Self Care

We are keen to help patients improve on self care and hope that the

following information will offer some insight into that.

Self-care is about keeping fit and healthy, understanding when you can look

after yourself, when a pharmacist can help, and when to get advice from

your GP or another health professional. If you have a long-term condition,

self-care is about understanding that condition and how to live with it.

Self-care is recommended when you have a minor condition which doesn’t normally need medical care (from a doctor or nurse) or any treatment in order to get better.

In practice this means a person decides that they can manage their illness without seeing a doctor.

This may be because they don’t like taking remedies or pills, or because they believe they will recover just as quickly if they stay at home and rest until their illness goes away of its own accord. Or they may pop out to buy medicines over the counter at a pharmacy. Either way, ‘self-care’ is something millions of us do every day – for positive and practical reasons.

But what if you feel you need some advice before you are able to self-care? For instance, if you’re not sure if your condition is minor, or one that goes away of its own accord, i.e. a virus, or if you just want advice on how to relieve the symptoms.

The good news is, your local pharmacist can help you.

Local pharmacies provide NHS services in the same way as GP practices – and pharmacists train for five years in the use of medicines before they qualify as health professionals. What’s more, it’s a walk-in service, open all day.

A pharmacist will assess symptoms and consider any long-term conditions, and the medicines that you’re taking, before providing a recommendation. They will either:

  • Support/advise you in your decision to self-care.
  • Sell you an ‘over the counter’ medicine (which doesn’t need a prescription or visit to a GP) that will help relieve symptoms and make you more comfortable.
  • Signpost you to the right medical care if you need it.

This help and advice is available at over 11,000 local pharmacies, without any appointment being needed, within your local area, and often into the evenings.

These are the common conditions that I suggest people can often manage for themselves:

  • Coughs and colds
  • Sprains and strains
  • Sore throat
  • Sinusitis
  • Earache
  • Constipation
  • Headache

If you’re unsure about which conditions you should be managing yourself,

or how to manage them, see your local pharmacist.   So I hope you can try to self-care this winter.

For details of your nearest local pharmacy, and opening hours, go to the Find Pharmacy Services pages on the NHS Choices website.

Here is a list of ailments that can be safely self managed. You will see that you can take a look via the hyperlink at the other websites which can offer you further information about managing your condition.

Common ailments that can be self managed :

Back pain

NHS Choices

Cold sores

NHS Choices

Common Cold

NHS Choices

Conjunctivitis

NHS Choices

pdfInformation Leaflet

Constipation

NHS Choices

Cough

NHS Choices

pdf Information Leaflet

Diarrhoea

NHS Choices

Dysmenorrhoea (painful periods)

NHS Choices

Earache

NHS Choices

Haemorrhoids

NHS Choices  

Hayfever

NHS Choices

Head lice

NHS Choices

Headache

NHS Choices

Heartburn & Indigestion

NHS Choices

Influenza

NHS Choices

pdf Information Leaflet

Insect bites

NHS Choices

Migraine

NHS Choices

Nasal congestion

NHS Choices

Nappy rash

NHS Choices

Sore throat

NHS Choices

pdf Information Leaflet

Sinusitis

NHS Choices

Sprains and strains

NHS Choices

Thrush

NHS Choices

Warts and Verrucas

NHS Choices



 
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