Worried about dementia?

Given that over 80,000 people in Scotland are living with dementia and that one in three people over 65 will die with dementia, I wonder why we are so reluctant to talk about it? Isn't it a worry that we spend eight times less on dementia research than cancer research and yet 40% of dementia patients are in long stay care settings often at huge cost to the public purse.

It reminds me of how we used to see cancer patients and palliative care. No one really spoke about it apart from in hushed tones. Often the person with the illness didn't know what was wrong with them or if they did they thought the worse but weren't given the right information. How far we have come in dealing with cancer. 

I am delighted that there is now a national dementia strategy and that the Scottish government appear to be taking this condition seriously. Hopefully things will change.

What is dementia?
Dementia is the progressive loss of power of the brain. There are many different types but the most common is Alzheimer's disease.

What are the symptoms?
Every person with dementia is different and how their illness affects them can depend on which areas of the brain are most damaged.

One of the most common symptoms if memory loss. It is important to remember that everyone forgets things sometimes!!!!!
However a person with dementia may forget the names of family members, or forget to turn the oven off. They may repeat the same question over and over and not know they are doing it. People with dementia may lose their sense of time, or awareness of which day it is.

Solving problems with dementia can be difficult and this can come across as confusion.
dementia can also affect personality and behaviour as well.

All of these symptoms can be very worrying and frustrating for you and your family.



Help is out there.It is important to seek help early on. The sooner a diagnosis can be made, the better able we are to start planning for the future and accessing services, treatment and help and support. Medical treatments are available which may help some people and research is progressing all the time.

I was lucky enough to attend a training session last week with speakers from Alzheimer Scotland, and was really impressed with the work this organisation are doing. They offer loads of practical help and guidance for dementia patients, their friends and family including; understanding dementia, getting help with benefits and accessing community care.

If you are worried about your memory or that of a family member or friend, Alzheimer Scotland has a free 24 hour helpline 0808 808 300

Getting older doesn't need to be a pain.

My mum turned 70 in August and a fine celebration we had!  Three score years and ten is a real landmark and one that deserves to be celebrated, but it shouldn't necessarily be the line in the sand between trainers and slippers, or tracksuits and cardies!

To celebrate this milestone, my mum bought herself a new bike.
On paper this may seem a little foolish or a symbol of age defying lunacy, but if I tell you that my mum has ridden a bike almost every day for the last 30 years and normally cycles the couple of miles from home to the gym for a swim (at 6am) and back, it becomes clearer. Added to that, her previous bike was  probably 25 years old, so a new bike doesn't seem such a silly idea after all!

A week or so after the birthday celebrations, I got a phone call from mum saying "Sal, I've done something silly. I've broken my arm, falling off the bike". Oh no! What now? I thought. Months of pain, rehab loss of independance, and life may possibly take a different turn for mum and those around her.

Six weeks on and I am pleased to report that she is almost back to full fitness. In fact she spent last weekend wrangling all of her six grandsons at one time or another. We talked about her rapid recovery and concluded that a large part of it can be put down to lifelong fitness, a healthy lifestyle and hard work with her rehab exercises.

I thought it might be useful to give you some top tips from the experts on how to keep your bones and joints strong and healthy as you get older:

• Eat a well balanced diet
  Include lots of calcium and Vitamin D to help the calcium be absorbed properly.
• Take regular exercise
  Exercise is proven to help keep bones strong.
• Stop smoking
  It's never too late to stop. There is loads of support available to help you quit.
• Drink alcohol in moderation
  Too much alcohol is harmful to bones and may increase your risk of a fall.
• Don't ignore joint pain
  Try supplements such as glucosamine or seek advice about pain killers.

At Barnton Pharmacy this month, many of our bone and joint products are on special offer and we are always available for advice on your health and wellbeing.

All that remains now is for mum to get back on her bike and then there'll be no stopping her!!!

Time for a seasonal boost

 The leaves are falling, mornings are almost dark. It's the long week before the half term holidays and we are all feeling a bit under par.
Now is the time to boost your immune system and get yourself in tip top form for the winter ahead.

Here are a few tips from Barnton Pharmacy to

1. Consider starting echinacea to give you and additional boost.
2. there is lots of fantastic seasonal veggies around in all those autumn colours. They make great soups to put in the freezer for a warming winter lunch.
3. Think about a vitamin supplement at this time of year. Our friendly team can advise you on which one would best suit you.
4. As the days get shorter (much much shorter in Scotland) we need to boost our vitamin D reserves. try and get at least 15 minutes of daylight every day. Take a walk around the block at lunchtime. Not only will you feel a boost during the afternoon, but you will sleep better at night time.
5. What about a flu jab? Free if you are eligible on the NHS, or come and see us in the pharmacy if you want to protect yourselves and your family privately.

Watch out for a future post about what to do if you do get a cold, but hopefully if you follow some of this advice now, you will be better able to fight off those bugs!

Time to get your flu jab

The flu season is fast approaching and this can have a huge impact on you and your family. As we all read about last year, flu can even kill.

If you are pregnant, over 65 or suffer from certain long term conditions including asthma, or care for someone who is frail or vulnerable, then you will be eligible for a flu vaccine on the NHS. Contact your local surgery to find out when their clinics are.

There are plenty more of us who are not covered by the NHS, but who would find it really tough if we got the flu. I mean proper -can't lift your head off the bed, legs like lead, feel like death flu and not a cold! Would you be able to care for your loved ones? Would you lose money from your employement? At the coalface, the economic impact of lost working days and lack of vitality in the recovery phase are all too familiar to individuals and employers alike. The recovery phase can significantly impair performance at work and play for several weeks or more

You can easily protect yourself and your family. Barnton Pharmacy are once again offering private flu vaccinations. The cost is £15.

·         The flu jab is suitable for most people (except those with an egg allergy)

·         It is very effective

·         It is very safe. Reactions are rare

·         It has to be repeated every year

·         Early vaccination means you will be covered for the whole flu season.

Flu vaccinations will be available from 3^rd October and is a drop-in service with no appointment being needed at the pharmacy. The service will be available six days a week including Saturday mornings.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require further information on this or any of the services available from Barnton Pharmacy. Give us a call on 0131 339 3449 or email us on barntonpharmacy@btinternet.com.
We would be delighted to discuss your requirements.

Asthma - be in control

I run an asthma clinic in our local surgery every couple of weeks, where I review all the asthmatic patients to make sure they are well controlled and to make changes to their medication if needed. Pharmacists writing prescriptions? Yes - but that's a whole different post!

 

A young lady came to the clinic about a month ago with really poor asthma control. She had ordered 30 reliever inhaler in the previous 12 months!!! Well controlled asthmatics may go through two to four of these in a year. Her asthma control worried me and were affecting her life. She hadn't participated in sport for months and dared not leave the house without an inhaler.

 

This is clearly not a good situation to be in and indeed there is no need for it. We now accept that a well controlled asthmatic should be able to live virtually with no symptoms of their asthma if they are well controlled with their medication.

 

Asthma UK does a fantastic job of promoting the health and welbeing of the 5.4 million asthmatics living in the UK.

They recommend asthmatics assess their control with three simple questions. In the last month:

1. Have you had difficulty sleeping because of your asthma symptoms (including cough)?
2. Have you had your usual asthma symptoms during the day (cough, wheeze, chest tightness or breathlessness)?
3. Has your asthma interfered with your usual activities - eg housework, work, school etc?

If you've answered 'yes' to any of the above questions, it may be that your asthma is not as well controlled as it could be. It's time to make an appointment for a check up.

So back to the young lady in my asthma clinic. I decided to start her on a new preventer inhaler, trained her to use it properly with  the help of a simple little gadget which I love called the In Check Dial. Two weeks after our initial meeting, she came back to the clinic a changed person. She was delighted with her asthma control, had only used her reliever inhaler twice since her first visit and has played hockey for the first time in months.

A good result! 

How to take charge of your pain

Probably unsurprising that the most common complaint we get asked for advice about is pain and painkillers for pain!

Getting the right painkillers is not as straightforward as picking the one you like the sound of or the one you saw advertised on the telly last night.
You will get the most from a painkiller if you take the right one for your pain and take it at the right times.
Paracetamol based painkillers (including paracetamol and co-codamol) are great for mechanical pain, general aches and pains and fevers. Ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory drugs are great if your pain is caused by inflammation such as sprains and strains.
We often recommend taking the two in combination. The table below details the best way to do this:

If you have any questions about your pain, how to live with chronic pain or how to get the best from your medications, please ask at Barnton Pharmacy. We can also refer you on the a range of other healthcare professionals who can help you manage your pain.

Learning from experience

During my 17 (ahem) years as a pharmacist, I can definitely say I learn something new every day...and most of what I learn helps me to be a better pharmacist.

Much of my learning comes from what my patients tell me from their own experiences and the rest of it comes from personal experience.

When I had a wisdom tooth extracted and the socket became infected, I found I became much more sympathetic towards patients with tooth ache. It REALLY hurts by the way. The sort of pain which doesn't go away and makes you unable to think about or focus on anything else.

Before I had my son, I thought I gave pretty good advice to pregnant ladies and new mums. Now I know what they really mean when they talk about the pain of breast feeding and the experience of spraying the walls in your local cafe with breast milk because you can't quite wrestle newborn to nipple and maintain modesty when you've only had three hours sleep. I can also add retained placenta, indigestion, piles and sleep deprivation to the learning list thanks to pregnancy and childbirth.

So on Wednesday morning, when I left the house with my small son to walk him to nursery before I went on to work, I didn't know what new experiences I would be able to add to the list. I am fairly sure that getting knocked over by a taxi whilst crossing a road wasn't the first thing to spring to mind!

So what have I learnt from this experience that will make me a better pharmacist?

• Paramedics, A&E staff, hospital midwives and the Sick Kids in Edinburgh all do a brilliant job at picking us up and putting us back together again.
• A parent's first and over-riding instinct is to protect their child - even if that involves shoving them out of the way of harm.
• Getting hit by a ton of German engineering really doesn't hurt much at the time!!
• Arnica works for bruises.
• Getting hit by a ton of German engineering really does hurt a lot after 24 hours.
• Paracetamol must be taken regularly if it is to properly help with pain
• Getting hit by a ton of German engineering hurts even more after 48 hours.
• Being pregnant means only being able to take regular paracetamol. That doesn't cut it!
• Avoid coughing, sneezing or laughing if you have cracked ribs.

In future I will try to look for easier ways to fill my CPD record and maintain my registration as a pharmacist, but I hope my patients appreciate the lengths some pharmacists go to in order to be able to expand their learning.