Blank looks when asking for paracetamol/acetaminophen

I'm interested to know why I so frequently just get blank looks when I ask for paracetamol/Acetaminophen, including showing the katakana.
Exactly what noises or pictures do I have to make or show to end up with paracetamol in my hands? This isn't exactly an exotic medicine.

Many thanks!

HanSolo said:

I'm interested to know why I so frequently just get blank looks when I ask for paracetamol/Acetaminophen, including showing the katakana.
Exactly what noises or pictures do I have to make or show to end up with paracetamol in my hands? This isn't exactly an exotic medicine.

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How about showing them a picture?
タイレノール - Google Search

http://www.amazon.co.jp/タイレノール-【第2類...e=UTF8&qid=1457544857&sr=8-1&keywords=Tylenol

Have you been asking people in drugstores who are wearing white lab coats? That isn't a sign they are pharmacists; it is a sign they work in drugstores.

Look at the signs on the shelves. Find the one marked 頭痛薬 or 鎮痛剤 and hunt around until you see タイレノール.

I ran into the same problem just yesterday. I assumed I just pronounced it incorrectly. The guy said he didn't speak English even though I only used Japanese and specifically asked for タイレノール.

I found it on the shelf and showed it to him, including the katakana... He repeated that he didn't speak English. Perhaps it's not super common. There was a ton of ibuprofen tablet boxes and only the one name brand Tylenol for acetaminophen.

Other possibility is that my Japanese has badly deteriorated since I haven't used it recently due to travel.

Ibuprofen is here, but the pronunciation is different. The I is not pronounced like a long I in English. It's more like a short I (as in "little").
If you want acetominophen, just ask for the brand Tylenol. There are more pronunciation problems with this medical word, so brand name will work better.