You don't have to see the doctor to get any dressings, pharmacies or most supermarkets nowadays actually sell them. Whichever non/low-adherant dressing you get is fine. Yes, the plastic in them will have a very slightly different make up between different products but to all intents and purposes, if you're not allergic then they're going to do pretty much the same thing as they are designed to do the same job so buy whichever make you can find which may not even be a brand name. Also, really there is not that much difference between sticking with them but if you are allergic to one product then the fluid your body would produce would make it more likely that they stick. At the end of the day it mainly comes down to cost and personal preferance over which products you have along with what's in stock. I'm not going to say that x is better than y or vice versa as that can be seen as advertising and to all intents and purposes, to the vast majority of people they make no difference.
You MAY be able to get them on prescription but a lot of doctors/ nurses would probably be quite reluctant to do this if you haven't got the need to keep re-dressing one wound at home and then usually they'd give you the number you'd need and maybe an extra one or two. Yep, some may prescribe them more often so if you feel up to going to your doctor about your SH then feel free to ask. In the UK the doctors can't break confidentiality unless you are a harm to yourself (which tends to mean you have plans to kill yourself and are intent on carrying them out) or to other people. The only exception to this is if where you work/ study has an occ health department and they want to see your notes about something, say if you've got an underlying health condition, they can do but ONLY if you sign something and then they only see the ones related to that and I imagine it comes to them in the form of a letter anyway. Remember as well that unless you fit into very strict criteria (ie. if you're under 19 AND in further education/ if you've filled in forms to say you've got a low income (and I think they take any savings you have into account), I think if you're on job seekers allowance but I'm not sure of that, if you're pregnant or if you've got a life-threatening condition where you are likely to be on lifelong meds (hyper/hypothyroidism, epilepsy, diabetes are a few examples)) you do have to pay for prescriptions at least in England and I *think* the cost of them is £7.40 now too so it's weighing up the cost but often a pharmacist will tell you if it's cheaper to buy them not on prescription as you don't need them prescribed.
One thing I would say is if you are SHing a lot then I would definitely advise you to talk to your doctor. It is REALLY hard to do, I'm not going to lie about that (and it may be easier if you write something down saying what you want to say if you're unsure you'll be able to say everything) but at the end of the day it can be advantageous as they can get you help in the form of a therapist/ psychologist/ counsellor or even a psychiatrist if they feel that is needed along with putting you on anti-depressants too if you are depressed and they feel that is warranted in your individual circumstances so it may be worth it. But no, for dressings alone you don't have to go to the doctor.
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