Realising you have a problem with alcohol is the first big step to getting help.

You may need help if:

• you often feel the need to have a drink
• you get into trouble because of your drinking
• other people warn you about how much you're drinking
• you think your drinking is causing you problems

Getting the right support can be crucial to maintaining control in the future. Only relying on family, friends or carers for this often is not enough.

Ask our Pharmacist about what longer term support is available in your area. Self-help or mutual aid groups (groups such as AA or SMART Recovery groups) are accessible in most areas.

Check your blood pressure

The only way of knowing whether you have high blood pressure is to have a blood pressure test.

All adults over 40 are advised to have their blood pressure checked at least every 5 years. Getting this done is easy and could save your life.

You can get your blood pressure tested at a number of places, including:

• at your GP surgery
• at our pharmacy
• as part of your NHS Health Check
• in some workplaces

You can also check your blood pressure yourself with a home blood pressure monitor.

Community Pharmacy Consultation Service (CPCS)

We stock a range of cosmetics

We are happy to dispose of any unwanted or out-of-date medicine for you

Prescription strength Otomize Ear Spray for ear infections without needing to see your GP

The emergency contraceptive pill (morning after pill) – there are two types, Levonelle or ellaOne. You can get both Levonelle and ellaOne free of charge from: 

• contraception clinics
• most sexual health or genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics
• most NHS walk-in centres and minor injuries units 
• most GP surgeries
• some hospital accident and emergency (A&E) departments 

After consultation with a pharmacist you can buy emergency contraception from our pharmacy. Levonelle can be taken within 72 hours (three days) of having unprotected sex, but it's most effective if taken within 12 hours of having unprotected sex. Prices vary, but it's likely to cost around £25. You need to be 16 or over to buy Levonelle. Girls under 16 can get Levonelle, but only with a prescription from their doctor.

ellaOne can be taken within 120 hours (five days) of having unprotected sex, but it's most effective if taken as soon as possible after having unprotected sex. Prices vary, but it's likely to cost around £35. ellaOne can be sold to under 16s without a prescription.

Erection problems (impotence) are very common, particularly in men over 40. It's usually nothing to worry about, but you should see a GP if it keeps happening.

Most men occasionally fail to get or keep an erection.  Causes of erection problems can be stress, tiredness, anxiety or drinking too much alcohol, and it's nothing to worry about.

If it happens more often, it may be caused by physical or emotional problems.

Medicine such as sildenafil is often used by doctors to treat erectile dysfunction. It is also available from our pharmacy. You no longer need a prescription to get sildenafil.  You can have a private consultation with our pharmacist to make sure it's safe for you to take it.

Make life easier for yourself and let us order your prescription on your behalf. Simply let us know what repeat medicines you need, a few days before they run out and we will arrange to collect it from your Doctor's surgery. 

Out pharmacist is always in store to provide with any professional advice required and to advise you on how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Every year many hundreds of travellers from the UK catch malaria and in tens of cases it is fatal. Symptoms can start rapidly. The correct anti-malarial medication is essential. We offer a Private Malaria Prevention Service. After a confidential assessment by a trained Pharmacist, the correct anti-malarial medication is supplied and appropriate advice given to the patient. 

This is an opportunity for our pharmacist to discuss and review the medicines you are taking to ensure you are using them correctly and getting the maximum benefit. We will explain clearly and simply, without any medical jargon, what they are for and the conditions they treat and identify any possible side effects that you may be experiencing. We will listen to you and any problems you are having with your medicines, provide advice and support and if necessary contact your Doctor to discuss any issues that arise from our conversation.

An MUR can help:

• improve your understanding of the medicines you are taking;
• highlight problematic side effects and propose solutions where appropriate;
• improve adherence
• reduce medicines wastage, usually by helping you only order the medicines you need

Our pharmacist may be able to conduct an MUR over the telephone or for eligible patient

It is important that you take the right dose of your prescribed medicines at the right time each day to get the most from your medicines to control your condition(s) as much as possible. This can sometimes be difficult if you take more than one medicine. One way in which this can be made easier is for your medicines to be supplied in a Monitored Dosage System, which provides you with a separate compartment for each dosage time of the day.

A monitored dosage system (MDS) is a medication storage device designed to simplify the administration of solid oral dose medication, especially for those on multiple medications. It aims to address the issues of difficulty accessing medication due to sight impairment or other disability and/or forgetfulness.

MDS devices are usually a variation on the design of a box or a blister pack, divided into days of the week with several compartments per day to allow for the different timing of doses such as breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime.

 Our Pharmacist can help identify which patients this type of system would be suitable for.

MDS may be suitable for patients in the following circumstances:

• You struggle to organise medications and find it difficult to remember to take them at the correct time each day
• You have a large number of medications to take each day
• You find it difficult to remove medication from its packaging
• You have a carer who helps you to ensure you take your medicines correctly.
  

Ask a member of our pharmacy team about whether this service would benefit you or whether there is another course of action, which may be of more help.

Seasonal flu occurs on a yearly basis, usually in the winter. it is a highly infectious disease caused by a number of flu viruses. Here at Sutton Pharmacy we offer free NHS Flu Vaccinations and Private Vaccinations.

If you are prescribed a medicine to treat a long-term condition for the first time, we are able to offer advice about your medicine using the free scheme called New Medicine Service(NMS). This will avoid problems that may later arise due to starting the new medicine. The pharmacist will support you over several weeks to use the medicine safely and to the best effect. This service is only available to people using certain medicines.

We stock a range of perfumes please call or visit

We recommend you consider getting a flub jab If you don't qualify for an NHS vaccination but are:

• susceptible to colds and chest infections
• are self employed and unable to afford time off work
• would like to protect yourself from flu during peak season

We charge £10 and the service is available on a walk in basis without an appointment but please call the pharmacy first.

Our stop smoking service provides professional advice and a range of proven methods to help you reduce and eventually quit smoking. We give you on going support for the first few months while you work on stopping smoking. The service and advice is free and you can walk in whenever it suits you for an initial appoinment. 

We can provide a supervised consumption service, usually in the private consultation room in the pharmacy.

Going abroad and need to know which vaccinations you require or need advice on precautions?

We provide travel consultations with experienced staff who will assess the impact of any pre-existing medical conditions on your vaccine requirements. Our competitive pricing and easily accessible location makes us your first choice for all your travel needs

• Expert Travel Consultation
  
• Hajj and Umrah
• Full range of vaccines in stock including ACWY
• Anti-malarials dispensed on site
• Walk In or Book Over the phone
• We offer a wide range of services at competitive prices
• Our friendly team comprises of healthcare experts including pharmacists

Walk in for a free travel health consultation in our designated private consultation rooms today. We look forward to welcoming you and helping you with all your travel healthcare needs.

A pre-travel risk assessment provides a good opportunity to discuss travel-associated risk management with your pharmacist.

You'll need to contact us to arrange this, ideally 6 to 8 weeks before you leave. If your trip is sooner, contact us anyway as we may still be able to help and could provide vital health information.

During the assessment, we will:

• confirm if you're up-to-date with your routine immunisations
• assess your particular health risks
• recommend any vaccines and/or anti-malarial tablets you may need

Altitude Sickness - the mildest form being acute mountain sickness (AMS), is the negative health effect of high altitude, caused by rapid exposure to low amounts of oxygen at high elevation. Symptoms may include headaches, vomiting, tiredness, trouble sleeping, and dizziness.

Cholera – Common in Africa, Central America and Asia, cholera is an infection spread by bacteria in contaminated food and water.

Diphtheria, Poliomyelitis and Tetanus - This diphtheria, polio and tetanus vaccine may also be recommended if you're travelling to an area of the world where there is a high risk of contracting these diseases, or poor access to medical care, and you haven't had a booster in the last ten years.

Hepatitis A – Contaminated faecal matter spreads hepatitis A, a disease often caught via infected food and water and common across in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America.

Hepatitis B – Unprotected sex is usually responsible for hepatitis A infection, along with sharing needles, visiting dirty tattoo parlours, unhygienic barbers shops and nail salons. It’s common in both undeveloped and developed countries.

Japanese Encephalitis – Spread by mosquitoes, there’s no cure for this disease found across South East Asia, Japan, and tropical regions of Australia. There are also occasional epidemics in China and India.

Malaria – A highly dangerous disease spread by infected mosquitoes, malaria is common in the equatorial tropics and subtropics.

Meningitis; ACWY Vaccination for Hajj or Umrah – A bacterial infection, this disease tends to be commonest in sub-Saharan Africa. But it’s also sometimes found where it’s crowded and where there’s imperfect hygiene, for example universities and army camps. 

Rabies – Infected animal and human bites and scratches spread this awful disease, which is particularly common in Thailand, Brazil and India.

Tick-borne Encephalitis – A tick-borne virus found in eastern, northern and central Europe as well as eastern Russia, east Asia, China and Japan.

Typhoid – Bacteria are responsible for this infection and it’s found throughout the world, a risk wherever sanitation and hygiene are poor.