They don't need doctors in Bahrain

So get this--I've got this bad cold (could be the flu) right now that I probably picked up from the little bastards and I needed some medicine. So, yesterday Scott advises me to walk to the "chemist" as they call them here or as we call it the "pharmacy." Chemist seems a little weird, but I'll run with it--esp after this story. So anyway, the chemist is literally 2 blocks away, so it's not a far walk for me. But this is where it gets weird. I walk in, and the professional Indian looking guy behind the counter shakes my hand, asks me my name and then what I "need." I tell him I'm congested, runny nose, etc etc. He then grabs four boxes of medicine--a box of the antibiotic Zithromax, some high power pain reliever, some weird high power cough syrup, and some wicked looking cough drops. Mind you, every single one of the things he gave me is NOT an over-the-counter drug in the states, especially the antibiotic. He then proceeds to tell me dosages, etc and while he's explaining the drugs I happen to look around and this place had EVERYTHING available for over the counter purchase. I'm talking Viagra, zanex, birth control, blood pressure medicine, the whole nine yards. You apparently don't have to go to the doctor here, you just go to the chemist and ask for it. I asked a local about it and he confirmed what I was thinking. There are no such things as prescriptions in Bahrain. That is completely fucked up, but hey, I got the goods to take care of my cold for 13 dinars without having to go make an appointment with a doctor. I love the middle east...