Can I ship medication?

We are not a cold chain service

This is the most important thing on the page, so it is first. We do not use temperature controlled packaging, refrigerated storage or a cold chain network. Whatever the pharmacy packs, we ship, and it travels at whatever temperature the journey happens to be.

Medication that needs to stay cool

It can still be sent, and plenty of people do. Pharmacies pack temperature sensitive medication with ice packs and insulation designed to hold for a certain number of hours, and that packaging is what protects it in transit. We do not add to it or replace it.

So the honest position is this. It travels entirely at your own risk. If the journey takes longer than the pharmacy packaging was designed for, or the medication is left somewhere warm at the far end, we cannot control that and cannot be responsible for it. Many shipments arrive perfectly well. We simply will not promise a temperature controlled journey we do not provide.

There is a surcharge on prescription medication. It is not for a different kind of shipping, it is for the extra paperwork and handling these shipments need, and it means we prioritise them so they spend as little time with us as possible. The amount is on the pricing page.

Import rules are your responsibility

This part matters, so it is worth being direct about it. Checking that your medication can legally be imported into your country, and applying for any permit or approval it needs, is your responsibility rather than ours.

Rules differ in every country and change without notice, and we are not in a position to know what applies where you live. We cannot advise on it, and we cannot check it for you. Importing prescription medication is controlled in most countries, many require an import permit or prior approval from their health authority before the medicine arrives, and some refuse it outright.

Please check with the relevant authority in your own country before you order, rather than after the box has left.

Over the counter medicine

Everyday items such as painkillers, cold remedies, vitamins and supplements are usually far simpler, though quantity still matters. Personal amounts are treated very differently from bulk.

If customs holds it

Customs can hold any shipment, and medication attracts more attention than most. They may contact you directly for documents, so keep an eye on your email, including the spam folder, and reply promptly.

In short

• Room temperature medication, packed by the pharmacy, is straightforward to send.
• Medication needing to stay cool can be sent, packed by the pharmacy, at your own risk and with a surcharge.
• We do not provide cold chain shipping, so the pharmacy packaging is what protects it.
• Checking import rules and getting any permit you need is your responsibility, not ours.
• Keep quantities personal rather than bulk.