Symptoms in the Pharmacy: A Guide to the Management of Common Illnesses

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This work supports the development of a critical foundation for community pharmacy on which to build the sector’s future role described in our delivery plan for improving access to primary care. This includes the launch of the Common Conditions Service, by the end of 2023. The service covers seven conditions: use a hot water bottle – holding a hot water bottle on your tummy or between your thighs may reduce any discomfort If you need to go into hospital for COVID-19, you may get other treatments. How to get COVID-19 treatment Anyone collecting free tests on your behalf needs to give the pharmacy your details, including your: If you think you're at risk of having a sexually transmitted infection (STI) or have any symptoms of chlamydia, visit a GP, community contraceptive service or local genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic to get tested. How do you get chlamydia?

Complete results from the use of TARGET treating your infection leaflets for UTIs are in Appendix 1. Full details of the UTI results have been published here: Responding to Urinary Tract Infection Symptoms in England’s Community Pharmacies (mdpi.com). Respiratory tract infections

If you have a bladder infection you may notice that your pee looks bloody or cloudy. More rarely, blood in the urine can also be a symptom of other conditions. If you have blood in your urine, it is important to speak with your doctor as soon as you can. Other symptoms Althoughallergic reactionscan be a nuisance and hamper your normal activities, most are mild. Very occasionally, a severe reaction called anaphylaxis can occur. Mainallergy symptoms Thrush is usually caused by a yeast fungus called candida albicans. It is not a sexually transmitted infection. using a vacuum cleaner fitted with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter, because it can trap more dust mites than ordinary vacuum cleaners regularly wiping surfaces with a damp, clean cloth– avoid dry dusting, as this can spread dust into the air

You might need to take treatment for longer (up to 6 months) if you keep getting thrush (you get it more than 4 times in 12 months). They’ll advise you about taking steps to avoid exposure to the substance you’re allergic to, andcan recommend medication to control your symptoms. Avoiding exposure to allergens Before you begin treatment, a GP can help identify if something is causing your thrush, such as your period or sex. One of the biggest causes of allergies are dust mites, which are tiny insects found in household dust. You can limit the number of mites in your home by:Table 7: Patients who were signposted with urgent escalation symptoms requiring assessment and their destination Signposted destination

These are non-pregnant women with symptoms strongly predictive of an UTI (presenting with two or more symptoms of dysuria, new nocturia, cloudy urine and with no vaginal discharge) You'll usually need antifungal medicine to get rid of thrush. This can be a tablet you take, a tablet you insert into your vagina (pessary) or a cream to relieve the irritation. Most cases are thought tooccur when bacteria that live harmlessly in the bowel or on the skin get into the bladder through the urethra (tube that carries urine out of your body).Continuous antibiotics are taken for several months to prevent further episodes of cystitis. These may be prescribed:

having a shower, rather than a bath – thisavoids exposing your genitals to the chemicals in your cleaning products for too long Cystitis is usually caused by a bacterial infection, although it sometimes happens when the bladder is irritated or damaged for another reason. Bacterial infections There’s currently no cure for hay fever. But most peoplecan relieve symptoms with treatment, at least to a certain extent. If a GP thinks you may have a urinary tract infection (UTI), they may do a urine test, although this is not always needed. Around a third of patients were managed by community pharmacy team members without the need for escalation to a pharmacist and 78% (80,791) patients were managed within the pharmacy, by the pharmacist and pharmacy team without the need to escalate to another healthcare setting. Most women (94%; 97,452) received self-care advice, of whom 37,565 (36%) were also provided with patient information leaflets.You may feel like peeing is painful, or it feels like your pee is hot and burning. This can be very uncomfortable and stop you from wanting to pee at all. Frequent urination Integrated care boards (ICBs) should ensure community pharmacy are effectively integrated with multi-disciplinary teams to promote optimum care and antimicrobial stewardship. TARGET resources can support consistent messages to patients and the public from multidisciplinary teams. About this report