The 10 best pharmacies in Pedro Juan Caballero

To choose a pharmacy in Pedro Juan Caballero, start with what you need: a prescription drug, an antibiotic, an over-the-counter item, or a product that has a different name in Brazil. Then message or call to confirm they have it and are open, because on the border demand swings a lot from day to day. The list above is your starting point; this guide helps you pick the right one.

Which pharmacy suits where you are?

Pedro Juan Caballero shares an open land border with Ponta Porã, Brazil: Avenida Internacional Doctor Francia is the dividing line (Wikipedia⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). That shapes how to shop.

• Downtown or near the avenue: this is the busiest commercial area. Pick a pharmacy on your route and avoid the hours when most cross-border shoppers arrive.
• In a residential neighbourhood: stick with a pharmacy near home for monthly refills and ask whether they deliver and how far.
• Leaving the Hospital Regional or the IPS hospital: keep the prescription in hand and compare price and stock at two pharmacies before buying.

When will you need a prescription?

Antibiotics have been prescription-only since 1 November 2018. The prescription is valid for five days and must include your details, your ID number, the diagnosis, and the doctor's signature, stamp and professional registration number (La Nación⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). If anything is missing, the pharmacy may refuse the sale.

For other prescription drugs, always bring the original. A WhatsApp photo is fine for checking stock and price, but it does not replace the paper at the counter.

Coming from Brazil or studying medicine in town?

The city has about 15,000 medical students, 99% of them Brazilian (Infonegocios⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠), so many pharmacies are used to serving customers in Portuguese. Still:

• Ask for the medicine by its active ingredient, not just the brand: the same drug may be sold under another name in Paraguay.
• Ask beforehand whether they accept your prescription as it is, especially one from a Brazilian doctor for a prescription-only product.
• If you'll carry medicines back into Brazil, check the Receita Federal and Anvisa rules for travellers first.

How do you know a medicine is legal?

Every medicine sold in Paraguay must have its health registration number printed on the box, along with the laboratory's details. Dinavisa, the regulator, opened about a hundred proceedings against pharmacies in 2022–2023 for selling unregistered products, charging above the set price or failing to keep the cold chain (Última Hora⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠).

• Be wary of boxes with no registration or labels only in another language.
• For insulin, vaccines and other refrigerated products, ask how they're stored and bring a cooler for a long trip.
• Don't buy medicines through Instagram or Facebook: Dinavisa pursues "miracle" products sold on social media and calls that trade illegal.
• To report a problem, contact Dinavisa⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠.

What to ask before you go

A short message saves a trip, especially if you're far from downtown:

• Do you have this product (brand and active ingredient), and in which form?
• Until what time are you open today, and is a pharmacist on duty?
• Do you take QR, cards or Brazilian reais, and at what rate?
• Can you hold it for me if I come in an hour?

Save two pharmacies in your phone: one near home and one that stays open late. If the first doesn't have it, you already know where to go next.