News | Minor ailments

UK is a leading country in self-managing medical conditions, research suggests

The UK is among the most progressive when it comes to a culture of self-management of common medical conditions by reclassifying prescription medicines to non-prescription.…

OTC domperidone will be missed

The antiemetic domperidone’s reclassification shows the importance of pharmacovigilance, but the loss of such a useful over-the-counter medicine ought to have been better communicated to community pharmacies.…

Patients taking warfarin should self-monitor their coagulation status, says NICE

NICE recommends two point-of-care coagulometers for use by patients – Roche Diagnostic’s CoaguChek XS system and Alere’s INRatio2 PT/INR monitor.…

OTC medicines: a breakdown

Sales of over-the-counter medicines totalled £2.45bn in 2013, up by £52.3m compared with the previous year.…

Self-management effective for people with hypertension

A new study shows that people who manage their own hypertension appear to have better control of the condition.…

Patients satisfied with pharmacists treating minor ailments

More than 80% of patients with minor ailments said their condition either cleared up or significantly improved after they were prescribed treatment by a community pharmacist.…

How treatment is labelled affects migraine pain scores, study finds

Giving patients positive information about their treatment for acute migraine contributes to a successful outcome, whether the patient is given active drug or placebo, a US study has shown ( Science Translational Medicine ; 8 January 2013).…

Vitamin D status of pregnant women linked to muscle strength of offspring

A woman’s vitamin D status during pregnancy could be positively associated with the muscle strength of her offspring, according to a study by Southampton researchers published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (2014;99:330).…

Little enthusiasm for asthma self-management

Health professionals and patients are unenthusiastic about asthma self-management plans, a pilot study has found. The study explored the views of patients, nurses and general practitioners about guided self-management plans for asthma.…