Buying aspirin

I went to a chemist the other day to get some decongestant for my partner. She has a bad cold. I'm not often in a chemist so, when I am, I stock up on 100 mg aspirin tabs. Years ago some doctor told me they were a good way to reduce the risk of heart attacks. It was a radio doctor, he had a weekly slot on Radio Cambridgeshire. I left Cambridgeshire 18 years ago and I'm pretty sure that I've heard that the general use of low dose aspirin is no longer recommended for people who don't have certain heart conditions. It's just become a routine and, as it doesn't seem to have done me any harm, it may be doing me some good. Santiago Carrillo, the Secretary of the Spanish Communist Party at the time it was legalised, always attributed his long life to taking low dose aspirin and he was a chain smoker.

Years ago a chemist in Yecla told me off for saying "aspirina". He told me that aspirin was a trademark and I should ask for ácido acetilsalicílico, salicylic acid. It took me ages to approximate the pronunciation of that mouthful. But I often do as I'm told and, since then, I've struggled to pronounce the generic name every time I buy the stuff in a pharmacy.

Decongestiante isn't that easy to say either but that went well so I asked for a couple of packs of ácido acetilsalicílico de 100 mg. I was asked if I had a prescription. I said no. The chemist told me no prescription no tabs. I've bought those tablets there, in that very chemist, maybe ten times, and across 100 other counters all over Spain for years now. "Can I buy ordinary dose aspirin without a scrip," I asked. The answer was yes, 500 mg tablets don't need a prescription. By now my Spanish fluency had improved significantly. "So I can buy something five times more powerful but not the low dose equivalent? What sort of stupidity is that? We repeated that sort of call and response type conversation for a while - it turns out I know a lot of words in Spanish that translate as terms like madness, stupidity, ridiculousness, silliness and foolishness.

I paid for the decongestant and went to another pharmacy where I bought my low dose salicylic acid.

How much?

My foot hurts. It's been a bit of a problem since I made the wrong choice of footwear for wandering around the Benicassim Festival site. The blisters were very big but that was ages ago now and, although the blisters are long gone, my heel still hurts. More worryingly it's getting worse rather than better.

I thought strapping it up or cushioning the heel may help. I went to the chemist and wandered around the displays. I found a couple of silicone heel cushions and, according to the box, they were just what I needed. Then I bought some lint, twenty individually wrapped pads, and a roll of sticking plaster. Total price 23.80€. Of that nearly 12€ was for the lint. Bit of a shock.

To be honest it wasn't a surprise. I just didn't like it. For years I've thought that the stuff they advertise on the telly that you have to buy from pharmacies (and lots of medical stuff can only be bought at pharmacies) is exorbitantly priced. You know the stuff; the spray for your aching knee which means you finish the marathon, the capsules that stop your nose running so you can be feted by your work colleagues for such a brilliant presentation or the haemorrhoid cream that allows you to throw away that blow up cushion. For all I know things may be equally expensive in the UK but I don't remember any angst the last time I bought lint or a roll of plaster in Huntingdon.

It's not the same for prescription medicine. My experience with prescribed medication is that it's affordable. The amount you have to pay depends on your financial and medical situation. Lots of people with chronic problems or work related injuries pay nothing whilst pensioners pay 10% or 60% depending on their income and they are also protected by monthly caps. Workers pay 40%, 50% or 60% of the actual cost of the medicine with no caps or limits.

Every now and again, I hear or read that the average Spanish salary is such and such an amount and it always makes me guffaw. At the moment they say it's just a bit short of 27,000€. I can only surmise that there must be a lot of very well paid Spaniards balancing out the miserly Spanish salaries I'm aware of.

Last week though I heard something that sounded much more realistic. It said that the most frequent salary (the sort of pay packet that most people get) in Spain is around 16,500€. When I went checking the most recent figure said that is now nearly 17,000€ year. Take off the tax and whatever and that translates to somewhere around 1,000€ per month take home pay.

You will be surprised to hear that I just happen to know the salary scales for teachers working in language academies. Non school teachers are unusual because their working week is shorter (34 hours) and they have longer holidays (10 weeks) in a country where a 40 hour week and 4 weeks holiday are still very common. Anyway the highest salary for that sort of teaching work is a bit under 15,000€. I never had an employer who paid the full rate but that's another story.

Your average Spaniard on that most frequent salary, or a language school teacher, paying rent or a mortgage might have to bind their injured foot with old rags so maybe I should think myself lucky!