If you have a minor illness such as a cough, cold, flu, mild sore throat etc. these are caused by viruses, which do not respond to antibiotics, and can be managed with simple painkillers. You rarely need to see a doctor. There are leaflets available in the reception area and more advice on these pages.
Need an Optician? - Full List of Coventry Opticians HERE
Need a Dentist? - Full List of Coventry Dentists HERE
Need a Pharmacist? - Full List of Coventry Pharmacists HERE
Full List of other sites Coventry Teaching PCT operates HERE e.g Clinics
Generally, people think of four main aspects of ill health that require self-care or self-management. First, there are the medical issues associated with their ill health, like recognising or coping with drug side-effects.
Second are emotional or psychological issues such as combating or tolerating a low mood.
Third, they emphasise making lifestyle changes for tackling being overweight, for instance. Lastly, they know that having a thorough understanding of their disease can enable them to share in decisions about alternative approaches.
A 2005 DoH survey revealed more about the general public’s attitudes to self-care. The findings show that GPs and their practice teams still have some way to go to support patients in self-care. These pages aim to help with this area of self healthcare.
It is confusing for patients if various members of the practice team give different advice; or if some GPs give treatment straight-away, while other doctors prefer patients to wait for any infection to resolve or to try over-the-counter simple remedies.
Some Evidence-based Self-help Guidance for patients:
Antibiotics have no effect on most infections (such as colds, flu and most sore throats) because viruses cause them. Taking too many antibiotics can lead to new bacteria developing which cannot be killed by antibiotics, which is dangerous for individual people and for the whole population. Doctors recommend that you visit your pharmacist for over-the-counter remedies for minor complaints.
In development - we hope to provide health education videos at the popular YouTube website in the coming months. See how another surgery has successfully employed this way of advising patients HERE
The information provided herein should not be used for diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.
