc) November 11, 2018
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