Skip to main content
  • Language
    • Afrikaans
    • Albanian
    • Arabic
    • Armenian
    • Azerbaijani
    • Basque
    • Belarusian
    • Bengali
    • Bulgarian
    • Catalan
    • Chinese (Simplified)
    • Chinese (Traditional)
    • Croatian
    • Czech
    • Danish
    • Dutch
    • Esperanto
    • Estonian
    • Filipino
    • Finnish
    • French
    • Galician
    • Georgian
    • German
    • Greek
    • Gujarati
    • Haitian Creole
    • Hebrew
    • Hindi
    • Hungarian
    • Icelandic
    • Indonesian
    • Irish
    • Italian
    • Japanese
    • Kannada
    • Korean
    • Lao
    • Latin
    • Latvian
    • Lithuanian
    • Macedonian
    • Malay
    • Maltese
    • Norwegian
    • Persian
    • Polish
    • Portuguese
    • Romanian
    • Russian
    • Serbian
    • Slovak
    • Slovenian
    • Spanish
    • Swahili
    • Swedish
    • Tamil
    • Telugu
    • Thai
    • Turkish
    • Ukrainian
    • Urdu
    • Vietnamese
    • Welsh
    • Yiddish
  • 01253 344219
  • Text Size
    • Increase Text Size
    • Decrease Text Size
    • Reset Text Size
Waterloo Medical Centre Providing NHS services
Providing NHS services
Search
Show Main Menu
  • Home
  • Appointments
  • Prescriptions
  • Services
    • Clinics
    • Enhanced Health Checks
    • Fees
    • Fit notes & Sick notes
    • GP Pharmacy Referral Scheme
    • Join the Practice
    • Online Services
    • Patient Comment Form
    • Pharmacy First And Over The Counter Medications
    • Proxy Access
    • Test Results
    • Travel Clinic
    • Update your contact details
    • Services Index
  • Surgery Information
    • Complaints
    • Friends and Family Test
    • Friends and Family Test Results
    • Named Accountable GP
    • News
    • Newsletters
    • Opening Times
    • Our Team
    • Patient Forum
    • Patient Participation Group
    • Practice Area
    • Practice History
    • Practice Performance
    • Practice Policies
    • Surgery Information Index
  • Health Information & Support
    • COVID-19 & Flu
    • FAQ's or Problems
    • Find your NHS number
    • Health A to Z
    • Health Promotion
    • Live Well
    • Medicines A to Z
    • NHS 111 Online
    • Pharmacy First And Over The Counter Medications
    • Useful Links
    • Useful Telephone Numbers
    • Health Information & Support Index
  • Contact Us
Home > Pharmacy First And Over The Counter Medications

Pharmacy First And Over The Counter Medications

Pharmacists can provide advice and treatment for a wide range of health conditions.  As part of the Pharmacy First programme they can now also help with:

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

They will be able to provide you with advice, treatment or refer you to a GP or other health professional if it is needed.

Your GP, nurse or pharmacist will not generally give you a prescription for over the counter medicines for a range of minor health concerns.

Instead, over the counter medicines are available to buy in a pharmacy or supermarket in your local community.

The team of health professionals at your local pharmacy can offer help and clinical advice to manage minor health concerns and if your symptoms suggest it’s more serious, they’ll ensure you get the care you need.

Please help the NHS to use resources sensibly.

Your GP, nurse or pharmacist will not generally give you a prescription for certain medicines that are available to buy in a pharmacy or supermarket, even if you qualify for free prescriptions.

This applies to treatments for these conditions:

  • Acute sore throat
  • Conjunctivitis
  • Coughs, colds and nasal congestion
  • Cradle cap
  • Dandruff
  • Diarrhoea (adults)
  • Dry eyes / sore tired eyes
  • Earwax
  • Excessive sweating
  • Haemorrhoids
  • Head lice
  • Indigestion and heartburn
  • Infant colic
  • Infrequent cold sores of the lip
  • Infrequent constipation
  • Infrequent migraine
  • Insect bites and stings
  • Mild acne
  • Minor burns and scalds
  • Mild cystitis
  • Mild dry skin
  • Mild irritant dermatitis
  • Mild to moderate hay fever
  • Minor pain, discomfort and fever (e.g. aches and sprains, headache, period pain, back pain)
  • Mouth ulcers
  • Nappy rash
  • Oral thrush
  • Prevention of tooth decay
  • Ringworm / athletes foot
  • Sunburn
  • Sun protection
  • Teething / mild toothache
  • Threadworms
  • Travel sickness
  • Warts and verrucae

GPs, nurses or pharmacists will also generally no longer prescribe probiotics and some vitamins and minerals. You can get these from eating a healthy, varied and balanced diet, or buy them at your pharmacy or supermarket.

Dwnload NHS Over The Counter medications guidelines: Over The Counter medications (EXTERNAL PDF LINK)


All Pharmacies provide the following services:

  • dispensing
  • repeat dispensing
  • disposal of unwanted or out-of-date medicines
  • advice on treatment of minor health concerns and healthy living

Other services that may be available from your local Pharmacy:

  • Advice on alcohol consumption
  • Blood pressure check
  • Chlamydia screening and treatment service
  • Cholesterol and blood sugar testing
  • Condom supply service
  • Emergency hormonal contraception service
  • Emergency supply of prescription medicines
  • Independent prescribing by Pharmacists – some Pharmacists can now prescribe prescription-only medicines for certain medical conditions
  • Medicines use reviews
  • New Medicine Service
  • NHS Health Check – blood pressure, cholesterol or blood glucose testing
  • Pregnancy testing
  • Stop smoking service
  • Substance misuse service including needle and syringe exchange
  • Weight management service

View this NHS section about how pharmacists can help and finding one near to you.

Last Updated 9 Jun 2025

Share

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Bluesky
  • X (Twitter)
  • LinkedIn
Local Services
Conveyancing
Residential/
Nursing Care
Aesthetic
Clinic

Site

  • Sign In
  • Sitemap
  • Back To Top

About

  • Disclaimer
  • Website Privacy
  • Website Accessibility
  • Cookies
  • Content Attribution

Social

  • Facebook

Contact

Waterloo Medical Centre

178 Waterloo Road, Blackpool, FY4 3AD

  • 01253 344219
  • blackpool.waterloord@nhs.net
© Neighbourhood Direct Ltd  2025
Website supplied by Oldroyd Publishing Group

Loading...

Local Services
Conveyancing
Residential/
Nursing Care
Aesthetic
Clinic