You can buy cosmetic contact lenses freely, without a prescription. So carving out an exception for contact lenses -- based on the notion that they are in contact with the eye -- is unprincipled. The vast majority of people who use contact lenses suffer no complications.
What's more, in foreign countries eye exams are frequently done by technicians who are not doctors. It's not that complicated to press the "start" button on an autorefractor. So even if eye exams are required, they can be done far more quickly and easily than at present.
In many countries in Asia and Europe, prescriptions aren't _required_ for hardly anything. You can buy drugs and glasses at will, including antibiotics. (Typical exceptions only for most stimulants and some -- but not all -- opioids.) In the US, where you can't get anything without seeing a doctor, including a box of contact lenses, one feels infantilized.
I can speak for some parts of Europe when I say that most antibiotics and majority of drugs definitely need prescription.
There are several good reasons for it.
1. Antibiotic overuse is a serious issue. If people could just get them without prescription they would use them for flu etc. Because they wouldn't be able to tell that it's a viral infection. Over time this would lead to even more antibiotic resistant pathogens than we have now. Plus there is the whole "kills your gut biome" thing.
2. Our healthcare is heavily subsidized and practically universal. The antibiotics and many other medications are, indirectly, payed for by government, with prices negotiated and set trough complicated process involving semi-state insurance companies and government.
Letting people buy drugs without prescription could lead to abuse, like exporting them to third countries. Causing shortages etc.
I suppose it depends where in Europe. I spend most of my time in the south and east -- where, e.g., Serbia doesn't even have a prescription system. You can literally buy whatever you want, and doctors won't write you a formal prescription -- they'll give you some product names to pass along to the pharmacist. Bulgaria and other Balkan countries are similar, which is why they're so popular with steroid users and dealers. (I can confirm that you can buy testosterone and other bodybuilding drugs without a prescription, and without any fuss.)
In the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, it's mixed, but generally _much_ more relaxed than the US. In many cases, even if a prescription is "required," pharmacists won't stand on principle.
I realize that one can't generalize across the entire continent, but there are certainly regions where things are more like Thailand or China than they're like the USA. And it's really no big deal.
They are generally only available for professionals, and those that can easily be bought as a private person are much more expensive than the human version.
I haven't heard of anyone doing that (why would anyone do that, actually?) instead of just going to a human doctor to get a prescription for human drugs.
Glasses, certainly, but regarding drugs, I don't think Europe is generally less restrictive than the US, in fact I thought it was the opposite (see e.g. the phentanyl problem).
In Spain not only you can't buy antibiotics at will, but you can't even buy 1 g paracetamol pills (you can buy 500 mg pills, though - I guess the government wants to protect people who can't add 500+500!). Some pharmacists will turn a blind eye with silly restrictions like paracetamol, though - but not all, because they might be fined if they get caught.
> you can buy 500 mg pills, though - I guess the government wants to protect people who can't add 500+500!
I know it sounds a bit absurd at first thought, but restricting the amount that can be bought at a time actually works for preventing overdosing. People are just less likely to swallow 12 500 mg tablets in one time than 6 1g tablets.
Also worth noting is that in many countries Pharmacists can prescribe certain classes of medicines, again excluding most stimulants and opioids. But need some ciprofloxacin? Just rock up to your pharmacy and ask.
What's more, in foreign countries eye exams are frequently done by technicians who are not doctors. It's not that complicated to press the "start" button on an autorefractor. So even if eye exams are required, they can be done far more quickly and easily than at present.
In many countries in Asia and Europe, prescriptions aren't _required_ for hardly anything. You can buy drugs and glasses at will, including antibiotics. (Typical exceptions only for most stimulants and some -- but not all -- opioids.) In the US, where you can't get anything without seeing a doctor, including a box of contact lenses, one feels infantilized.