article_detail

If you thought Alicante residents were already filling their cupboards with turrón and cava, think again. With Christmas party season about to begin, people across the province are heading to the pharmacy before they head to the supermarket. And what they are buying says a lot about the weeks of lunches, dinners and heavy eating that lie ahead.

 

Pharmacies report that antacids and fruit salts are already flying off the shelves as people brace themselves for the first round of company meals, soon to be followed by family gatherings. Many are simply trying to get ahead of the inevitable festive indigestion. As one Alicante pharmacist, Daniel Lloret, put it: “A lot of these will be sold because the Christmas celebrations are starting and it is the season of big meals and indigestion, just like fruit salts.”

 

But it is not just the Christmas food people are preparing for. The strange mix of warm daytime temperatures and cooler nights means mosquitos have overstayed their welcome this year. Lloret says repellents and soothing creams are still in demand, even though we are nearly into winter.

 

Winter bugs are making an appearance too. Pharmacies have noticed more people coming in with colds, flu A and COVID, and that has sent sales of tests and cold-and-flu remedies climbing. Antigen tests for coronavirus and flu A and B have increased tenfold, while mucolytics sold five times more this September than they did the previous year. Staff say November is heading in much the same direction.

 

Other treatments are also getting attention. Throat and mouth remedies continue to be popular, and although antidiarrhoeals tend to be a summer favourite, demand for those has eased off now. Parents are buying paediatric syrups as respiratory infections rise among young children, and medicines for gastroenteritis are also being picked up more often due to norovirus outbreaks in nurseries and schools.

 

There are a few shortages to be aware of. Kreon, Colircusí, Furantoina, Gabapentin and Bripio have all been scarce in pharmacies recently. However, there have been no reported shortages of Ozempic, and only isolated cases involving Mounjaro and Saxenda. According to Luda Partners, which helps pharmacies track stock issues, these appear to be one-off incidents rather than wider supply problems.

 

So while the festive season is nearly here, it seems many people in Alicante are preparing not just for Christmas… but for everything it brings along with it.

 

Image: Harold Wijnholds/Unsplash