The visitor's pharmacy guide to Beirut

Good news first: Lebanese pharmacies are easy

Pharmacies are everywhere in Beirut, well stocked with European and international brands, and staffed by pharmacists who almost universally speak English and French alongside Arabic. Prices for many everyday medicines are lower than Western Europe or the Gulf. You don't need an appointment for advice — walking in and describing a problem is exactly how the system is designed to work.

If your day includes the Corniche, the lighthouse or Raouche's Pigeon Rocks, we're the pharmacy two minutes inland: Light House Pharmacy, Ardati Street, Manara — directions here.

What you can get without a prescription

Over the counter, with pharmacist guidance: pain and fever relief, allergy tablets, cold and cough treatment, motion-sickness tablets, oral rehydration salts, antacids and reflux relief, antiseptics and wound care, sunscreen and after-sun, eye drops, and most skincare including the full French dermo-cosmetic ranges. Antibiotics, sleeping tablets and controlled medicines require a doctor's prescription — a pharmacist who refuses without one is doing their job.

If you take regular medication

• Carry it in original packaging with your name visible; for controlled medicines (strong painkillers, ADHD medication, some anxiety treatments) bring your doctor's letter for customs and refills alike.
• Ran out or lost your bag? Bring any documentation — a photo of the prescription, the empty box, even the pharmacy app entry from home. Brand names differ by country, but the molecule usually exists here under another registered name, and we'll map it. Some refills will need a quick local doctor visit; we'll point you to one nearby.
• Insulin and refrigerated medicines are available — call ahead on WhatsApp and we'll confirm stock before you cross town.

The four classic Beirut tourist ailments

1. Sunburn and sun fatigue

The Mediterranean sun is stronger than it feels in the sea breeze. Prevention beats treatment (our sunscreen guide); once burned: cool showers, generous after-sun or thermal-water spray, hydration, and paracetamol for the sting. Blistered or feverish sunburn deserves a doctor.

2. Traveler's stomach

Usually your gut meeting new bacteria, not "food poisoning." The kit: oral rehydration salts (the actually important part), loperamide strictly for travel-day emergencies, and patience — most cases settle in 48 hours. Warning signs that end self-treatment: blood, high fever, or symptoms beyond three days.

3. Blisters and walking wounds

Beirut is gloriously walkable and occasionally uneven. Hydrocolloid blister plasters are the single best travel product we sell; pair with antiseptic for scrapes.

4. The unfamiliar-air cold

Planes, air-conditioning, late nights: the visitor's cold is a genre. Saline spray, lozenges, paracetamol, fluids — and reassurance that it's viral, self-limited, and doesn't need the antibiotics you can't buy without a prescription anyway.

Emergency numbers worth saving

• Lebanese Red Cross ambulance: 140 (free, nationwide, remarkably capable)
• AUBMC emergency department — one of the region's best hospitals, ten minutes from our door
• Your travel-insurance assistance line — screenshot it before you need it

A souvenir tip from behind the counter

Visitors often stock up on pharmacy skincare here — Vichy, La Roche-Posay, CeraVe and friends are frequently cheaper than back home, and the range is deep. We'll happily wrap a stash for the suitcase.

Ahlan wa sahlan

Whatever brought you to Beirut, we hope the only thing you need from us is sunscreen. But if travel throws you a curveball, walk in — English, French or Arabic, the advice is free and the welcome is real.