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Quick Tips for long term conditions this winter

A lady taking her inhaler medication for asthma.

Quick tips

Long-term conditions, or chronic diseases, are conditions that require ongoing care and often are managed by medications and other treatments.

Examples include:

  • Diabetes
  • Arthritis
  • High blood pressure
  • Epilepsy
  • Asthma
  • Heart or kidney disease.

During winter, damp and cold weather can aggravate existing health problems and make people more vulnerable to winter illnesses. This is particularly true for those who live with a long-term condition.

Everyone's experience of living with a long-term condition is different but there are few things people can do to help them manage their condition, including:

  • Get the flu vaccine
  • Stay protected against COVID-19 with an autumn booster vaccine
  • Make sure that you have had any planned reviews of your condition
  • Take your medication as prescribed and see your pharmacist for any medication concerns
  • Keep warm
  • If you smoke, consider steps to quitting
  • Eat a healthy and balanced diet
  • Exercise daily: even short walks and housework count as physical activity.

There's a few other things you can do:

  • If you feel unwell don't wait - get advice from your nearest pharmacist
  • Think ahead - make sure that you have enough medication to last when your GP surgery may be closed. It's important that you book any routine appointments with your practice in plenty of time and ensure that you have enough to last you over these times.
  • Don't use Accident and Emergency (A&E) as a back-up pharmacy, plan ahead.
  • Eat well and wrap up warm - keep active and have regular hot drinks and nutritious meals. If you have breathing problems even a small change in temperature can affect you.

Additional Information