Thank you to posters who urged me to attend A&E - on previous bat thread

[PleaseDontAsk]

I can't remember the posters but hope they see this.Because the thread has now been deleted - i was not the author of it, either.

To those who gave me a kick up the backside and told me to go to accident, an emergency regarding my potential infected insect bites - thank you so much. The doctor took one look at it and prescribed me high strength antibiotics and also steroid tablets. They said I was either having a skin infection or an allergic response but the skin would look the same with either case. So they treat them both.

Truth be told, I was beginning to feel dizzy and unwell, and glad I didn't leave it any longer.

Anyway, if you see this and remember you told me to go, thank you so much. I will not be so blase in future.

When something is serious the pharmacy is the wrong place to go. Routine UTI? Pharmacy.
Serious concern? Not pharmacy.

The aim isn't to avoid urgent care/A&E when it's needed.

And @PleaseDontAsk good to hear you got the treatment you needed, get fully better soon.

We're you bitten by insects or a bat? I'm confused. Not sure why you're being rude to @Backfrombright either.

Hope you're feeling better now!

Glad you’re ok OP. I wasn’t on the other thread but glad you sought appropriate medical advice as was clearly needed.

As an aside I’m torn with the pharmacy first scheme. On one hand it’s great for things a pharmacist can prescribe for.

On the other it’s stopping people from and getting people to advise it’s the correct and only option.

Personally I’ve seen a pharmacist numerous times and have also been directed to the GP. I e then had e consult refer me back to pharmacist and I’ve had to go back and say they won’t treat.

Pharmacy first is good in theory, but it’s too limited and they can miss too many things.

My GP had such a vicious rant about it that I actually got an email from him the next day, apologising if he’d been too aggressive and assuring me that it wasn’t directed at me, it was his frustration at the system! And a reminder to bring my children straight to him in future.

Treatment from a pharmacist

Pharmacists can suggest treatments that do not need a prescription for a range of conditions.
Most pharmacies can also offer prescription medicine for some conditions, without you needing to see a GP or make an appointment. This is called Pharmacy First.

Conditions they can offer prescription medicine for are:

• impetigo (aged 1 year and over)
• infected insect bites (aged 1 year and over)
• earache (aged 1 to 17 years)
• sore throat (aged 5 years and over)
• sinusitis (aged 12 years and over)
• urinary tract infections (UTIs) (women aged 16 to 64 years)
• shingles (aged 18 years and over)

If you are not within these age ranges, a pharmacist can still offer advice and support decisions about self care treatment with over the counter medicines, but you may need to see a GP for treatment.

Pharmacists can also help with the contraceptive pill and emergency contraception

www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/pharmacies/how-pharmacies-can-help/

Wow, neither are you. Maybe read the thread before being arsey. That poster was supporting the OP in the argument she was having with another poster who suggested the OP should have just gone to a pharmacy. Going to a pharmacy is not an option on bank holiday weekends.

I don’t know what it is with MN and A&E but even now there’s people arguing that you did the wrong thing. Every time I’ve gone to a pharmacy it’s ended up in a ping pong back and forth my GP and pharmacy because both insist that the other is the only option. When my Step daughter was in a similar situation to you the pharmacist wouldn’t touch it and she ended up in out of hours as it was the weekend, the doctor told her that the pharmacist wouldn’t be able to give her what was needed and she risked further infection had she waited for the GP surgery to open on Monday so I think you did the right thing and hopefully you’ll get better soon.

I have yet to go to a pharmacist and been told anything other than go and see a dr. To the point where I no longer bother.

I never understand why this is so often advice when beyond mild ailments at they don’t seem to be able to do anything.

Get out of bed the wrong side this morning, did you?

Have I not said about ten times on this thread, a pharmacist wouldn't give me anything. It was too severe in the pharmacist's view, and she was right.

Telling me I shouldn't have gone to urgent care when i've been given steroids and antibiotics because I was told, I could end up with cellulitis or worse.

An actual doctor in urgent care told me I did the right thing and to come back if it doesn't improve, but a few on mumsnet still think I shouldn't have gone.

It's okay if you lot use the n h s for urgent care but not me - how sick do I need to be?

Honestly, this thread. I thank people for sign posting me to urgent care which I needed and got, and I've had a pile on about pharmacists.

Do you not think that the poster is saying "its a bank holiday and my local pharmacy is closed, so it's likely ops one is too"?

Yeah I know... I was supporting your post by saying these are the things you can actually get from pharmacy first. Obviously a pharmacist wasn't the right place for you.

I just tried posting the facts without giving an opinion so no-one had a go at me!

It's also an internet forum where other people might actually find accurate information helpful...