Measures for Malaria Prevention

To avoid being affected by malaria, one has to take adequate measures to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes and also taking anti-malarial medicines. Apart from these, one also needs to avoid going to mosquito prone areas, especially pregnant women and babies or children. Before paying a visit to any area, it is best to first consider the probability of being affected by an attack of malaria.

Apart from using mosquito nets; specially dipped in an insecticide, one can decrease the chances of being affected by malaria by making use of air conditioning and electric fans. One can also at the same time put on clothes or dresses that cover the entire body and protect against an attack of malaria. Besides, aerosol insecticides can be used and anti-malarial medicines taken.

Of course, the dosage and kind of anti-malarial medicines depends on the area where one is attacked and also the health of the individual being affected by it, i.e. if he/she is elderly or young, pregnant, sick or has immunity or resistance to malaria or allergic or sensitive to anti-malarial medicines etc. If one is paying a visit to an area prone to mosquitoes, it is essential for him/her to take medicines that are of a preventive nature. 

Even though, research is ongoing for discovering vaccines to prevent malaria, so far attempts have been unsuccessful for finding one to prevent malaria. Let's hope the ray of light is not far off.

Chemists Opening on Sundays and Out of Hours

Almost anyone can go to their local pharmacy for advice and treatment if necessary. Children aged between 0-16 years can visit their local pharmacy if they are accompanied by their parent or guardian and also get advice and treatment. The pharmacists at your local pharmacy use their clinical expertise along with practical knowledge to ensure a safe supply of medicines to patients and also ensure that dispensed medicines are used safely and in the correct manner. As well as dispensing services your local pharmacy can offer you general information on health care and expert advice and information on a lot of common ailments like coughs and colds, stomach upsets, minor eye infections and hay-fever to name but a few.

You can visit your local pharmacy without a prescription or a visit to your GP and under the Minor Ailment Service and pharmacist can help with the following conditions:

• Head Lice
• Earache
• Eczema and Allergies
• Hay fever
• Sore Throat
• Thread worms
• Warts and Verrucas

You can use the Minor Ailment Service if you are registered with a GP surgery in Scotland, and you are under 16 or under 19 and in full-time education; you are 60 or over; You have a valid maternity exemption certificate, medical exemption certificate, or war pension exemption certificate; you get Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, or you are named on, or entitled to, an NHS tax credit exemption certificate or a valid HC2 certificate. You can find out more about this service by visiting your local pharmacy. By using this service you make your local pharmacy your first point of call for advice and free treatment rather than your GP. In many cases you do not even need to make an appointment and can visit at a time that suits you.

Many local pharmacies now offer and out of hours service. This means that they have extended opening hours, on-call services and rota services. If you are looking for a chemist open on Sunday you are now able to do this due to this out of hour’s service. There is now a rota of duty chemists in each area of the country who open their pharmacy out of normal opening hours to allow prescription medicine to be dispensed. 

Pharmacy out of hours service

Your local pharmacy plays a key role in providing quality healthcare to patients.  The pharmacists working there use their clinical expertise together with their practical knowledge to ensure that there is a safe supply and use of medicines by patients and members of the public.  As well as dispensing prescriptions your local pharmacy offers expert advice and also information on many common ailments such as coughs and colds, hay-fever, stomach upsets, minor eye infections and many more.  They can also offer you general information on healthcare.

Children aged between 0-16 years can go to a pharmacy accompanied by their parent or guardian for advice and treatment if necessary. This can be done without the need for a prescription or a visit to your local GP.  Under the Minor Ailment Service a pharmacist can help children with the following conditions:

•             Head Lice

•             Earache

•             Eczema and Allergies

•             Hay fever

•             Sore Throat

•             Threadworms

•             Warts and Verrucas

The Minor Ailment Service allows for individuals to be registered with their local pharmacy and use it as their first port of call for advice and free treatment for a range of conditions.  In many cases you will not have to make an appointment and can visit at a time that suits you.  You can use the Minor Ailment Service if you are registered with a GP surgery in Scotland, and you are under 16 or under 19 and in full-time education; you are 60 or over; You have a valid maternity exemption certificate, medical exemption certificate, or war pension exemption certificate; you get Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, or you are named on, or entitled to, an NHS tax credit exemption certificate or a valid HC2 certificate.  Visit your local pharmacy to find out more about this service.

Your local pharmacy may also provide and out of hours service.  They have extended opening hours, rota services and on-call services.  If you are looking for a chemist open on Sundays you are now able to do this due to the out of hours service.  Each area of the country has a rota of duty chemists who open the pharmacy out of normal opening hours to allow prescription medicine to be dispensed.  They also dispense over the counter remedies like cold and flu medicines.  There are an increasing number of 24 hour and midnight pharmacies offering this service as well as chemists opening on Sundays.  If you are searching for a chemist open on Sunday then visit www.lawtonpharmacy.com This site provides a list of chemist locations and their opening hours.