Health Information

COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. Know the symptoms. Know how to protect yourself and others from Coronavirus. Seek advice from us here at your local community pharmacy.

Acid reflux is known by a number of names including GORD (gastro oesophageal reflux disease), reflux, dyspepsia and heartburn. This condition is caused by what happens to your food and drink after you have eaten.

Acne is a skin condition caused by the pores of the skin becoming clogged up with oil, old cells and bacteria. It commonly occurs on the face, shoulders, back or chest. It may start as a few raised white bumps and develop into small pustules. In severe cases, firm, painful lumps called cysts can develop under the skin.

Age spot is the common name for a lentigine. This is a brownish area of skin discolouration, generally on the face, arms and legs, caused by the sun damaging fair skin.

Arthritis is a name given to a range of conditions that affect the bones. The arthritis that you get as you age: aches and pains and creaking bones is called osteoarthritis.

Asthma happens when the airways become sensitive, causing the muscles in the airways to narrow the air passages and produce mucous, which further narrows the airways.

Is the skin between your toes peeling? Do your feet have a rather whiffy aroma? If so, you may well have athletes foot.

It is difficult to detect when you have halitosis, or bad breath. But all of us have suffered from getting too close to others with bad breath and have not enjoyed the experience!

Bedbugs are small wingless parasites that live in bedding and soft furnishings. They feed on the blood of their victim and are pale coloured when hungry and reddish brown after a feed from their host.

The sting of a bee or wasp is a defence mechanism – it is to protect them from us. The sting is poisonous and painful, and can cause severe reactions. Most people get a painful sensation at the time of a sting, and the area swells and reddens.

A blister is a raised area of skin that is filled with a clear liquid, or occasionally blood, over which the skin is intact. They form when that area has been damaged by pressure, chemicals that have been applied to the area, burns, insect bites, allergies, fungal or viral infections.

Body odour is produced by some people when they sweat. The smell is not caused by the perspiration, but by bacteria on the body that breaks down the sweat into products that produce the unpleasant smells.

The medical name for a boil is a furuncle. It is an abscess that forms at the bottom of a hair follicle when infected by a particular type of bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus.

Developing bunions is very painful as they change the shape of your foot. Painful feet affect you every time you stand, walk or run, so bunions can seriously limit your quality of life. Any foot pain needs prompt referral to a doctor.

Cold sores normally first occur on or near your lip. They are caused by a type of herpes virus that is highly contagious and are often caught in childhood from someone who is infected.

Chilblains are burning red areas that occur on the end of fingers, toes and other areas of the skin that have been exposed to the cold.

There has been concern expressed about the safety and usefulness of treating coughs and colds in children.

Most of us get headaches from time to time, but some people have a headache more days than not, and may be suffering from a chronic daily headache.

When you are constipated you produce a bowel motion less often than you usually do. Your normal bowel habit is normal to you. Some people produce a bowel movement three times a week, other three times a day.

It is helpful to plan some form of contraception unless you are prepared for the possibility of parenthood.

The finger and toenails of babies grow quickly, or appear to grow past the end of their fingers and toes faster than those of older children and adults.

Your fingernails and toenails grow at a constant rate, but older people find their nails, particularly their toenails, become ridged or damaged by infections. They also tend to thicken, making them harder to cut.

Dandruff is the term used to describe the shedding of large amounts of flakes of scalp from the scalp. It is particularly noticeable when we wear dark clothing because it shows as a shower of small white flakes.

Dentures and dental appliances such as bridges are tooth substitutes. They don’t have the advantage of being permanently fixed to your gums as do natural teeth, so greater care must be taken to prevent damage to both the dentures and to your gums.

At some point or another everyone feels down after a stressful or upsetting situation. This is perfectly normal. But if your mood doesn’t lift and it persists for an extended period of time, then it’s a good idea to get some help as you may have depression.

One of the problems that affect the quality of life for diabetics is problems with their feet. This happens because diabetes, if not well controlled or if under treated, can cause damage to the smaller blood vessels of the hands and feet.

The word diarrhoea, when translated from Greek, means “flow through”. People are diagnosed with diarrhoea when they have three or more loose bowel motions in a day.

Earache can be either a dull or burning pain in one or both ears and it may persist for several days or ease after a few minutes; all depending on the cause.

Ear wax is made from some glands in the ear canal that form an oily substance that protect the ear drums and ear canals.

Although about five percent of the population suffer from atopic eczema, this chronic inflammatory skin condition has no known cure.

Years ago it was taboo to talk about erectile dysfunction but thankfully attitudes have now changed.

Eye twitching or tics are common and may affect us all at some time. Generally the bottom eyelid contracts and this is felt as a spasm or involuntary movement by the sufferer, but is not often noticed by those around them.

Escherichia coli (E coli) is a type of bacteria. An infection with this variety of bacteria generally causes diarrhoea. Children and the sick and elderly are particularly susceptible to more serious effects from this infection.

Flatulence, or wind, occurs in everyone. However for some of us, removal of this gas either upwards as belching or burping, or downwards as flatus or farting, is embarrassing, uncomfortable and painful until expelled. Often it’s not particularly pleasant for those around us either.

The flu viruses that circulate can change from year to year. Completely new flu viruses can emerge and cause global pandemics.

Intolerance to gluten takes many forms – from coeliac disease, which is a severe reaction to gluten containing foods, to wheat allergies or sensitivity to gluten in the diet. As a result, many people confine themselves to a gluten-free diet.

Haemorrhoids or ‘piles’ are swollen veins in the anus or bottom, usually just inside the external entrance of the bowel. Occasionally they can protrude or pop out, often immediately after or during a bowel motion.

A hangover occurs when your intake of alcohol containing substances is greater than the body’s ability to detoxify or remove this harmful or potentially poisonous substance.

The medical name for hayfever is allergic rhinitis – this means an allergy affecting the nose.

Most people can get headaches from time to time. Some people are unlucky enough to get a headache nearly every day.

The children have gone back to school but apart from knowledge and skills, what else might come home with your child? Unfortunately, nits or head lice.

Heartburn occurs when acids and other fluids that digest food leak up from the stomach into the oesophagus.

Often people talk about having ‘the flu’. But what they actually have is a cold. Other times people may say they have a ‘heavy cold’ and what they are suffering from is influenza, or the flu.

Ingrown hairs appear as small coloured bumps under the skin. They may be either pink or brown coloured and may occur in clusters in areas where the skin is shaved or removed by waxing or other depilatories.

Insects that bite do it to get access to your blood as that is what they feed on. Biting insects include mosquitos, fleas, sand flies or midges and bedbugs.

Insomnia is the term used to describe either difficulty falling asleep when going to bed, or staying awake during the night.

The soil of New Zealand is deficient in iodine, and as a consequence our diet is deficient in this important element, as most of what we eat is grown in New Zealand.

Jetlag affects most people to a small or large degree after crossing more than one time-zone. As a rule the longer your flight the more extensive and troublesome jetlag appears to be

Keeping warm, especially over winter, is a priority for infants as they have not yet developed their ability to regulate their body temperature.

Everyday life is filled with struggles. For some people, stress is so common that it becomes part of their everyday routine.

Measles is one of the viral conditions that used to be common in childhood. It is spread from person to person by contact, such as coughing or kissing.

Every woman’s experience of menopause is different. And whether you suffer from hot flushes, mood swings or sleeplessness, this “change of life” does not have to mean the end of your way of life.

Menstrual aids have been used for centuries to soak up the flow of blood from menstrual periods.

Burns are caused when your skin comes into contact with something too hot or too cold causing damage to one or more layers of skin.

Moles are clusters of differently coloured cells on the skin. They may be large or small, flat or raised, dark or light, round, oval or irregularly shaped, and in most cases they are not sinister.

A mouth ulcer is a painful pale coloured sore on the moist inner skin of the mouth. They make eating and tooth brushing difficult, as food and the brush scrapes against the exposed surface causing pain and discomfort.

Multiple Sclerosis is commonly abbreviated as MS. It is a condition that affects the nerves of the body and eventually affects the brain and spinal cord.

Infections around the fingernails are called paronychia. They are usually caused by picking or biting at dry skin around the nails or by cutting or removing the cuticle from around the nail too enthusiastically.

If you do not mind cleaning your menstrual aids there are some non-disposable products available that will not result in increased landfill or waste.

Neck pain can affect all of us at some stage of our lives. It may occur because of a number of reasons, but for most of us it may be simply treated and prevented.

Oral thrush is caused by a fungus called Candida that affects moist areas. The mouth is prone to this infection as it is always moist, or should be, in order to chew and start the digestion of food.

Many people of all ages suffer from a dry and unproductive cough straight after suffering from a cold, flu or chest infection.

When a woman is pregnant, what she eats needs to sustain both the mother and the growing baby, so it is important to eat the foods that will allow both her and her baby or babies to stay healthy.

Rheumatic fever is an infection that mainly affects the young – it usually starts with a sore throat, then after a few weeks develops into painful or swollen joints such as knees and elbows...

Ringworm is a fungal infection caused by the tinea fungus, not a worm. It is spread by skin contact with someone who has the infection, or from a pet that also has this skin infection.

School sores is the common name for impetigo, which is a highly contagious skin infection. The bacteria that cause impetigo are normally on the surface of the skin and in the air around us.

Regardless of our age, sexual orientation and sexual history, we all need to take care of our reproductive anatomy, ensuring good health and working order.

Shingles or herpes zoster is a contagious viral infection that is related to chicken pox. Generally it affects people under stress or with poor immunity.

Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that can cause a number of health problems, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and depression.

We all know what smelly feet are like, either personally or from someone that we know after they have removed their shoes.

Snoring is a sleep disorder. It may bother the snorer and usually disturbs the sleep of anyone else in the same room.

When your throat starts being scratchy, and it’s sore to swallow, then you know that a dreaded sore throat is on the way.

The terms sprain and strain are often used interchangeably when discussing a painful injury to an area near a bone.

Stress incontinence occurs when urine leaks out of the bladder due to physical activity, coughing, sneezing, or laughing.

Living in New Zealand we are often bombarded with messages about the dangers of sun exposure.

Tennis elbow is a term used to describe what happens when you overuse your arm and the elbow joint in a way that causes pain on the outside of the elbow.

Tinnitus is the name for ringing in the ears or hearing sounds in your head. It may be continuous or it may come and go.

Toxoplasmosis is a condition that can be transmitted by cats. It is caused by a parasite that lives in the faeces of cats, so it usually only occurs when handling cat faeces, such as changing cat litter trays.

A Urinary Tract Infection (UTIs) is a reasonably harmless, though painful, condition that many people are too embarrassed to get help for.

Thrush may be a regular nuisance for some women, while others never experience this infection.

A verruca is another name for a plantar wart which is a wart that grows on the sole of your foot. It is a viral infection, similar to the virus that forms warts on other parts of the body.

Warts are caused by a virus that affects the cells of the surface of the skin and causes rough lumps to grow either out of or into the skin and tissue underneath the site of infection.

Whooping cough is the common term for pertussis, an extremely infectious bacterial infection.

Worms are one of the most common conditions that children catch, occasionally from pets, but usually from themselves, or other infected people.