Health advice for half-term
Health leaders have offered important advice on how to keep the whole family well during half-term (19-25 February), as schools across the area gear up for the break.
The February half-term (19-25 February) week can be a particularly busy time for NHS services, with winter bugs still in circulation. Parents and carers can help look after their family’s health problems by following a few of simple tips:
- packing a first aid kit if you are going away or out for the day to help with minor injuries and ailments such as small cuts and grazes, upset stomachs or dehydration. A well-stocked first aid kit contains essentials like paracetamol (tablets and/or liquid form); plasters and bandages; antiseptic wipes; and a thermometer.
- use 111 if anyone in your family starts to feel unwell during the half-term week. NHS 111 can offer advice quickly and easily via 111.nhs.uk online, or through 111 over the phone.
- see your local pharmacist who can support with a range of common issues, from coughs and colds to stomach ache. Find a pharmacy near you www.nhs.uk/find-a-pharmacy.
Rowan Procter, Director of Nursing at NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough ICB, offers her expert advice:
“If you’re going away or out for the day during half-term, please make sure you take a first aid kit so you’ve got the essentials to keep your family healthy. If anyone in your family does start to feel unwell and you need some advice, please use NHS 111 first. It can link you to the right service for your issue, and will get you to speak to a doctor or nurse if necessary. Together we can all stay well and enjoy the half-term break.”
If you or your child hasn’t had their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), HPV, meningitis ACWY vaccine or diphtheria, tetanus and polio vaccinations, walk-in clinics for these are running throughout half-term. No appointment is necessary and you can find out more by visiting www.cpics.org.uk/the-vaccinators for more information