Online doctor, France
Speak to a Doctor About a UTI in France Online, in English.
Burning when you pee, going constantly, lower-abdominal discomfort — and you are in France? Since June 2024 a trained French pharmacist can dispense antibiotics for simple cystitis without a prescription, but only after a positive rapid test and only within limits, so it does not cover everyone. If it does not cover you, or you want a clinician's judgement first, Pomodoc connects you by video with an English-speaking doctor licensed to treat you in France, for a fixed €40. Fever, back pain under the ribs, or blood in the urine mean urgent care instead.
In France, a pharmacy may be able to treat simple cystitis without a prescription in some cases. Not in all of them.
- €40
- per consultation
- No carte vitale
- or French insurance needed
English-speaking doctors, licensed to treat you in France.
Medical Advice for UTI Symptoms
A urinary tract infection can cause symptoms such as pain or burning when urinating, a frequent or urgent need to urinate, lower abdominal discomfort, or urine that is cloudy, bloody or strong-smelling.
With Pomodoc, you can speak directly with a doctor by video. Discuss your symptoms, ask questions and understand whether you may need a urine test, medication or an in-person appointment.
- Consult securely by video
- Avoid unnecessary travel and waiting rooms
- Get clear guidance about your symptoms and treatment
- Access care while travelling or living abroad
A Pharmacy in France, or a Doctor?
France changed its rules in June 2024. A trained pharmacist can now dispense antibiotics for simple cystitis without a prescription, within limits. Here is what those limits are.
The pharmacy route may cover you if
- you are a woman aged 16 to 65
- this is simple cystitis rather than something more complicated
- you are not pregnant
- your immune system is not weakened by a condition or by treatment
- you can reach a pharmacy whose pharmacist has done the training
The pharmacist runs a rapid test first. Antibiotics can only be dispensed if it is positive. A negative test means they cannot, and it does not mean nothing is wrong.
It does not cover you if, for example
- you are a man, or under 16, or over 65
- you are pregnant, or you might be
- your immune system is weakened, including by chemotherapy or HIV
- the pharmacist cannot get enough medical information to judge, for example because you do not speak French well enough
- the nearest pharmacy does not offer the test
In those cases a doctor has to assess you. Pomodoc connects you with an English-speaking doctor by video, from wherever you are staying, for €40 per consultation.
Not sure where you fall? That is a reasonable thing to ask a doctor.
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How It Works
Medical advice by video in three simple steps
Start online
Tell us which country you are in and what is going on. It is a short form, not an appointment request.
Join by video
See your English-speaking doctor using your phone, tablet or computer.
Get clear guidance
Discuss your symptoms and receive advice about your next steps.
Why Use Pomodoc?
Explain it in English
Describe your symptoms and ask questions in English, instead of translating them first or hoping the clinic has someone who speaks it.
Get help without leaving your accommodation
Attend your appointment from your hotel, holiday rental, home or workplace.
Save time while travelling
Avoid searching for a local clinic or waiting in an unfamiliar healthcare setting.
Understand what to do next
A doctor can help you decide whether you need treatment, medication or an in-person appointment.
Travellers who needed a doctor abroad
I was very happy to find this service
I was very happy to find this service! I was able to get a video visit with a physician promptly and get care.
The interview was straightforward and efficient.
The interview was straightforward and efficient. The physician asked appropriate questions and took time to listen to my responses and then asked other questions related to my issues. She zeroed in on questions related to the urinary system.
Reliable and efficient
Reliable and efficient, able to provide medical support while you're away from home.
Reviews of Air Doctor, our medical partner, published on Trustpilot.
More About Getting Treated in France
Can you buy antibiotics over the counter in France?
Not in the general sense, and the exception is narrower than it sounds. France does not sell antibiotics off the shelf. What changed in June 2024 is that a specifically trained pharmacist may dispense them for two named conditions, one of which is simple cystitis, without you first seeing a doctor — and only after running a rapid test in the pharmacy that comes back positive.
Everything else still needs an ordonnance. The criteria Service-Public sets out are narrow: the route is for women aged 16 to 65, and the pharmacist must rule out pregnancy — confirmed or not excluded — and immunosuppression from a condition or a treatment, and must stop if they cannot gather enough medical information to judge — the example Service-Public itself gives is not speaking French well enough. Those are examples rather than a complete list. So if you are a man, under 16 or over 65, pregnant or possibly pregnant, or immunosuppressed, the pharmacist cannot use that route however certain you are about what you have. Nor can they if the test is negative, and a negative test is not the same as nothing being wrong.
What the pharmacy will ask you
The pharmacist checks that you fit the criteria before testing, which means asking your age, whether you are or might be pregnant, and whether anything affects your immune system. Then they offer a rapid test, called a TROD. Antibiotics can only follow a positive result.
Not every pharmacy offers this. The pharmacist has to have completed specific training for it, so it is worth asking at the counter before you wait.
The test is covered by French health insurance, which you may not have
French health insurance covers 70% of the cost of the test, with the rest usually covered by a complementary policy. A visitor without French cover is in a different position, and what you would pay depends on your own insurance and on the pharmacy.
If the pharmacy is closed
France runs a duty-pharmacy rota, the pharmacie de garde, covering nights, Sundays and public holidays. You can find the nearest one by calling 3237 or through the RésoGardes service at 3237.fr.
In some towns you are asked to contact the local commissariat or gendarmerie first at night, and they will give you the address. The Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional health agency, for example, says so for Angoulême, La Rochelle and Niort.
Words that help at the counter
| In French | What it means |
|---|---|
| une cystite | a bladder infection, cystitis |
| des brûlures en urinant | burning when you pee |
| des envies fréquentes d’uriner | needing to go often |
| un test rapide, un TROD | the rapid test the pharmacist runs |
| sans ordonnance | without a prescription |
| une ordonnance | a prescription |
| une pharmacie de garde | the duty pharmacy, open out of hours |
| Parlez-vous anglais ? | Do you speak English? |
Cystite is the word a pharmacist will recognise fastest. Ordonnance means prescription, not the English word it looks like.
Good things to know.
Can I get antibiotics for a UTI in France without seeing a doctor?
Sometimes. Since June 2024 a trained pharmacist in France can dispense antibiotics for simple cystitis without a prescription, but only to women aged 16 to 65 and only after a positive rapid test in the pharmacy. Pregnancy, a weakened immune system, or the pharmacist being unable to gather enough medical information (for example because you do not speak French well enough) are among the things that rule the route out.
Do I need a carte vitale or French health insurance?
Not for a Pomodoc consultation. You pay €40 per consultation directly, and no French registration or local insurance is involved. The pharmacy route is different: the rapid test is 70% covered for people with French health insurance, and a visitor without it should expect to pay differently.
Will the doctor speak English?
Yes. Pomodoc connects you with English-speaking doctors licensed to treat you in the country you are in.
Can a doctor prescribe for me in France by video?
A doctor may issue a prescription when it is clinically appropriate and local rules permit. It is not guaranteed, and some medicines cannot be prescribed remotely at all. Medication you buy at a pharmacy is not included in the €40.
The pharmacy tested me and it was negative. What now?
A negative test means the pharmacist cannot dispense antibiotics, and it does not mean nothing is wrong. Something else may explain your symptoms, which is a good reason to speak to a doctor rather than to wait it out.
What does a Pomodoc consultation cost?
€40 per consultation. Fixed price. Medication you buy at a pharmacy and any in-person care you go on to need are not included in that.
When is a video consultation not the right call?
Not when it is an emergency. A video consultation is for suitable non-emergency concerns: and for urinary symptoms NHS guidance lists fever, pain in the back under the ribs, blood in the urine, or being pregnant as reasons to get urgent advice instead. In France, in a life-threatening emergency call 15, or 112 from any phone first. It is also not the right tool when a doctor needs to examine you, take a swab or run a test — if that is what your symptoms need, the useful outcome of the call is being told so early, and the guide above says which routes are better for that.
Sources
- Dans quels cas un pharmacien peut-il délivrer un antibiotique sans ordonnance ?Service-Public.fr, Direction de l'information légale et administrativeThe two conditions covered, the age criteria (women aged 16 to 65), the positive rapid test requirement, the pharmacist training requirement, the exclusion criteria it gives as examples ('par exemple', so not an exhaustive list) — pregnancy confirmed or not excluded, immunosuppression from a condition or a treatment, and insufficient gathering of medical information, for which its own example is not speaking French well enough ('non-maîtrise de la langue française') — and the 70% reimbursement of the test. Re-checked 2026-09-16; it names neither fever nor recurrence as an exclusion.
- Pharmacies de garde de nuits, dimanches et jours fériésAgence régionale de santé Nouvelle-AquitaineThe duty-pharmacy rota, finding it via 3237 and RésoGardes, and contacting the commissariat or gendarmerie for night access in named towns of that region (Angoulême, Cognac, La Rochelle, Rochefort, Saintes, Royan, Niort, Thouars). A regional source: the page does not state the commissariat step as a France-wide rule, and says nothing about closed shutters. Re-checked 2026-10-01.
- Les numéros utiles nationauxMa Sécurité, Ministère de l'Intérieur15 for medical emergencies, 112 across the EU, and 114 for deaf and hard-of-hearing callers.
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs)NHSThe symptoms that mean urgent medical help, the kidney-infection warning about back pain under the ribs, and the recurrence thresholds.
Sources last checked: . General information, not a diagnosis.
Need Medical Advice for a UTI in France?
Speak to a video doctor and get guidance from wherever you are.
- €40, fixed price
- Licensed in France
- English-speaking doctors
- Prescriptions where available
- No waiting room
Video consultations are for suitable non-emergency medical concerns. In a life-threatening emergency in France, call 15, or 112 from any phone. 114 takes reports by text or video if you are deaf or hard of hearing. This page is general information, not medical advice about your own situation.