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Looking after your health and wellbeing

Looking after your health and wellbeing
18 November 2020

NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is reminding the public that there are things people can do at home to look after their own health and wellbeing, particularly during covid-19

This week is self-care week (16 – 22 November), an annual national awareness week that focuses on embedding support for self-care across communities, families and generations.

Only 20% of our health needs require a trip to the doctors or hospital, the rest are down to things such as environment and our own behaviour. By taking care of ourselves and adopting healthy lifestyles we can reduce our chance of becoming seriously ill and needing medical help.

Dr Terry Hudsen, GP and Chair of NHS Sheffield CCG, said: “It’s particularly important that we look after both our physical and mental health during covid-19 to ensure we stay as healthy as possible.

“Simple things such as taking a daily walk, eating a healthy diet and taking time out to relax and reduce stress can make a huge difference to our health over time. Exercise helps to keep our weight down and our organs healthy and getting the right vitamins from healthy food keeps our immune system strong which all helps us fight viruses such as covid-19 and flu.”

The NHS ‘Live Well’ website at nhs.uk/live-well contains advice, tips and tools to help people make the best choices about their health and wellbeing.

Some of the most common illnesses and ailments can be treated with supplies from a well-stocked medicine cabinet at home. The NHS can spend as much as £569 million in a year prescribing medicines that can be bought from high street pharmacies and supermarkets.

Your local pharmacist can advise on the best over the counter medicines to treat a wide range of conditions and ailments. Pharmacists are experts in medicines and how medicines work and can tell you what to stock your medicine cabinet with and when to use it. They can also help you decide if you need to see a doctor for your condition. Please remember to follow social distancing guidance when visiting your pharmacy.

The Self Care Forum has lots of useful information on treating minor illnesses at home, check them out here www.selfcareforum.org/fact-sheets/fact-sheets-2020/.

Dr Hudsen added: “There’s a misconception that antibiotics can treat common illnesses like the cold and flu. However, antibiotics are not effective for viral infections such as colds, flu, or most sore throats. In fact, if people take antibiotics when they’re not needed, the next time they get an infection it is more likely that antibiotics will not work, making it harder to treat.

“You don’t generally need to see a GP for viral infections and they will usually get better on their own by taking over the counter medicines and resting.”

If you do get ill and it’s not something you can treat at home, the NHS remains open. Make sure you use the right service for your condition. Details on the services available in Sheffield are online here. If you’re unsure what to do, please call 111 or visit https://111.nhs.uk/.

To help prevent the spread of covid-19 please don’t turn up to your GP practice without an appointment.

If you have symptoms of covid-19 – a new continuous cough, a change in taste and smell or a high temperature - you must isolate and request a test as soon as possible. You can do this online here or by calling 119. Do not attend you GP, pharmacy or hospital if you have covid-19 symptoms. If you’re worried about your symptoms please call 111.

NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group

Headquarters
722 Prince of Wales Road
Sheffield
S9 4EU

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