Dr Sarah Jarvis
Public Health England has just launched its new Stay Well This Winter campaign. Last year, their sound advice helped millions to take simple steps to improve their health.
In the excitement of the run-up to Christmas, it can be easy to put your health on the back burner, but some simple precautions could keep you out of trouble.
If you feel unwell, you can see your pharmacist without an appointment. They can advise you if your symptoms mean a visit to the doctor is in order. They can also advise on all sorts of options to relieve the misery of minor ailments while your immune system fights them off.
Your pharmacist can offer advice on popular over-thecounter remedies to stock up on. They’re useful over the Christmas period – but also helpful if the weather turns nasty and you can’t get out.
Do make sure you order any repeat prescriptions well before Christmas. GP surgeries are open every weekday except Bank Holidays, and in an emergency you can ring your local out-of-hours GP service. Lots of people try to stock up on medicines for the holidays, which may mean your GP will struggle to get through last-minute requests – and the last thing you need is Christmas being ruined by illness.
The biggest single risk in winter is to your chest – hospital admissions for chest problems like pneumonia double from 1,000 to 2,000 a day over the winter months. If you have lung problems like COPD, do make sure you keep a supply of your inhalers and take them regularly. Your
A&E VISITS ARE FOR ACCIDENTS OR EMERGENCIES! NEARLY 1 IN 5 PEOPLE LEAVE A&E WITH NO TREATMENT NEEDED. IF IN DOUBT, SPEAK TO YOUR PHARMACIST
GP may also give you a course of antibiotics and steroid tablets to take if you start producing more sputum or get more breathless. Start taking them straight away and make sure to order more as soon as you’ve used the last one.
The key for everyone at high risk of chest complications is to get a flu vaccination. Everyone over 65 is invited. Even if you’ve never been prone to chest infections, your immune system gets less effective with age – so your risk of pneumonia, if you do catch flu, rises sharply.
Because the virus changes every year, it’s important to get protected every year with a new vaccine. Children are great spreaders of disease, so all 2-4 year olds (through their GP) and those in school years 1-3 (through school) will also be able to get a flu vaccine.
It’ll also protect them – in areas where all primary school kids were immunised,their hospital admission rates for flu were 93% lower than areas without immunisation.
Other groups are also at risk of severe complications from flu. People with diabetes, heart, lung, kidney or liver problems, or a weakened immune system, are 11 times more likely to suffer complications. If you’re over 65 as well, that risk is 10 times higher again! Pregnant women are 7 times more likely than others to end up in hospital from influenza. So if you fall into any of these groups, be sure to have your immunisation. Now, it may sound odd, but the thermostat in your sitting room could be key to winter health.
Heat your house to at least 18ºC to protect your immune system. Remember, most cold-related health emergencies don’t happen when it’s freezing, but when the temperature is 2-6ºC, probably because people stint on heating until it’s really cold. There are lots of winter heating grants available. In our next issue: Why cold feet?
A SINGLE VACCINE PROTECTS MOST PEOPLE FOR LIFE FROM THE SERIOUS ILLNESS PNEUMOCOCCAL DISEASE. ASK YOUR GP IF YOU NEED ONE
HEAT YOUR HOUSE TO AT LEAST 18°C TO PROTECT YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM’’