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Fungal nail infections can not only knock your confidence, but can also lead to pain and discomfort down the line

For many of us, summer is the time of year when we finally let our feet breathe in sandals and flip-flops after months cooped up in shoes. This is especially true if you’re planning a trip abroad to somewhere hot and sunny over the coming months.

However, for those with conditions like fungal nail infections, the thought of getting your feet out in public can be a daunting one. With any condition, understanding it is the first step to beating it, which is why we’re going to show you how to spot, prevent and treat fungal nail infections this summer.

What is a fungal nail infection?

A fungal infection can affect any part of the body, and is normally present alongside various bacteria. When the fungus starts to grow, an infection can occur. Onychomycosis, also known as tinea unguium, is the name of the fungal infection which grows specifically in the fingernails or toenails.

What causes a fungal nail infection?

A fungal nail infection occurs as the result of an overgrowth of fungi in, on or under the nail. These fungi thrive in warm and moist environments, making them more common on your toenails as your feet spend more time confined within shoes and socks.

Fungal nail infections can also be spread through contact. If you receive a manicure or pedicure at a salon, it’s important to query whether the tools have been effectively disinfected, as emery boards and clippers can spread fungal infections from person to person if not sanitized.

Who is at risk of fungal nail infections?

Anyone can get a fungal nail infection if they put themselves at risk. However, certain people have been shown to be more susceptible. Infections are more common in men than women, and more likely to occur in adults than children, especially those older than 65. If you have a relative who often gets fungal nail infections you are also more likely to get them.

Other risks factors include:

• Having diabetes
• Having a disease that causes poor circulation
• Swimming in a public pool
• Suffering a nail injury or an injury to the skin around the nail
• Wearing artificial nails
• Having a weakened immune system
• Wearing closed-toe shoes

What are the signs of a fungal nail infection?

Fungal nail infections can affect part of a nail, the whole nail or more than one nail. Symptoms usually include:

• Scaling under the nail (subungual hyperkeratosis)
• A distorted nail that lifts off the nail bed
• White or yellow streaks on the nail (lateral onychomycosis)
• An odour coming from the infected nail
• Crumbing corner or tip of the nail (distal onychomycosis)
• A brittle or thickened nail
• White flaky areas on the nail surface
• Yellow spots at the bottom of the nail (proximal onychomycosis)
• Loss of the nail completely

How do you prevent a fungal nail infection?

Thankfully, fungal nail infections are preventable with a few simple lifestyle changes. Taking care to ensure your nails are clean, dry and well trimmed is the best way to avoid infection. You can also:

• Dry your feet well after showering, especially between your toes
• Use antifungal sprays regularly
• Reduce your use of artificial nails and nail varnish
• Avoid being barefoot in public places
• Wear socks that minimise moisture

How do you treat a fungal nail infection?

If you do suffer with a fungal nail infection, take comfort in the knowledge that effective anti-fungal medication is available. Curanail is a treatment specifically designed to fight infections in fingernails and toenails. It has been clinically proven to clear over 75% of fungal toenail infections (and 85% of fungal fingernail infections) within six months.

Anti-fungal medication like Curanail is available from Express Pharmacy. Get in touch with our team of expert pharmacists today by calling 0208 123 07 03 or by using our discreet live chat service.

Travelling abroad takes on a very different meaning once you are joined on trips by your children. A family holiday abroad is a wonderful thing and can lead to some of the best adventures and experiences you will ever have. But they also require more preparation and organisation than travelling as a couple.

Of course, the first consideration when you set off is how to keep them entertained and out of mischief during the journey. To help you plan ahead, our friends at Sainsbury's Bank have put together this fun, animated guide to help you make flying with children simple and stress-free.

The original guide can be found here: Sainsbury’s Bank - Money Matters(https://www.sainsburysbank.co.uk/money-matters/flying-with-children

Are pharmacies the answer to the NHS crisis?

The NHS deals with over 1 million patients every 36 hours, and this number seems only set to rise. The total number of people visiting Accident & Emergency departments in 2017 was 23.372 million, which marks a rise of almost a quarter (23.5 per cent) over the last decade. NHS spending has also risen hugely in recent years. In 2017, net expenditure was £120.512 billion, which has increased from £78.881 billion in 2007.

It is clear from figures such as these that there is a huge amount of pressure on the NHS. This has led to a chronic access problem, meaning patients are having to wait for extended lengths of time to receive advice, diagnoses and treatment.

So what is the solution? Well, the National Pharmacy Association believes that the answer lies in placing more emphasis on pharmacies as a local healthcare service.

By allowing local pharmacies to flourish as centres of health and wellbeing for the surrounding community, the intense strain can be alleviated from the NHS as less people will rely on GPs and hospitals as a first port of call. This will also allow pharmacists to put their clinical skills to further use.

The See You Sooner campaign from the NPA aims to make this happen. They believe that local pharmacies should be people’s first and main contact for healthcare, dramatically improving access to treatment and advice.

What are the aims of ‘See You Sooner’?

The NPA’s See You Sooner campaign’s key aspirations are:

- There should be no unnecessary or avoidable barriers in place to receiving appropriate care in a timely fashion.

- No one should have to wait to see a doctor for the treatment of minor concerns like colds and coughs.

- People in all parts of the country should have the option to access health checks such as blood pressure at their local pharmacy. At the moment, there are only a few examples of commissioning health checks in local pharmacies.

- No one should have to wait to see a doctor for the routine management of their medicines for stable long term conditions. As an alternative, pharmacy workers should be fully supported in being able to understand, review and, if necessary, modify medicines as part of an integrated primary care team.

The aims of the NPA’s campaign are views shared by many NHS service users. In a survey of 1003 UK adults in March 2018 by RWB, 56 per cent of respondents agreed that NHS medicines review services in pharmacies should be expanded to help people with long term medical conditions to manage their medicines and to take pressure off the NHS. A further 35 per cent of respondents strongly agreed with this statement.

Online pharmacies provide immediate help and support

When we discuss the importance of local pharmacies, we can’t forget about the option of online pharmacies, which provide instant correspondence between healthcare professionals and individuals who may be unable to leave their home. Using an online pharmacy can provide convenient advice, diagnosis and treatment for a wide range of conditions, including those which patients may want to be treated more discreetly like hair loss or erectile dysfunction.

Express Pharmacy has been providing effective medication for a variety of conditions since 2009, and has now helped over 50,000 patients. Express Pharmacy also have a group of six NHS linked high street outlets in London, and each has a qualified pharmacist in-house.

If you’re in need of efficient and effective medical advice, contact the NHS-approved pharmacists at Express Pharmacy today. Call 0208 123 07 03 or use our discreet online live chat service.

We are delighted to have won the Gold Trusted Service Award 2018 from FEEFO. This is the most prestigious accolade available from the highly regarded independent review company.

We are thrilled with this achievement, which is a reflection of the hard work and dedication we put into maintaining the highest level of customer satisfaction.

The Gold Trusted Service Award is given to a high quality, reliable business which has maintained a score of 4.5/5 or higher across at least fifty reviews. This shows the positive impact of our customer service, with a wide variety of medications simply and discreetly available through fast, effective and honest service.

In fact, Express pharmacy holds a 97% approval rating with FEEFO based one 1,022 reviews.

At Express Pharmacy we understand that sometimes seeing your GP can be difficult, whether it’s due to transport issues, getting an appointment or simply due to nerves or embarrassment. But we don’t believe that this should stop anyone from receiving the treatment they need. This is why our service covers many different health concerns and includes next day delivery, free consultations, and free prescriptions.

The Express Pharmacy treatment process involves just 3 steps: select your treatment, undergo a free consultation and head to the checkout. It’s that quick and simple.

FEEFO is a leading customer review provider, helping customers and businesses connect. Thanks to partnerships with Google, Yahoo and Bing, FEEFO provides genuine reviews to help businesses discover exactly what their audience expects from them.

FEEFO has won countless awards for their technology and services, including being featured in The Times’ Tech Track 100. They also have partnerships with other leading companies, including The Guardian, BBC News, Mashable and Tech Crunch.

Businesses such as T.K. Maxx, Iceland, Thomas Cook and The White Company all rely on FEEFO in their business. This makes the team at Express Pharmacy even prouder to have received their most prestigious accolade.

To experience Express Pharmacy’s award-winning service for yourself, why not order online today. If you wish to speak to a member of our team, we are contactable on 0208 123 07 03 or via our discreet Live Chat service.

Depression is a widespread condition throughout the UK which can affect you both emotionally and physically

This year in the UK, January 15th has acquired the title of ‘Blue Monday’, a title generally awarded to the third Monday in January.

Blue Monday refers to the day of the year when we are supposed to feel at our most down. Several factors are said to contribute to this conclusion, including the cold, dark weather, low finances following Christmas, general post-Christmas blues, failing New Year’s resolutions and generally low motivation.

So at this glum time of year, it’s important to reflect on the impact that conditions such as depression can have on our wellbeing — both physical and emotional. Understanding the condition can help you identify potential symptoms and seek the help and support you need.

What is depression?

Although we’re all set to feel a bit down on Blue Monday, depression is much more than simply feeling unhappy for a few days. The condition involves feeling persistently sad, negative and fatigued for weeks or months at a time.

Depression is a real health concern with real symptoms. It affects around 10% of people at some point in their lives, and research has even shown that around 4% of children in the UK aged 5 to 16 present symptoms of anxiety or depression.

Treatment for depression usually involves a combination of lifestyle changes, therapies and medications such as anti-depressants. These lifestyle changes can involve incorporating factors like exercise or self-care measures into your daily routine. The level of treatment prescribed is generally based on whether the depression is deemed mild, moderate or severe.

Depression can lead to a variety of symptoms, including persistently feeling low, experiencing stress or anxiety, or even feeling suicidal. The impact of depression on your mental health can also have an effect on your body.

Despite being a mental health condition, depression can lead to physical symptoms

The physical symptoms of depression most commonly involve feeling constantly tired, paired with poor sleep health. This can lead to sufferers taking refuge in unhealthy ‘comfort’ foods or poor health habits like smoking, and this lack of energy and physical activity can also lead to weight gain. However, for some people, depression can create a loss of appetite.

What’s more, depression has also been found to lead to aches and pains (often as a result of poor diet and exercise due to low energy) and a lack of a sex drive. In men, depression can lead to sexual health concerns such as erectile dysfunction.

The physical impact of depression can create a vicious cycle

When an individual suffers from depression and starts to experience physical symptoms as a result of the condition, it can create a vicious cycle by adding more fuel to the fire of their negative thoughts and feelings. Putting on weight or falling back on habits like smoking can reduce motivation even further and make those experiencing depression think that their feelings will only get worse rather than better.

Similarly, sexual health symptoms of depression can create increased stress and anxiety around the act of sexual intercourse, increasing the likelihood that conditions like erectile dysfunction will persist or even worsen.

If you think you might be experiencing depression, it’s hugely important to seek help and support in order to get to the root of the problem. Tackling any physical symptoms can also help to reduce the intensity of negative feelings. Effective medication for conditions like erectile dysfunction, excess weight and smoking are all available from Express Pharmacy.

Express Pharmacy can provide discreet advice and medication for a variety of health concerns. If you’re living with a condition we can help you with, don’t hesitate to get in touch today. Call Express Pharmacy on 0208 123 07 03 or use our online Live Chat service.