Minor illness and injury

For many common illnesses and ailments there is no specific cure, and they will be relieved with time and simple remedies available without prescription. Therefore, please do not expect your doctor to prescribe a drug for every health concern. Discussion and advice may be far more useful and free from side effects. None of us like being ill, and we want to feel better again as soon as possible. Self-care will often be the quickest way to treat a minor illness.

We advise keeping a well-stocked medicine cabinet at home, and remember that your local community pharmacist can help with a range of minor ailments, and can now prescribe medication for several common conditions without you needing to wait to see a GP.

NHS advice

The links below will take you to advice pages about the named minor illnesses, ailments and injuries on the NHS website.

You can search for advice about a wide range of health conditions using the NHS A-Z of Conditions.