Stay Warm and Well During the Cold Snap
With the cold weather setting in this week, it’s important to take extra care to make sure you stay fit and healthy. Those with long-term respiratory problems need to take extra care as the damp, cold conditions can make you more vulnerable to catching those pesky winter bugs.
If you start to feel unwell, even if it’s a cough or a cold, don’t wait until it gets more serious. Seek advice from your Pharmacist.
Follow these simple tips below to help you and your loved ones to stay fit and well over this cold snap.
- Try and keep your home heated to at least 18C.
- Draw your curtains at dusk and keep doors closed to block out draughts
- Wear several layers of clothes rather than 1 chunky layer. Clothes made from cotton, wool or fleecy fibres help to maintain body heat.
- Have at least one hot meal a day. Eating regularly helps keep you warm.
- Have hot drinks regularly throughout the day.
- Stay active – even moderate exercise can help keep you warm.
- Wrap a scarf loosely around your mouth, wear a hat and shoes with good grip when outdoors.
- If you have a heart or respiratory problem, stay indoors during very cold weather.
- Check in on elderly relatives and neighbours. If you are concerned about a relative or an elderly neighbour, contact your local council or ring the Age UK helpline on 0800 00 99 66.
If you need help with heating costs, you may be able to claim financial and practical help with heating your home. Grants available include the Winter Fuel Payment and the Cold Weather Payment.
Is Your First Aid Kit Ready for Winter?
Now is the perfect time to check your first aid kit is well stocked for Winter to help you and your family self care for minor illnesses and injuries. There are a number of things you can have in your first aid kit for any such eventualities:
- Thermometer
- Painkillers such as Paracetamol or Ibuprofen (or infant paracetamol for children)
- Cough medicine
- Cold and flu relief drinks or capsules
- Throat lozenges
- Diarrhoea relief
- Antiseptic cream
- Antihistamine tablets
- Plasters
- Tweezers
- Sterile gauze dressings
- Bandages
- Alcohol-free cleansing wipes
Your local Pharmacy is a great place to stock up on all the above items and you can find your nearest one and view their opening hours at NHS Choices.
Please remember to make sure your first aid kit is kept in a cool, dry place out of the reach of children.
Help Us Help You to Stay Well this Winter
Winter conditions can be seriously bad for our health, especially for people aged 65 or older, and people with long-term conditions such as COPD, bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, diabetes or heart or kidney disease. Being cold can raise the risk of increased blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.
It’s important to keep warm in winter
Keeping warm over the winter months can help to prevent colds, flu and more serious health problems.
- Heat your home to at least 18°C (65°F)
- Keep active when your indoors, try not to sit still for more than an hour
- Wear several layers of light clothes, several layers trap warm air better than one bulky layer
- Close your curtains at dusk and keep doors closed to keep out any draughts
- Get your heating system checked regularly by a qualified professional
You may be able to claim financial and practical help with heating your home. Grants available include Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Weather Payment.
Feeling unwell? Don’t wait – get advice from your nearest pharmacist
At the first sign of a winter illness, even if it’s just a cough or cold, get advice from your pharmacist, before it gets more serious. Act quickly. The sooner you get advice from a pharmacist the better. Pharmacists are fully qualified to advise you on the best course of action. This can be the best and quickest way to help you recover and get back to normal. If you can’t get to a pharmacist yourself, ask someone to go for you or call your local pharmacy.
Have you had the flu jab?
The flu virus strikes in winter and it can be far more serious than you think. Flu can lead to serious complications such as bronchitis and pneumonia, and it can be deadly. That’s why the flu jab is free if you’re aged 65 or over, or if you have a long-term health condition. If you have young children or grandchildren they may also be eligible for a free flu vaccination. And if you are the main carer of an older or disabled person you may also be eligible for the free flu jab. Just speak to your GP receptionist or pharmacist.
All About Flu and How to Stop Getting It Leaflet
Help Us Help You Leaflet
Patients asked to use the most appropriate service as NHS continues to battle pressures on A&E
NHS services across Cheshire and Merseyside are experiencing a high demand on urgent care services.
Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Leighton Hospital) are reminding patients that A&E services are for potentially life-threatening and serious conditions only.
If you do not have this type of condition, you highly likely to experience long wait times when there are other services you can access that could get you better sooner.
There are a number of other services available to you.
NHS 111
You can call 111 for free 24/7 when you need medical help fast but it’s not an emergency. The NHS 111 service is staffed by a team of fully trained advisers, supported by experienced nurses and paramedics. They will ask you questions to assess your symptoms, then give you the healthcare advice you need or direct you straightaway to the local service that can help you best.
Community Pharmacies
Pharmacists are highly trained clinicians. They can give expert advice on common illnesses including coughs, colds, aches and pains and they can answer questions about prescribed medicines. They can also advise on treatment of minor injuries. Find your nearest Pharmacy at NHS Choices.
Self Care
You can be prepared to treat minor illness and injury at home using a well-stocked stocked medicine cabinet. You can find more self-care advice on our NHS Choices.
Dental Care
Urgent dental care for patients in Cheshire and Merseyside is accessed via our Dental Helpline on 0161 476 9651 from 9am to 9.30pm every day, including weekends and Bank Holidays.
The service is provided according to strict clinical criteria, and when you call you’ll be assessed by a member of the clinical team.
