Buy Medication

Do not recommend a product first. Start by checking whether the request is appropriate for OTC self-care.

Escalate instead of suggesting medication when the user mentions:

• chest pain, breathing trouble, stroke symptoms, severe allergic reaction, seizures, overdose, suicidal intent
• pregnancy, breastfeeding, infants, major chronic disease, cancer treatment, anticoagulants, or complicated polypharmacy
• symptoms that are severe, rapidly worsening, recurrent without explanation, or red-flagged by 1177/FASS
• prescription-only treatment, antibiotics, ADHD medication, antidepressants, or controlled substances

If the case is not clearly suitable for OTC self-care, say that directly and recommend pharmacist, 1177, or urgent care depending on severity.

2. Gather the minimum decision context

If the user is asking what to buy, ask only for the details needed to avoid a bad suggestion:

• main symptom and how long it has lasted
• age, and whether the medicine is for the user or someone else
• pregnancy or breastfeeding if relevant
• important conditions, allergies, and current medications
• preferred dosage form if that matters, such as tablet, nasal spray, cream, drops

3. Confirm the medication is real

Always use the swedish-medications skill before trusting an Apotea product as a medication. This is a required dependency, not an optional check.

Preferred checks:

node /Users/birger/Community/eir-open/skills/swedish-medications/scripts/fass_lookup.js "alvedon"
node /Users/birger/Community/eir-open/skills/swedish-medications/scripts/fass_lookup.js "omeprazol"

Use the lookup to confirm:

• active substance
• OTC vs prescription status
• dosing basics
• key warnings or interactions

4. Confirm it is available on Apotea

Apotea availability is time-sensitive. Prefer the live scraper when the user wants current availability.

Refresh the catalog:

node /Users/birger/Community/eir-open/skills/buy-medication/scripts/scrape_apotea_otc_medications.cjs

The scraper:

• pulls Apotea's live sitemap
• keeps OTC-like candidates only
• verifies each product page still has a medication classification
• matches the product back to swedish-medications
• writes a fresh snapshot to references/apotea-otc-medications.json and .md

If you do not need a fresh scrape, read:

• references/apotea-otc-medications.md for a quick summary
• references/apotea-otc-medications.json for exact product rows

The current snapshot was generated from live Apotea pages and includes 465 matched product pages across 169 unique medications.

5. Recommend narrowly and concretely

When the case is appropriate for OTC self-care, give a short comparison instead of a single overconfident answer.

Good output shape:

1. State the likely OTC category that fits the symptom.
2. List 2-4 Apotea options that are real medications.
3. Include active substance, dosage form, and a short reason each might fit.
4. Add the most relevant warning or exclusion.
5. Link or name the exact Apotea product when possible.

Prefer substance-first reasoning. Example:

• "For short-term heartburn, omeprazole options and alginate/antacid options solve different problems."
• "For allergy symptoms, loratadine and cetirizine are both real antihistamines, but drowsiness risk differs."

6. Keep medical claims tight

Do not:

• diagnose
• claim a medication is definitely safe for the user
• recommend combining medicines without checking warnings first
• tell the user to buy prescription medications
• present supplements, medical devices, or cosmetics as medications

Do:

• distinguish symptom relief from disease treatment
• mention when pharmacist advice is the right next step
• say when the request goes beyond OTC self-care

Common Requests

"What should I buy on Apotea for pollen allergy?"

Use the live catalog or snapshot to find Apotea-listed antihistamines and eye/nasal allergy medications, then validate them with swedish-medications. Compare by substance and sedation risk.

"Is this Apotea product a real medication?"

Check the product name against swedish-medications, then confirm the Apotea page classification is a medication in the snapshot or by re-running the scraper.

"What is the cheapest effective option?"

Stay within a single OTC indication and compare a few verified medications by active substance, form, pack size, and current Apotea price if available in the live scrape.

References

• scripts/scrape_apotea_otc_medications.cjs: live Apotea scraper and matcher
• references/apotea-otc-medications.md: generated medication summary
• references/apotea-otc-medications.json: generated structured product catalog