I have covered Medicine and Drug Stores in Japan and also Mosquito repellent for adults and children.
One of things I have been asked during this winter is: I’m in Japan, which cold medicine should I purchase for my child?
You will see a pharmacist or an employee who can help you but if you can’t communicate in Japanese, you can demonstrate (or they will demonstrate) what you need. Runny nose? Sore throat? Head ache?
In fact, you can just point to where it hurts and say “itai” (pronounced as ee-tai which means hurts/pain).
But just in case, you can refer to these words:
- Cold is Kaze
- Runny Nose is Hanamizu
- Sneezing is Kushami
- Cough is Seki
- Sore Throat is Nodo no Itami
- Fever is Netsu
- Headache is Zutsuu
- Hay Fever is Kafunsho
- Stomach Ache is Itsuu or Fukutsu but best to say “I have a stomach ache” (onaka ga itai)
When talking about your son (Musuko) or your daughter (Musume), you can say this in Japanese:
Watashi no musuko wa kaze o motte imasu (My son has a cold)
Watashi no musume wa kaze o motte imasu (My daughter has a cold)
And you can replace the words with the following word “Kaze” with one of the words above. They pharmacist will understand!
So, for example, your child has a fever:
Watashi no musuko wa netsu o motte imasu (My son has a cold)
Watashi no musume wa netsu o motte imasu (My daughter has a cold)
Here is the Hiragana, so you can look at the package and see what kind of medicine it’s for:
こども – Kodomo (Child)
かぜ – Kaze (Cold)
せき – Seki (Cough)
熱, ねつ – Netsu (Fever)
シロップ – Syrup (NOTE: If you see an S or SA after, that mean’s Strawberry-flavored, P or PA after means Peach-flavored)
鼻炎 – Bien (Rhinitis) / Note: Sorry, Kanji (Chinese characters) only.
DISCLAIMER:
Before I go on, it’s important to DO YOUR RESEARCH before purchasing medicine and know it’s contents. I am not a doctor or a pharmacist, so do your research and ask around in Japan to make sure you get the medication you need.
If you are at a pharmacy of convenience store, it may be best to use this page as a reference and show them the image of what you need. They will either have it in stock or will have another version made by another pharmaceutical company for you to purchase.
Amazon Japan has the warning labels on their site, so you may want to input the text on Google Translate, just in case you have allergies towards certain medication.
In Japan, Bufferin is one of the top pharmaceutical companies and they sell over the counter cold products for children. Please note: Children not infants.
Here are fever, cold and allergy children’s medicine available from Bufferin that you can tell by the box/package color:
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Kids Bufferin Netsu Syrup S (Fever Medicine)
The orange package reads when a child’s cold becomes a fever: Includes Acetaminophen. There is no-caffeine, no codeine and is strawberry flavored. Made for children 3 months to 7-years-old.
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Kids Bufferin Kaze Syrup S & P (Cold Medicine)
There are two versions of this. One in Pink and one in Red. The difference is pink is peach flavored and red is strawberry flavored.
The package reads: Cold medicine for fever, cough and runny nose. There is no-caffeine and no codeine. Made for children 3 months to 7-years-old.
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Kids Bufferin Seki Syrup S (Cough Medicine)
The blue package reads: Cough medicine suppressant. There is no-caffeine, no codeine and is strawberry flavored. Made for children 3 months to 8-years-old.
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Kids Bufferin Bien Syrup S (Rhinitis Medicine)
The green package reads: For Rhinitis (Inflamed mucous membrane in nose caused by Hay Fever, pollen allergy or virus infection). There is no-caffeine, no codeine and is strawberry flavored. Made for children 3 months to 11-years-old.
NOTE: You will find other medicines that have multi-symptom features for children. You will see another similar product from Ikeda Nagakudo ala Muhi featuring Anpanman and it’s similar in colors with red for cold, Blue being for cough, green for Rhinitis, etc.
But overall, I hope this guide helps!
