Some of the most common minor injuries pharmacy teams are called to advise upon are superficial cuts and grazes. Jacquie Lee, medication safety officer and information pharmacist for Numark offers some general advice.
“The first line of treatment is cleaning the wound with mild soap and water and tapping dry with a clean towel before applying a dressing/bandage,” she says. “Antiseptics should only be used for a short time, and if the wound isn’t healing, medical attention should be sought.”
Ms Lee adds that pharmacies should keep a range of suitable dressings in stock, from plasters designed for small, superficial cuts to more complex dressings that promote healing for larger wounds.
Aches, pains and strains
The most common areas affected by strains and sprains are knees, wrists and ankles. Lee suggests that in addition to compression and support, pain relievers like ibuprofen and paracetamol can also help to manage pain following a sprain or strain. “But customers need to ensure that their injury is fully rested and supported properly to prevent further injury and aid recovery,” she adds.
Many people visit pharmacies looking for advice on treating sports and other injuries because they don’t want to bother their GP, or simply can’t get an appointment. Some common causes of sports injuries include:
- Inadequate warm-up and cool-down
- Insufficient rest and recovery
- Poor technique
- Overuse and repetitive motions
- Environmental factors like playing on uneven surfaces, extreme weather conditions, or with improper equipment.
“One of the most common sports injuries is blisters, particularly in runners and joggers,” says Lee. “Customers should be advised never to pierce the blister and to use dressings – particularly hydrocolloid ones especially for blisters – to protect it.”
Neo-G in-house physio Alex Clark explains: “Common injuries can usually be classified into three categories: direct trauma injuries, overuse injuries and long-term conditions. “Direct trauma can lead to a variety of injuries, and people are usually aware of the cause of the injury and when it happened.
“Overuse injuries are also widespread and often muscle-related. These usually occur when someone has pushed their body further than it can adapt to without adequate rest and recovery, like running a 5km race after years of inactivity.
“Long-term conditions like arthritis can develop naturally, but can also be the result of direct trauma.”
Clark advises asking the customer how their injury occurred. “This is particularly important for direct trauma injuries,” he says. “In the vast majority of occasions, a support would be required in the same region of the body as the injury, but not always. If someone presents with direct trauma to the knee and a minor ligament sprain, it could be misalignment in the ankle that’s putting the knee in a compromised position. “Using a knee support on its own may improve the injury, but the knee joint will still be compromised, and ongoing knee pain would be likely.”
He says it is also important to find out when the injury occurred, as well as whether the customer has tried any other remedies and if it is a recurring injury – this is a key question because extra reinforcement may be required for more frequent injuries.
