Some areas of women’s health have for a long time been hush-hush subjects. How can pharmacy get women talking about their health concerns?

Women’s health is an important pharmacy category. Yet according to Talia Stokes, senior technical marketing manager at Balance Activ, women are seven times more likely to discuss intimate health with their GP than with their pharmacist. ‘Women’s time is becoming ever more precious and the expectation for quick results has increased, so the pharmacy is arguably much better suited to our modern lifestyles,’ she says.

‘Conditions previously considered too distasteful to discuss in the media have recently been making the headlines. This has been anything from STIs and thrush to vaginal dryness and bacterial vaginosis. This is important, as it will hopefully lead to increased openness in the future.’

Self-selection benefits

Despite an increased media awareness of women’s intimate health, many women prefer to self-select products when possible, rather than ask a pharmacist for advice.

‘You may not realise how many customers you are actually losing through them simply not being able to find an appropriate product,’ says Emma Charlesworth, Numark’s communications manager. ‘Feminine health is often seen as quite an embarrassing topic to discuss. However, this stigma is reducing as more companies invest in education and raise awareness to help break down the barriers of categories such as incontinence, vaginal dryness and the menopause.’

If customers can’t find the products they are looking for, they may choose something that isn’t right for their needs. ‘It’s very important that pharmacies don’t just place products on the shelf and assume that customers will find them,’ says Graeme Hume, managing director of Pravera, distributor of natural feminine hygiene brand Organyc.

‘If unsure, customers tend to switch to other brand names they are familiar with, and their health problems may persist. If a pharmacy is offering natural and organic products, make this very clear to its customers. Smaller brands don’t have the same budgets as the big brands and need support from the staff as well to get the message across.’

Some customers may linger around the pharmacy shelves, waiting for a quiet moment. ‘Women may suffer in silence or resort to roaming the aisles of the pharmacy until it’s virtually empty before they have the confidence to pick up a suitable treatment,’ says Mark Curry, founder of SASS.

‘New SASS Rescue Me pH Balance Serum is the first intimate probiotic to actively help prevent and treat infections. The fact that it is also available in the aisles of pharmacies rather than behind the counter makes the option much more accessible for women who may be too embarrassed to ask for help.’

Education and advice

Last year, Bayer HealthCare launched its Canesfresh and Canesintima products to boost the women’s intimate health category. This year, it’s encouraging women to ‘Get Comfortable’ with its 2015 promotional campaign.

‘We are working towards normalising and de-stigmatising thrush, whilst helping to inform women about their treatment options,’ says senior brand manager Cristina Borsa.

‘Creating a specific in-store women’s intimate health category, and siting it within the GSL self-selection area, enables customers to quickly and easily select the product most suited to their needs. We are also working to update our training for pharmacists and assistants/counter staff so that they can better encourage their female customers to feel confident in asking for advice on intimate health issues.’

A peer-reviewed Quality of Life study, conducted by new Always Discreet, published in the British Journal of Urology International, revealed one in three women in the UK is affected by urinary incontinence. Almost all feel exhausted by a condition that many still feel they have to keep hidden from their partners, families and friends.

Donna Wilson, TENA training and brand manager, says that it’s important for pharmacy staff to be on hand to reassure customers that bladder weakness is a common problem. ‘Bladder weakness is now one of the fastest growing OTC categories in pharmacy, as women feel this is a more comfortable environment through which to seek advice and purchase protective products,’ she says.

‘As such, being well-informed is now more important than ever before. Pharmacy staff are in a perfect position to introduce women to purpose-made products, such as TENA Lady, and to explain how these will help to manage bladder weakness, giving them one less thing to worry about.’

‘Women are hardwired to want to talk,’ says Carla Berry, communications manager from Always. ‘Bladder sensitivity is common – more common than many realise – so it’s definitely something we should be talking about. New Always Discreet for Sensitive Bladders provides the 12 million UK women suffering with the condition a discreet and feminine solution that they can trust, from the moment they pick it off the shelf, right through to subtle disposal.’

Holistic support

In a recent survey by Kira, two out of five women who had gone through the menopause admitted they weren’t prepared for the hormonal upheaval that comes with the change of life. Of those who had already gone through menopause, almost half felt they weren’t properly informed.

‘You don’t always have to resort to hormone replacement therapy, and some women shouldn’t as there are times it can actually increase the risk of heart disease,’ says women’s health specialist Dr Catherine Hood. ‘If they prefer a more natural approach, there are supplements and herbal remedies which have been shown to support health and wellbeing and counter common problems such as hot flushes, night sweats and sleep disruption.’

Sharon Morey at Quest Vitamins says that a growing number of women are seeking support from natural products. ‘Pharmacists should be able to satisfy these requirements,’ she says. ‘Popular complementary products include evening primrose oil and vitamin B6, which has been shown to help support normal hormone levels, cranberry extract and probiotics for the prevention of recurring urinary tract infections, sea buckthorn oil for dry eyes and skin and red clover isoflavones for menopausal support.’

According to Pharma Nord, there is an obvious market for dietary supplements and preventive nutrition specifically for women. ‘Omega 7 sea buckthorn oil capsules regenerate and repair all the mucous membranes in the body, including those in the urogenital tract, helping to combat intimate dryness,’ says Lindsay Baldry at Pharma Nord.

‘A new clinical study has also shown that Lady Prelox can help to reduce symptoms of the menopause, including irritability, depressed mood, sleeping problems, hot flushes, pain in limbs, headaches, palpitations and memory.’

Ninety per cent of women don’t get enough iron from their diet, according to Ngaire Mitchell, Spatone senior brand manager. Pharmacists should understand which groups of customers are most at risk and be happy to offer a solution.

‘It’s important that pharmacists are able to offer customers a gentle yet effective iron supplement that they will be happy to take on an on-going basis,’ she says. ‘Spatone Apple is packed into convenient one-a-day sachets with added apple concentrate – no measuring or mixing and ideal for use on the go.’

Comment

 

Fiona McElrea, Whithorn Pharmacy, Whithorn ‘Women’s health is a big category for us, particularly from the feminine hygiene point of view. Vagisil and Femfresh are big brands for us, and TENA is one of our best sellers now. We’ve had sales growth in recent years around these products. It’s important that we have the right brands in store, and usually find that people tend to stick to what they know and what works for them. Using point of sale materials and having information leaflets available for customers makes a big difference, too. However, we do have to very careful of price where we are, so we will try to buy products when the wholesaler is running an offer, for example. We try and stock up when we can to pass on the savings to the customer.’