Living in the Languedoc:    The Medical System:    Pills, Potions and Pessaries.

People in the Languedoc, as in the rest of France, seem to think that it is necessary to take large amounts of medication. Pandering to this belief, most doctors will prescribe four of five different for any complaint, even when they are not needed. It is for example common for antibiotics to be prescribed for non-bacteriological complaints.

Almost everyone over the age of forty has a large chest of medicines, and this is accepted as perfectly normal. Other aspects of French medicine that may appear strange to foreigners are:

• The fact that pessaries are the favoured means of delivering medication. Wherever possible medicine is taken anally rather than orally.
• The prevalence of homeopathic medicine. It is much more widely accepted here, and funded by the Sécurité Sociale. (There are even homeopathic vets in France).
• The existence of complaints that are unknown in the English speaking world. The crise de fois for example is common in France. The words translate as "crisis of the liver" but there is no medical counterpart.