Smiling woman holding mug of tea

Help with symptoms at home

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Sometimes the key to our recovery lies with us. For example, if you have a minor illness or a less serious injury, then self-care at home is the best option.

Symptom checker

NHS Inform has self-help guides. These guides use set of questions similar to those that your GP or a call handler from NHS 24 would ask to establish the seriousness of your health complaint. See some of the most common health complaint guides below:

There are also guides on common conditions such as abdominal pain, rashes, back ache, headaches and many more. Go to nhsinform.scot/self-help-guides for help with minor illnesses.

Man snapping cigarette in two

Get the support you need to stop smoking

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Quit Your Way Scotland is an advice and support service for anyone trying to stop smoking in Scotland.

You can contact Quit Your Way Scotland for free by:

  • phoning a Quit Your Way Scotland adviser on 0800 84 84 84
  • chatting online with a Quit Your Way Scotland adviser

The helpline service is open:

  • Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm

The webchat service is open within those times subject to adviser availability.

Text ‘Quit Your Way’ to 07903 588 669 for smoking cessation advice and signposting to local services. You must include a question in your text.

SMS text is monitored between 9am to 4.30pm. Texts received out with these hours will not be responded to until the next working day.

Find out more about Quit Your Way Scotland

Planning to stop smoking

You’re more likely to be successful in your attempts to quit smoking if you plan ahead. There are different ways to stop smoking. Some people use stop smoking medication like Nicotine Replacement therapy (NRT) or vapes. Read about the different methods and choose the best one for you. 

Getting ready to stop smoking

Types of stop smoking medication

Vapes

Cutting down before you quit smoking

Find local support to stop smoking

Smiling woman, wearing a white scarf and holding a glass of orange juice on a winter day.

Prepare for Winter

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Help you and your family stay well with these health and wellbeing tips.

When the weather gets colder, it can affect your health and wellbeing. Read these tips on staying healthy this winter, including information on vaccinations, dealing with seasonal illnesses, and ways to maintain good mental wellbeing.

Use digital resources for safe and trusted advice

If you’re feeling under the weather, symptom checkers or the NHS 24 Online app may be able to provide the advice you need quickly.

These tools are free to use and are designed by the experts at NHS 24. They can:

  • offer quick information on various symptoms
  • provide advice on what to do next
  • give details of nearby health and care services

Get vaccinated

The vaccines that will help protect you from flu and coronavirus this winter are now available.

NHS Scotland strongly recommends that you get your vaccines as soon as they’re offered to you.

Find out more about winter vaccine

Check your prescribed medicines

Check in advance that you have enough of your prescribed medicine to last throughout the Christmas and New Year holidays.

You should submit your prescription requests at least a week before Christmas. This will give your GP practice and pharmacy enough time to process your request.

Using a self-help guide

If you run out of your prescribed medicine and your GP practice or pharmacy are closed, the accessing medicines self-help guide can help you find out where to get your medicines.

Learn how to manage common winter illnesses

Coughs, colds, fevers and flu are common at this time of year. NHS inform has lots of advice about winter illness and how to safely manage your symptoms at home.

Get advice about winter illness

Look after your mental wellbeing

The winter months can be a difficult time for many people. The drop in temperature and shorter days can have an impact on your mental wellbeing.

Where to get more advice and support

Group of five smiling women in a circle, heads together looking down at the camera.

Women’s health: How your pharmacist can help

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Your nearest pharmacy can help you with advice, support and treatment for a variety of women’s health symptoms and conditions.

The Pharmacy First service helps you access the right care in the right place, without having to go to your GP practice or local A&E department for non-urgent treatment. You can access care quickly and conveniently, usually without needing an appointment. You can use this service if you are registered with a GP practice in Scotland or if you live in Scotland. You can ask to speak privately with your pharmacist.

What the pharmacist can help women with

Pharmacists and their teams are experts in medicines and can offer help and advice on a range of common women’s health symptoms and conditions.

A pharmacist, or a member of the pharmacy team, can:

  • give you advice to help manage symptoms
  • suggest the best medicines or treatment
  • provide some of the same treatment as a GP, where appropriate
  • advise if you need to see a GP or another healthcare professional

More information about NHS Pharmacy First Scotland

Your pharmacist can offer advice and support about various health issues women commonly experience such as:

You don’t usually need an appointment and you can go to any pharmacy.

Some pharmacists have an additional prescribing qualification which allows them to prescribe a wider range of medicines, normally only available from your GP practice. If the pharmacist, or a member of their team, thinks it is better for you to see your GP or another healthcare professional, they may refer you directly or tell you to make an appointment.

Find your nearest pharmacy

Use Scotland’s Service Directory to find your nearest pharmacy.

Emergency contraception

You can ask to speak to a pharmacist if you need the morning after pill (emergency contraception) free of charge.

This can prevent pregnancy after you’ve had sex. It can be used when:

  • you’ve had unprotected sex
  • you’ve missed a pill
  • you’ve had sex and a condom has burst

It should never be used as an alternative to normal contraception.

Further information about emergency contraception

Bridging (short-term) contraception

Pharmacies can provide a temporary supply of the progestogen-only pill (POP). This is known as bridging contraception.

You can get bridging contraception from pharmacies if you’re between 13 and 55. The pharmacist will ask you some questions to make sure it’s right for you.

Further information about bridging contraception

Other contraception available at pharmacies

Your pharmacist can also offer advice on other contraception available.

Condoms are available to buy at your local pharmacy – and some offer free condoms.

Rethink Dementia

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When a friend or relative is diagnosed with dementia, it’s natural not to know what to do. But, helping someone stay connected and socially active can help them stay well for longer.

It’s time to rethink dementia.

Living with dementia

In Scotland, dementia currently effects an estimated 90,000 people, 3,000 of whom are under the age of 65.

Dementia is a progressive illness. But, many people with a dementia diagnosis can still keep doing most of the things they have always enjoyed. They can also be an active part of their community, particularly in the earlier stages.

In some cases, a friend or relative with dementia might need a bit more support. But, by staying in contact and doing many of the things you’ve always done together, you can help them more than you think.

Why social contact is important to people living with dementia

It’s recommended that people with dementia do activities tailored to them. This can improve their wellbeing and may help if they have symptoms like:

— agitation
— anxiety
— depression
— losing interest in things

If they’re left unmanaged, these symptoms can contribute to a faster rate of decline. This is something that was seen during the social isolation of the COVID-19 lockdowns.

If you have a friend or relative who has been diagnosed with dementia, this means it’s really important to stay in contact and support them. By just being yourself, you can help keep them well for longer.

SIGN has more information about the benefits of social interactions

Find out more about dementia, get advice and find support in your area.

Flu Vaccinations 2024

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The flu vaccine helps protect against flu, which can be a serious or life-threatening illness. It’s offered on the NHS every year in autumn or early winter to people at higher risk of getting seriously ill from flu.

Who will be offered the flu vaccine

The flu vaccine is offered to adults who are most at risk of getting seriously ill from flu.

Older adults and people with certain health conditions are more at risk of flu-related complications and need extra protection, even if their health condition is mild or well managed.

You’ll be offered the flu vaccine this year if you’re:

— aged 65 and over
— aged 18 to 64 with an eligible health condition
— pregnant
— living in a long-stay residential care home or other long-stay care facility
— living with someone who has a weakened immune system
— an unpaid or young carer
— a frontline health or social care worker
— a non-frontline NHS worker
— a poultry worker
— an asylum seeker living in a home office hotel or B&B accommodation
— experiencing homelessness or substance misuse
— living in a Scottish prison

Read more about the child flu vaccine including who is eligible.

Read more about the flu vaccine

Vaccination appointments

NHS Scotland will contact those eligible for Winter Flu and Covid-19 Vaccination appointments from late August. Please wait to be contacted before booking an appointment via the online booking portal.

You can log in to book using your unique username and password. This is the same as you had for your previous doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

Go to the online booking portal

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine

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Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a virus that can affect the lungs and airways. In most people, RSV causes mild cold-like symptoms.

Occasionally, RSV can cause severe lung infections. These can include:

— bronchiolitis (an infection of the small airways in the lungs)
— pneumonia

RSV infections peak during late autumn and winter, but can happen all year round.

Who is most at risk of RSV

RSV infection can happen to anyone, but for most it will be a mild infection that is like a cold.

Some groups are more at risk of severe infection. They are:

— babies who were born prematurely
— children under 2 years of age
— people with chronic lung disease or congenital heart disease
— people with weakened immune systems
— adults over 65 years of age

RSV vaccination

The RSV vaccination programme helps protect babies and older adults from the RSV virus.

The vaccine will be offered:

— to older adults aged 75 to 79
— during pregnancy (from 28 weeks onwards)

How to get the RSV vaccine

You’ll be contacted by your local NHS immunisation team when it’s time to get the vaccine.

During pregnancy: You should be offered the RSV vaccine around your 28 week antenatal appointment. Speak to your midwife to find out the local arrangements for vaccination. They’ll be able to advise you on how to get your vaccine.

Read more about the RSV vaccine for older adults

Read more about the RSV vaccine during pregnancy

Read more about Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)