It’s winter in Brazil! And by winter, I mean low-40s – mid-60s, dry weather, occasional cold rain… in São Paulo at least, and no, I don’t have heat in my home. Nor are there usually heated office buildings and restaurants and the like. And I still like to pretend I’m a tough American and can handle the “cold” here sans big puffy coats, hats, gloves & scarves (ok, not scarves, I love scarves).

Long story short, I am deathly ill caught tonsilitis.

One of the things I had the most trouble with when I got to Brazil was finding familiar medicine… I mean, they have Tchilenól and Veequis, but what about Midol, Advil, Tums, Thermacare & Benadryl? Good thing I didn’t need Preparation H or else it would be really awkward having to explain what it is I had, exactly.

The good news is, here in Brazil, a lot of the medicines used are actually called by their main ingredient! There are tons of different brands, but that’s just a matter of asking around or just asking for the generic and trying your luck.

(Quick sidenote: The same thing goes for doctors! Who knew an Ear Nose and Throat Doctor was called an Otorrinolaringologista in Brazil?! No wonder we say ENT in the U.S.)

Here are a few names that might come in handy for you!

Dipirona (gee-pee-rô-nah) – Overall pain & fever medicine. Kind of like Tylenol, I guess?

Amoxicilina (ah-mow-xcee-cee-lee-nah) – This is the antibiotic I’m taking for my tonsilitis. I’ve just used it frequently because of my plum sized tonsils, so I assumed it would be handy.

Bicarbonato de Sódio (bee-kah-bore-nah-tu gee só-giu) – It’s the main ingredient in any antacid but if you ask for it at the farmacy, they’ll give you some antacid they have with a different name. One popular medicine is ENO… this is your Alka Seltzer!

Aspirina (ah-spee-ree-nah) – um, Aspirin.

Xarope (shah-ró-pee) – Cough syrup. There are many brands (including Vicks!)

Buscopan (boo-sco-pã) – The girls will love me for this one. This is a popular medicine for menstrual cramps. Boys, you can use it too. It’s also used for overall stomach pains/cramps.

Dorflex (door-flex) – Muscle relief in tiny pills!

Repelente (hep-eh-lay-n-chee) – Depending on where you are in Brazil, you’ll need bug repelent. There’s “Off!” here in Brazil 😉

Can you think of any others you may need?

beijos!

ps – for those in the heat of the northern hemisphere… I hate you.

pps – I’ll write a post on the homeopathic culture of medicine that I <3 here too! Just let me get off my throat drugs first!