Your body is made up of about 60% water. Without water, it would be impossible to maintain a stable body temperature, get rid of the waste in your body, and
lubricate your joints. When you don't get adequate water, you risk becoming dehydrated, which brings many issues for your body.
Therefore, water is necessary to live; most people can barely last a week without water and not experience an assortment of health issues. Despite this obvious
importance, many people don't put much thought into the kind of water they drink.
Maybe you open your faucet into a glass or buy yourself bottled water without scrutinizing where this is coming from. However, do you know how safe the water you
get from your tap or bottles is?
Why should you drink purified water?
Drinking contaminated water can cause many health issues for your body which is why purifying water is vital. There are many ways to purify your water, ranging
from simple solutions to solutions using advanced technology such as water filters.
It is not uncommon to find related searches online because people are increasingly interested in choosing the most effective water-purifying solutions. Before
exploring different purification techniques, read about the benefits of keeping hydrated as you play poker on Uptown Pokies.
Drugmakers GSK, Pfizer, Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim on Tuesday were spared thousands of US lawsuits claiming that the heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer,
as a judge found the claims were not backed by sound science.
The ruling by US District Judge Robin Rosenberg in West Palm Beach, Florida, knocks out about 50,000 claims in federal court, though it does not directly affect tens
of thousands of similar cases pending in state courts around the country.
"We are extremely surprised by this miscarriage of justice," and "fully expect" the ruling will be reversed on appeal, lawyers for the plaintiffs said in a joint
statement.
A Sanofi spokesperson said the decision "significantly decreases the scope of the litigation potentially by over 50 per cent," with the remaining litigation being
only in state court.
A spokesperson for GSK said the company welcomed the decision and Pfizer said it was pleased by the outcome.
Privately-held German drugmaker Boehringer said in a statement that it looked forward to "continuing our vigorous defense of the remaining cases in state courts."
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on Tuesday authorised a Covid-19 vaccine for infants as young as six months, opening the door
for vaccinating the country's youngest children once the UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) agrees.
The regulator authorised the vaccine - made by Pfizer and BioNTech - for children aged six months to four years old, after it was deemed safe and effective based on
an ongoing clinical trial involving 4,526 participants.
Whether the vaccine is eventually deployed in this age group depends on a recommendation from the JCVI, which advises UK health departments on which shots should be
used as part of the national vaccination programme.
The vaccine is tailored for use in this age group - it is a lower dose version than the one used in children aged five to 11 years. It is given as three injections
in the upper arm, with the first two doses given three weeks apart, followed by a third dose administered at least two months after the second dose.
An ever-increasing emphasis is being placed on getting and staying fit and mobile, whatever your age, with good reason. Regular aerobic exercise (physical
activity which gets the heart beating faster) helps patients to:
Reduce or maintain body weight
Reduce the risk of heart disease, strokes and diabetes
Control blood sugar (helpful for diabetics)
Maintain mobility and muscle strength, allowing daily activities to be undertaken more easily
Improve mood, physical activity can be beneficial for everyone.
However, injuries sometimes happen during exercise or everyday life. Collectively, injuries to tendons, ligaments and/or skeletal muscle, are referred to as
musculoskeletal soft tissue injuries. Post pandemic pharmacists are now the first port of call for many seeking to self-treat so it is important that information,
advice and a wide range of treatment options are available.
While the precise incidence and prevalence of such disorders are difficult to define, they are known to be the most common rheumatic causes of sickness absences
from work. Indeed, soft tissue complaints account for up to 59 per cent of new patient referrals to rheumatology practice and up to 15 per cent of consultations in
primary care.
Ankle injuries are very common with an estimated incidence of one per 100,000 population per day. They account for about one in five of all sports related injuries.
The majority of ankle injuries are moderate ligament sprains. With appropriate treatment the majority of patients should be able to return to normal activities
within a few weeks.
harac, an NHS-integrated one-stop platform for independent community pharmacies, and the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) have announced their long-term
partnership to allow pharmacies to deliver the broad range of services needed to support the public.
The NPA and Charac will collaborate with members of the NPA and beyond to accelerate the necessary digital transition of independent community pharmacies,
particularly given their importance to poorer communities and less advantaged individuals at high risk due to potential pharmacy closures.
The partnership is part of the NPA's efforts to improve the online presence of community pharmacies, including patient application, online booking, website design,
and a delivery service. With Charac similarly dedicated to bettering digital interaction with patients, the new joint ecosystem will provide pharmacies with the
necessary funding and cutting-edge technology to aid delivery of primary care.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Scotland the BMA's Scottish GP Committee has called for improvements to the pharmacotherapy service.
The joint statement released by the organisations on Friday (13 January), has recognised that much progress has been made but states that further improvements are
needed to fully maximise the benefits of the service.
It highlighted the need for better use of skill mix, including more clearly defining roles and responsibilities; improved IT enablers to reduce administrative burden;
and further developing a tandem model of working comprising hubs with in-practice activity
The two organisations state that inadequate funding and workforce shortages are a real threat to the pharmacotherapy service.
They have urge Scottish Government to reconsider its recent decision to reduce funding for training pharmacy technicians.
Clare Morrison, RPS Director for Scotland, said: "In the statement, we stress that the use of pharmacists' clinical skills must be maximised.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has launched Pharmacy Pressures Survey 2023 to make case against the 'unprecedented financial and
operational challenges' faced by the community pharmacies in England.
The Committee has urged those working in or owns a community pharmacy to 'take part' in the survey.
"The survey results will be critical to help us to show Government and the NHS how difficult things now are for pharmacies, and to persuade them to take action. We
will be using the results in our negotiations, in our conversations with MPs, Ministers and in national media work as part of the joint #saveourpharmacies campaign,"
said PSNC.
The Pharmacy Pressures Survey is once again comprised of two surveys to give insight into both financial and operational pressures.
Together with the other national pharmacy organisations PSNC are working both to show policy makers the severity of the problems and to lobby for Government and NHS
action to ease the pressures.
The community pharmacy bodies, along with England's largest pharmacy chains, have urged the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak to resolve fund and workforce crisis
in the sector.
In the joint letter the Chief Executives of Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp), Company Chemists' Association (CCA), National Pharmacy Association
(NPA) and Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC), along with Boots, Lloydspharmacy, Well and Rowlands Pharmacy, said they are pleased to see Government
now recognising the key role that community pharmacy' could have in alleviating the strain on other NHS services.
However, the associations also warn that although the sector is ready to support, 'this will not be possible unless pharmacy is properly funded.'
Janet Morrison, PSNC Chief Executive, said: "The Prime Minister should also know that community pharmacies are also facing a crisis. They need sustainable investment,
urgently, if we are to avoid devasting consequences for pharmacies and for their patients."
The letter calls on Government to help pharmacy to resolve the funding, workforce and capacity issues engulfing the sector. It said: "Community pharmacies are in
crisis and after 7 years of 30% funding cuts have reached their limit."
The menopause is a natural aging process, whereby a woman's oestrogen level drops thus disrupting periods until they eventually stop.
A woman is said to be in the menopause when her periods have stopped for 12 months. The age when this usually occurs is between 45-55 but symptoms can begin prior
to this. Symptoms vary and not all women experience them all.
They include hot flushes, vaginal dryness, joint and muscle pain, insomnia, reduced libido, urinary problems such as bladder weakness or Urinary Tract Infections
(UTIs), but this list is not exhaustive.
Up to a third of women declare that the menopause affects their quality of life. It is obvious that such physical changes can have an effect on ones well-being.
Women going through the menopause are at increased risk of developing depression, low self-esteem and problems with concentration (often called brain fog).
There are lots of misconceptions in the public and workplace around menopause as it is a little discussed topic. Did you know 45 per cent of women feel their
menopause symptoms have had a negative impact on their work and 47 per cent of women have said that they won't tell their employer if they need to take a day-off
from work because of menopausal symptoms?
So, with women making up nearly half of the UKs workforce, have you thought about what support your workplace offers for you? And if you are an employer, what could
you be doing to support your colleagues who need help during this time?
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) have issued a joint enforcement notice about
the 'illegal' advertising of Kenalog injections on digital platforms.
The notice warns all organisations offering Kenalog as a 'hay fever treatment' to stop advertising it in any of their social media or website advertising.
"Kenalog is a prescription-only medicine (POM), which must not be directly or indirectly advertised to the public. Kenalog is not licensed for the treatment of hay
fever in the UK, although it is offered by some beauty and aesthetics clinics, under the personal responsibility of an individual prescriber, and advertised widely
on social media," said MHRA.
"Now, advertisers must ensure that all references to Kenalog in the text, images or emojis on social media are removed, as well as commonly-used descriptive phrases
for the jab such as 'hay fever injection' or hay fever jab' or any account names, testimonials or memes by 29 August 2022."
After this date, the CAP's compliance team will remove non-compliant ads using targeted software and those who continue to promote it may be referred to the MHRA for
further enforcement action.
Britain's Covid booster campaign is set to kick off this September, after the country became the first in the world to approve an Omicron-adapted shot.
Around 26 million people in Britain are estimated to be eligible for an autumn Covid-19 booster, having had at least two Covid vaccine doses already, a UK Health
Security Agency (UKHSA) spokesperson said.
The preference is to deploy what is known as a "bivalent vaccine" that targets both the original virus and the Omicron variant through the autumn campaign, but that
will depend on the health regulator (MHRA) approving such shots and the state of vaccine supplies.
The UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised boosters should be given to over-50s, individuals in clinical risk groups, frontline
workers and care-home staff ahead of the winter, when respiratory viruses are typically at their peak.
On Monday (August 15), the MHRA gave Moderna's bivalent shot conditional approval.
The endorsement of the vaccine is based on data that showed it produced a marginally better immune response against some Omicron variants, versus the original novel
coronavirus - although whether that translates into stronger protection against serious disease is unclear.
Arctic Blast is a dietary supplement in the form of drops and is liquid in consistency that helps in alleviating joint & muscle pains and insomnia along with other added benefits.
After purchasing Arctic Blast, you will only need to wait as little as 54 seconds before applying Arctic Blast to your skin and seeing its effects.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is encouraging people to come forward for their first and/ or second dose of the Covid vaccine before the free
offer ends on Friday (30 June).
The NHS's world-leading vaccination programme has so far delivered over 146 million Covid jabs.
Building on the success of autumn and spring booster programmes, a seasonal, targeted vaccination offer will remain open for those most at risk, in line with advice
from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
Health Minister Maria Caulfield said: "As we live with Covid without restrictions on our freedoms, it is right that we move towards a more targeted vaccination
offer that prioritises those most at risk, so we can focus our efforts on cutting waiting lists for NHS treatment - one of the Prime Minister's top five priorities.
As the offer for any adult to get a Covid vaccine comes to an end on 30 June, I would urge those who have not yet come forward to choose to have the first and second
Covid vaccine. It takes minutes to get your jab and thousands of sites are open across England."
This year's spring booster programme continues to gather pace, with over two million eligible people receiving their vital top-up dose.
Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and the Royal College of General Practitioners in Scotland hosted an event celebrating the collaborative work of the health
professions and policy makers in Scotland on reducing the environmental harm from prescribing and medicines use.
To share priorities for the Scottish Government, Alpana Mair, Head of Effective Therapeutics and Prescribing spoke and National Clinical Director Jason Leitch
appeared virtually. Gillian MacKay MSP, Scottish Greens spokesperson for Health and Social Care also joined in-person.
Medicines account for around 25% of the NHS's carbon emissions and have an ecological impact when they enter our wastewater system or our rivers and oceans.
Tackling the impact of prescribing will be a key part of meeting the ambition of a net zero NHS Scotland by 2040 at the latest.
Together, RCGP Scotland and RPS have held two roundtable events on sustainable prescribing, and in June 2022, released a joint statement calling for a wide range
of actions, which was signed by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, the Royal College of
Anaesthetists, the College of Radiographers, Royal College of Nursing, Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland and Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.
Continuing the work of RPS at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, the event aims to mark an opportunity for health professionals and
decision makers alike to join a global movement of sustainability in healthcare, and pledge to continue the important work of cutting the climate impact of medicine
use while maintaining the highest level of patient care and safety.
Pharmacy bodies have urged the Health Select Committee to hold the government to account on pharmacy funding and workforce challenges.
In a show of unity, leaders from the sector came together to write a joint letter to the chair of the committee and former health secretary Jeremy Hunt and bring to
his attention how financial pressures worsened by nearly a decade of a real-term decrease in funding have made the sector virtually untenable.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC)'s recently published 'Pharmacy Pressures Survey' confirms how this has had an impact on pharmacy contractors,
their teams as well as patients.
The survey found that 91 per cent of pharmacies are experiencing staff shortages. At the same time, demand for community pharmacists has risen - nine in ten pharmacy
teams reported a significant increase in phone calls from patients about prescriptions, and 86 per cent reported a rise in requests for healthcare advice.
The letter to Jeremy Hunt is signed on behalf of the four chief executives of the PSNC, the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp), the Company
Chemists' Association (CCA) and the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).
Three leading healthcare bodies in Scotland have called for action to reduce the environmental impact caused by medicine prescribing.
The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland, Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland have all
urged policymakers to enable a more sustainable approach to prescribing.
This includes prioritising the introduction of electronic prescribing across the NHS, introducing the requirement for an environmental impact in NHS medicines
procurement and improving the availability of data about the environmental impact of medicines.
"We call on Scottish government, including the chief medical officer, to enable the delivery of a realistic medicine approach to prescribing by developing a
supportive infrastructure for green social prescribing across Scotland," said the healthcare professionals in a joint statement.
They have called on the pharmaceutical industry to make information about the environmental impact of medicines readily available in a standardised data format.
Boots UK will offer a staring salary of £42,000 per annum to newly qualified pharmacists joining the pharmacy chain.
The company also revealed that "in addition, any existing pharmacists in the bargaining unit currently receiving less than £43k."
The newly announced hike in the salary - following an agreement reached between the multiple and and the Pharmacist Defence Association - will be effective from
1 August 2022.
"This enhanced offer for Newly Qualified Pharmacists and further investment in those in the early stages of their careers at Boots is a key part of our commitments
to pharmacists," the company said.
Boots and PDA Union also announced in a joint statement that they will conduct a further formal review of all pharmacists' pay in accordance with the collective
agreement, effective from 1 November 2022.
Shoulder pain is one of the most common types of pain that impacts your mobility and daily activities. Often associated with heart disease, shoulder pain can
also occur due to an injury, trauma, or a medical condition like arthritis. While over-the-counter medications might help relieve the pain, it is crucial to address
the cause of the pain becoming frequent. In this guide, we will be sharing particular situations that require a visit to an orthopedic doctor so you can get the
appropriate treatment.
AFTER AN ACCIDENT
Minor injuries and accidents can cause inflammation and pain at the injury site which can be resolved by taking OTC medications and giving the body time to heal.
However, in severe injuries, the joint may get swollen in an instant, cause extreme pain, or may seem deformed. In situations like these, there is a likelihood
of a fracture and the injury then needs to be evaluated by a specialist.
Depending on the severity of the accident, either the shoulder will be immobilized or operated on to repair the damage. If you have a broken shoulder, get plenty
of rest, eat healthily, and follow your doctor's instructions for a quick recovery.
Pharmacy2U has recently acquired LloydsDirect in a confidential deal, bringing together two of the UK's foremost online pharmacies. Over time, both entities
will integrate their operations under the Pharmacy2U brand, the companies said in a joint statement.
The two businesses complement each other effectively, and their teams will now work closely together to uphold the patient-centric approach and service quality
for which both are known individually, the statement added. However, there is currently limited clarity regarding the sale process and its impact on Lloyds staff.
According to NHS Business Services Authority data from PharmData, Pharmacy2U dispensed 1,528,436 items in June 2023, while LloydsDirect, previously owned by
LloydsPharmacy, dispensed 1,142,891 items. This positions them as the top two online prescription pharmacies for items dispensed, with Well.co.uk in third place
at 128,691 items.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) today (19 October) issued its official response to an evaluation conducted by an independent expert panel
from the Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC) regarding government commitments in the pharmacy sector.
The joint agreement between DHSC, NHSE, and CPE (Community Pharmacy England) under a five-year plan commitment to review the funding model, however, the current
status is "continue to monitor and discuss progress".
The government has claimed that the panel's rating has "not been met" and still "requires improvement".
However, the funding "remains subject to affordability and consultation with the sector on the activity that can be delivered within that funding envelope".
