Certain very common conditions can be treated at home using medicines from your pharmacy, supermarket, newsagent or garage.

Back pain
Sudden onset of low back pain can be very severe and disabling. Treat with co-codamol and ibuprofen if you have no severe indigestion/asthma problems. Follow the instruction leaflet and take the tablets every 4 hours initially. Gentle exercise is recommended as soon as the painkillers have taken effect. Heat, cold, massage and supportive cushions may help. Symptoms should get better over a 2-6 week period. You should inform your doctor if you have any urine or bowel problems, or loss of power in the leg or loss of sensation.

Vomiting and diarrhoea
The treatment is generally to stop eating! and continue drinking water or juice or preferably “Lucozade Sport” or a rehydration sachet from your chemist. Even if you are being sick, little sips will help prevent you getting dehydrated. Some pain in spasms is normal. Take paracetamol or (co-codamol in adults) for pain. Severe continuous pain needs medical attention. If you do not feel better you should see your doctor especially if you have travelled abroad outside Europe or if the diarrhoea contains blood and you suspect food poisoning. Diarrhoea often restarts if you start eating too quickly after a bout. An attack typically lasts several days. Babies and children should follow the same advice and will be fine so long as they keep drinking and passing urine every few hours. It is helpful to continue giving milk if they would normally be having it (old advice was to stop it)

Hay Fever
The pharmacist can give you:

• Loratidine an antihistamine tablet
• Beclomethasone nasal spray
• Cromoglycate eye drops.

You should not need an urgent appointment for this problem. Remember to request repeat prescriptions before the hay fever season starts.

Coughs colds and earache
These are nearly always caused by viruses. The surgery has no special treatment and antibiotics will not help. Paracetamol and/or ibuprofen (providing no severe indigestion or asthma) will make you feel better. Drinks and gargles may be soothing. If in spite of this you have a temperature above 38, large glands, pus on tonsils and feel unwell you should be seen. If ear pain does not settle or the eardrum bursts and discharges you should make an appointment. Remember you should sign yourself off for the first 7 days of a minor illness.

Conjunctivitis
If this is not due to allergy it is very often a virus and nurseries often exclude children as it is easily spread. Generally this gets better by itself and treatment with drops makes no difference. If you want to treat it you can get antiseptic drops (Brolene). You can now buy the normal antibiotic drops (Chloramphenicol) at the pharmacy. You should be seen if your vision gets worse or if you have pain in the eye or the infection spreads on to the eyelid and it starts to close over.

For further self help advice on the web click here for NHS Direct or telephone NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.