Many conditions get better on their own and can be treated successfully at home. Your pharmacist may be able to help you with these and advise about medicines you can buy over the counter.
You may also wish to take a look the Interactive Library area of our practice website, which features a wide range of content from NHS Choices.
Minor Ailments
Sunburn
With sunburn, remember prevention is better than cure. Use “high factor” (at least Factor 30) sun creams before exposure, especially on children.
Colds and Flu
These usually start with a runny nose, cough, temperature and aches. Viruses cause them and antibiotics are of no use in their treatment. Treatment consists of taking recommended doses of paracetamol for the temperature and aches and drinking plenty of fluids. Do not worry if you do not eat for a few days, you will come to no harm.
Diarrhoea and Vomiting
The main treatment here is to prevent dehydration by drinking plenty of clear fluids. Rehydration powders (e.g. Dioralyte) help the fluid to be absorbed. Vomiting usually settles within a few hours. If it persists beyond 24 hours, sooner in babies and young children, consult your doctor.
Backache, Strains and Sprains
Many acute strains and sprains will respond to a few days rest and paracetamol taken for the pain. Backaches will usually respond to a few days spent lying on a firm bed on your back. If the symptoms continue you should consult your doctor.
Inspect Bites and Stings
Most of these need no treatment. Anti-histamine tablets can be obtained from the chemist without prescription and will relieve most symptoms.
Nose Bleeds
Sit on a chair (leaning forwards with your mouth open) and pinch your nose just below the bone for about ten minutes, by which time the bleeding usually stops. If the bleeding continues consult your doctor.
Sore Throats
Most sore throats are caused by viruses and last 3 to 4 days before subsiding. Aspirin or paracetamol gargles or simple lozenges may help with the pain. If symptoms persist please consult your doctor.
Head Lice
These creatures prefer clean hair and are not a sign of poor hygiene. Medicated shampoos can be obtained from the chemist without prescription.
Burns and Scalds
Taking the heat away from the skin as soon as possible is the most important factor. Apply cool water to the burn as soon as possible for 20 minutes (note that it does not need to be cold water but needs to be for 20 minutes and the cooling is beneficial for up to 3 hours post burn injury). If the skin is unbroken but blistered, apply a loose dry dressing after this cooling. If the skin is broken, or if the area of the burn is larger than 4-5 inches in diameter, loosely apply cling film after cooling and seek further advice.
Childhood Illnesses and Symptoms
Chicken Pox
Incubation period and advice about chicken pox
| Incubation Period |
14 to 16 days |
| Infectious Period |
From the day before the rash appears until the spots are dry. |
| Recognition |
Begins with feeling unwell, a rash and maybe a temperature. Spots are red and become fluid filled blisters within a day or so. Come first on the chest and back, then spread. The spots eventually dry into scabs, which drop off. Unless spots are badly infected, they don’t usually leave a scar. |
| What to do |
No need to see the doctor unless you are unsure whether it’s chicken pox or your child is very unwell and/or distressed. Give plenty to drink. Paracetamol will help bring down a temperature. Baths, loose comfortable clothes and calamine lotion can all ease the itchiness. |
Measles
Incubation period and advice about measles
| Incubation Period |
7 to 12 days |
| Infectious Period |
From a few days before the rash appears until five days after it goes. |
| Recognition |
Rash appears after third or fourth day of a feverish illness. Spots are red and slightly raised; may be blotchy. Rash is not itchy. Child becomes very unwell with cough and high temperature. Illness usually lasts about a week. |
| What to do |
See your doctor. Give rest and plenty to drink. Warm drinks will ease the cough. Paracetamol will ease discomfort and lower the temperature. Vaseline around the lips protects the skin. Wash crustiness from eyelids with warm water. |
Mumps
Incubation period and advice about mumps
| Incubation Period |
14 to 21 days |
| Infectious Period |
From a few days before becoming unwell until swelling goes down. Maybe ten days in all. |
| Recognition |
Child may complain of pain around the ear or feel uncomfortable when chewing Swelling then starts, under the jaw up by the ear. Swelling often starts on one side followed (though not always) by the other. (It is rare for mumps to affects boy’s testes This happens rather more often in adult men with mumps. However the risk of permanent damage is very low.) |
| What to do |
Child may not feel especially ill and may not want to be in bed. Paracetamol will ease the pain in the swollen glands. Give plenty to drink but not fruit juices ,they make the saliva flow, which can hurt. No need to see the doctor unless your child has stomach ache and is being sick. |
Rubella (German Measles)
Incubation period and advice about Rubella
| Incubation Period |
14 to 21 days |
| Infectious Period |
From a few days before illness starts until a week after the rash first appears. |
| Recognition |
Can be difficult to diagnose with certainty. Starts like a mild cold. Rash appears in a day or two, first on the face then spreading. Spots are flat. On a light skin, they are pale pink. Glands in the back of the neck may be swollen. |
| What to do |
Child doesn’t usually feel unwell. Give plenty to drink. No need to see the doctor. Keep your child away from anyone you know who is pregnant (or trying to become so). If your child was with anyone pregnant before you knew about the illness, let them know. |
Whooping Cough
Incubation period and advice about whooping cough
| Incubation Period |
7 to 14 days |
| Infectious Period |
From the first signs of illness until about six weeks after coughing first started, unless an antibiotic is given. |
| Recognition |
It is a gradually worsening cough. After about two weeks, coughing bouts start. These are sometimes exhausting and make it difficult to breathe. Sometimes but not always, there’s a whooping noise as the child draws in breath after coughing. It takes some weeks before the coughing fits start to die down. |
| What to do |
If your child has a cough that gets worse rather than better and starts to have longer fits of coughing more and more often, see your doctor. Its important for the sake of other children to know whether or not its whooping cough. |