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Self-care

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.

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Treating yourself at home

Common conditions and minor ailments such as colds and flu, upset stomachs, and aches and pains are generally not serious health problems for most patients. You can easily treat yourself at home, or with advice from a local pharmacist, helping you to feel better sooner and avoid unnecessary trips to your GP or A&E department.

Take care of yourself by:

  1. Keep your medicine cabinet well-stocked

    Make sure you have plenty of remedies to treat common ailments, such as paracetamol, cough syrup and throat lozenges. If you do suffer from a cold or flu you can treat their symptoms at home without needing to make an appointment at their GP practice. Find out more about what to have in your medicine cabinet at the NHS.UK website.

  2. Download The NHS App

    The NHS app is a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet. You can use it to get health advice or get advice about COVID-19, order repeat prescriptions, book appointments, find out what to do when you need help urgently.

  3. Visit the Self Care Forum

    The self care forum has produced a series of factsheets to help you take care of the most common conditions. These provide useful facts about your condition, what you can expect to happen, how to help yourself, when you should see your GP.

  4. Check out the Health Apps Library

    Brought to you by Orcha, the health apps library brings together every smartphone app you could possibly imagine to help you stay fit and healthy, or live your best life if you have a long-term medical condition.

  5. Visit your local pharmacy

    Knowing what to do to treat a minor ailment is something our local pharmacy teams can help with, and they can provide information and advice on how best to treat a wide range of minor ailments and conditions. Visit NHS.UK to find your local pharmacy.