Gripe water

deh983

Does anyone know anywhere in wicklow/carlow that sells gripe water?? The place I normally get it won't have any until next week and it is our lifesaver!! Thanks in advance

RoiSoleil

deh983 wrote: »

Does anyone know anywhere in wicklow/carlow that sells gripe water?? The place I normally get it won't have any until next week and it is our lifesaver!! Thanks in advance

I didn't think you could still get grip water at all! Good luck in your search.

uck51js9zml2yt

i get mine from amazon and use parcel motel.

lolademmers

It used to have alcohol in it years ago but not anymore that's why people think it's not available. Did you get sorted with it after?

deh983

Yep got sorted thank god. It's been our saviour last few weeks!!

KoolKid

I stock up when up the north.

Hello Lady!

I buy from expresschemist.co.uk and use parcel motel. I also stock up on calgel and metanium ointment when I place an order.

Typer Monkey

Bumping this to see if anyone has seen gripe water in shops/chemists since it's been licenced? I'm looking for some to give to a friend who's due soon as part of a newborn box of tricks. I got one from my sister in law and really appreciated it when the colic kicked in! Preferably around Dublin 15 for convenience but anywhere in Dublin will do. TIA

Sligo1

Typer Monkey wrote: »

Bumping this to see if anyone has seen gripe water in shops/chemists since it's been licenced? I'm looking for some to give to a friend who's due soon as part of a newborn box of tricks. I got one from my sister in law and really appreciated it when the colic kicked in! Preferably around Dublin 15 for convenience but anywhere in Dublin will do. TIA

Agh sorry typer monkey! This thread might be better! http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057309323/1/#post92638664

Typer Monkey

Ha! no worries Sligo. I'll just leave this one here sure rather then cluttering up the place with my requests!

bovril

My local chemist sells it in d24. It's over 7 quid a bottle though!!

Typer Monkey

Really? The robbers!!

LegacyUser

there's an asian shop on the bottom of shandon street in cork where we got a couple of bottles but they're sold out so we get ours off superdrug website now.

btw, is it ok to mix gripe water with the formula in the bottle??

fall

What chemist is that Bovril?

greenman09

Heading to the north today. Gonna get a few gripe water and calgel. Wind and teething are issues with us atm. Calgel works wonders for her

fall

Pharmacy in celbridge selling gripe water if anyone is looking for it

angeldelight

fall wrote: »

Pharmacy in celbridge selling gripe water if anyone is looking for it

Which one?

locum-motion

Just to let you all know;

Every outlet (pharmacy or otherwise) that sells Gripe Water in the Republic of Ireland without a prescription is breaking the law.

As is every member of the public that orders it via the internet and has it delivered to any address or location in the Republic of Ireland.

Why?

Gripe Water is not a licensed medicine in this country. It IS a licensed medicine in a neighbouring jurisdiction. A doctor is perfectly entitled to write prescriptions for medicines that are licensed in other countries but not this one if they wish to, and in that situation a pharmacy can obtain supplies from that other country to fill the prescription. However, since it doesn't have a license, then by definition there is no legal document that lays out the circumstances under which it can be supplied without a prescription. That is, the law does not specify that it can be sold from a pharmacy or from a grocery, so therefore it cannot legally be sold.

Similarly, ordering medicines (of any kind) via the internet for delivery in Ireland is illegal. So too is importation of medicines without a license to do so.

fall

Any sign of it being licensed down here? Will send a pm angelldelight.

Sligo1

locum-motion wrote: »

Just to let you all know;

Every outlet (pharmacy or otherwise) that sells Gripe Water in the Republic of Ireland without a prescription is breaking the law.

As is every member of the public that orders it via the internet and has it delivered to any address or location in the Republic of Ireland.

Why?

Gripe Water is not a licensed medicine in this country. It IS a licensed medicine in a neighbouring jurisdiction. A doctor is perfectly entitled to write prescriptions for medicines that are licensed in other countries but not this one if they wish to, and in that situation a pharmacy can obtain supplies from that other country to fill the prescription. However, since it doesn't have a license, then by definition there is no legal document that lays out the circumstances under which it can be supplied without a prescription. That is, the law does not specify that it can be sold from a pharmacy or from a grocery, so therefore it cannot legally be sold.

Similarly, ordering medicines (of any kind) via the internet for delivery in Ireland is illegal. So too is importation of medicines without a license to do so.

I was at a couple pharmacies in Sligo a couple months ago and saw it being sold there when it hadn't previously been. I queried them on this and the licensing and they told me it had recently (in the past few months) become licensed to sell in Ireland. You and another poster (pharmacist) here have disputed this and I'd be really interested to find out if it is actually licensed or not. There's a specific med website for licensed drugs and gripe does not appear on that. But I don't think this is definitive. Is there another way to find out? I might just ask a few of the pharmacists in work tomorrow.... (They'll probably look at me weirdly tho.... Lol).

Sligo1

Fwiw... Illegal or not... I'm all for gripe water!

mirrorwall14

locum-motion wrote: »

Just to let you all know;

Every outlet (pharmacy or otherwise) that sells Gripe Water in the Republic of Ireland without a prescription is breaking the law.

As is every member of the public that orders it via the internet and has it delivered to any address or location in the Republic of Ireland.

Why?

Gripe Water is not a licensed medicine in this country. It IS a licensed medicine in a neighbouring jurisdiction. A doctor is perfectly entitled to write prescriptions for medicines that are licensed in other countries but not this one if they wish to, and in that situation a pharmacy can obtain supplies from that other country to fill the prescription. However, since it doesn't have a license, then by definition there is no legal document that lays out the circumstances under which it can be supplied without a prescription. That is, the law does not specify that it can be sold from a pharmacy or from a grocery, so therefore it cannot legally be sold.

Similarly, ordering medicines (of any kind) via the internet for delivery in Ireland is illegal. So too is importation of medicines without a license to do so.

It seems highly unlikely that pharmacists around the country are selling it unlicensed. I've got to assume that the it has been reapproved. Pharmacists wouldn't want to risk prosecution

Sligo1

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

It seems highly unlikely that pharmacists around the country are selling it unlicensed. I've got to assume that the it has been reapproved. Pharmacists wouldn't want to risk prosecution

That's kinda what I was thinking!

mirrorwall14

Sligo1 wrote: »

That's kinda what I was thinking!

Yup. I mean it's not an 'under the counter' thing, I've seen it on display in several pharmacies around the country.

locum-motion

Sligo1 wrote: »

I was at a couple pharmacies in Sligo a couple months ago and saw it being sold there when it hadn't previously been. I queried them on this and the licensing and they told me it had recently (in the past few months) become licensed to sell in Ireland. You and another poster (pharmacist) here have disputed this and I'd be really interested to find out if it is actually licensed or not. There's a specific med website for licensed drugs and gripe does not appear on that. But I don't think this is definitive. Is there another way to find out? I might just ask a few of the pharmacists in work tomorrow.... (They'll probably look at me weirdly tho.... Lol).

http://www.hpra.ie/homepage/medicines/medicines-information/find-a-medicine/results?query=gripe%20water&field=

locum-motion

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

It seems highly unlikely that pharmacists around the country are selling it unlicensed. I've got to assume that the it has been reapproved. Pharmacists wouldn't want to risk prosecution

Yeah, you'd think that, wouldn't you?

Sligo1

locum-motion wrote: »

http://www.hpra.ie/homepage/medicines/medicines-information/find-a-medicine/results?query=gripe%20water&field=

This is the exact website I was talking about in my post. Gripe water isn't on it. But this list is not 110% completely definitive or exhaustive is it?

Ocean Blue

Sligo1 wrote: »

This is the exact website I was talking about in my post. Gripe water isn't on it. But this list is not 110% completely definitive or exhaustive is it?

That should be definitive. Obviously allowing for updates once decisions are made, but that should only take a matter of hours/days. It's not so much a list as a database of all licensed products. They are the authority that license drugs so their list should be more accurate than any external list would be.

locum-motion

Sligo1 wrote: »

... But this list is not 110% completely definitive or exhaustive is it?

I can imagine no more "definitive or exhaustive" source on the subject of what is or is not an Authorised product than the very body that awards Authorisations!

Sligo1

locum-motion wrote: »

I can imagine no more "definitive or exhaustive" source on the subject of what is or is not an Authorised product than the very body that awards Authorisations!

Ok. So I've just had a discussion with a couple of the pharmacists at work. They said, it was "possible" that grope water is not considered a medicine at all as the current ingredients are only sodium bicarbonate and dill water. They said there is nothing on the ingredients that specify it as a medicine as such. And that is a "possible" reason why it is not listed or showing up on that licensing website.

One pharmacist in particular said in her opinion it could be classified as a supplement or food stuff as opposed to a medicine. As the alcohol is not an ingredient anymore this "may" have taken it away from the medicinal licensing remit. And may now be under the licensing remit of food safety as opposed to medicine licensing. Anyway, she is going to consult another senior pharmacist here at work and get back to me.

Again, this is only possibility and opinion. Will update when she gets back to me .

mirrorwall14

I emailed that site and the response is it isn't licensed. If the moderators don't mind I'll post the replies (with identification removed)?

It's mad that it's fairly widely available

Sligo1

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

I emailed that site and the response is it isn't licensed. If the moderators don't mind I'll post the replies (with identification removed)?

It's mad that it's fairly widely available

Did they say it was definitely classified as a medicinal product tho?

greenman09

I have an unopened gripe water bottle if anyone is near dublin 24 and wants it. We don't use it and with the wee one now 6 months we shouldn't need it.

Sligo1

Back at work today and was just chatting to the pharmacist again. She said she discussed the licensing issue with the senior pharmacists here in the hospital I work for and said they were of the same opinion as her. That since the alcohol has been taken out there is no medicinal ingredients in the current solution of gripe water so it is "probably" not really a licensing issue at all. I said someone rang the websites number and they replied that it's not licensed. And she just said again, that it is probably not licenced because it doesn't need a license anymore due to there being no alcohol or medicinal products in it.

angeldelight

I got a reply from the HPRA today - gripe water is classified as a medicinal product in ROI and there are no formulations of it licensed for sale

Sligo1

angeldelight wrote: »

I got a reply from the HPRA today - gripe water is classified as a medicinal product in ROI and there are no formulations of it licensed for sale

Did they say what ingredient in it was classified as medicinal?

angeldelight

No I didn't ask - I asked is it still classified as a medicinal product now that the alcohol has been removed and is there a licensed product currently available on the market. They very succinctly replied yes it is and no there isn't

Sligo1

That's cleared that up then

Sligo1

angeldelight wrote: »

No I didn't ask - I asked is it still classified as a medicinal product now that the alcohol has been removed and is there a licensed product currently available on the market. They very succinctly replied yes it is and no there isn't

Ok so I've just rung them directly. And they said its nothing to do with a licensing issue. They said it is a commercial/marketing issue. They said there is no medicinal products in it. And they said if I want that in writing to just email them.

I reiterated what the hospital pharmacists had said and the lady agreed. And repeated it wasn't a licensing issue. It is a marketing issue. And it is not illegal.

angeldelight

That's interesting as it does conflict slightly with what the person who emailed me said. If it is a medicinal product as they said in the email then it needs a license to sell it. The reason for there being no license may be that no company has applied for one for commercial reasons but regardless of the reason - a medicinal product must have a license for sale.

Even though there's no drug in it if it's a medicinal product it has to have a license... Some honey and lemon cough bottles as another example don't have a drug in them but are licensed for sale in Ireland and so can be sold OTC.

It's a bit concerning that the HPRA are giving conflicting info

Sligo1

angeldelight wrote: »

That's interesting as it does conflict slightly with what the person who emailed me said. If it is a medicinal product as they said in the email then it needs a license to sell it. The reason for there being no license may be that no company has applied for one for commercial reasons but regardless of the reason - a medicinal product must have a license for sale.

Even though there's no drug in it if it's a medicinal product it has to have a license... Some honey and lemon cough bottles as another example don't have a drug in them but are licensed for sale in Ireland and so can be sold OTC.

It's a bit concerning that the HPRA are giving conflicting info

I'll email them tonight and ask. I may have misheard as I had 2 screaming kids in background. But what she definitely 100% said was it wasn't a licensing issue but a commercial/marketing one. And she told me to email them to receive a written explanation of why.

contrary_mary

I'm purely speculating here as I haven't used gripe water or seen the packaging but does it make any medicinal claims (e.g. does it use statements like "treats" / "helps control the symptoms of" / "traditionally used for treatment of")? If so then it meets the definition of a medicinal product and requires a license.

Re. the licensing issue my understanding is that the manufacturers have made a commercial decision not to apply for a license to place it on the Irish market. It is the same situation for Calgel. So the license has not been denied in Ireland (i.e. there is no licensing issue) - just that the manufacturers have decided it doesn't make financial sense to them.

Sligo1

contrary_mary wrote: »

I'm purely speculating here as I haven't used gripe water or seen the packaging but does it make any medicinal claims (e.g. does it use statements like "treats" / "helps control the symptoms of" / "traditionally used for treatment of")? If so then it meets the definition of a medicinal product and requires a license.

Re. the licensing issue my understanding is that the manufacturers have made a commercial decision not to apply for a license to place it on the Irish market. It is the same situation for Calgel. So the license has not been denied in Ireland (i.e. there is no licensing issue) - just that the manufacturers have decided it doesn't make financial sense to them.

Yes the product does say those things. And yep, the way you describe the licensing issue makes sense. That's probably what the lady on the phone was trying to articulate to me....

cyning

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=923977170986826&id=108436049207613&substory_index=0

Came across this link on Facebook: so the chemist are saying this Gripe water is licensed, and the box specifically says food supplement does that mean it doesn't need to be licensed anymore I wonder?