Best foot forward for pharmacy
| Customers are more likely to enquire
about foot care during the summer months. Hannah Pike (editor of
Retail Round-up) reports on a new campaign focusing on the advice
pharmacists should be
giving
these customers |
Next month is the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists
(SCP) annual “feet for life” month. This year’s theme
is “working feet” and one of the key messages is that neglecting
your feet can affect your career and lifestyle.
The SCP, in conjunction with Daktarin, has launched a new campaign specifically
targeting pharmacists, highlighting their role in foot care.
Speaking at the launch of the campaign, Lorraine Jones, a podiatrist
and member of the SCP, explained the impact of not treating common foot
conditions such as athlete’s foot, cracked heels, onchomycosis,
veruccae, bunions and corns. If these problems are neglected and progress
to a stage where they affect mobility, this can have a considerable impact
on a person’s independence, employment and well-being.
Foot pain
also alters your gait, impacting on other muscle groups and thus adding
to the demand for other NHS services such as physiotherapy, she explained.
Miss Jones said that much foot care can be classed as “social” care,
such as dead skin removal and toenail cutting. If this is not routinely
carried out then it can become a medical problem. Miss Jones said that
the need for podiatry services would be reduced by about 50 per cent
if the population’s foot hygiene were to improve. Pharmacy advice
One of the Government’s objectives for community pharmacists is
that they promote public health messages about diabetes, smoking, obesity
and CHD. Patients with these conditions are at a high risk of developing
foot problems, Miss Jones explained.
As part of the campaign the SCP has put together seven pieces of advice
that pharmacists should give to customers who enquire about foot care.
These are listed in the panel below.
Advice for pharmacists to give customers
The following pieces of advice appear in the Society of Chiropodists
and Podiatrists plan for foot health:
• Wash Wash your feet every day with warm soapy water (do not
soak because this might destroy the natural oils). Dry thoroughly,
especially between the toes.
• Moisturise Apply cream all over the foot, apart from between
the toes.
• Prevent Use an antifungal cream regularly. Use an antifungal
spray inside shoes to prevent reinfection. Wear flip flops in
communal changing rooms and swimming pools.
• Remove Remove hard skin with a pumice stone, unless it is over
a bony area or joint (in which case a podiatrist should be consulted).
• Trim Trim toenails regularly, using nail clippers. Cut straight
across to avoid in-growing nails.
• Wear Wear the right shoe for the job. Avoid high heels when
standing for long periods of time.
• Contact Contact a podiatrist or chiropodist if your feet are
painful. |
Miss Jones added that health care professionals need to
work together to provide the best care for patients with long-term conditions,
and
that podiatrists need to communicate better with GPs and pharmacists.
“Foot first”training module
 A new foot care training scheme and competition for community
pharmacy staff has been launched this month by Thornton and Ross.
The “Foot first” training module, designed by a podiatrist
and a community pharmacist and aimed at pharmacy counter staff,
covers common foot ailments and their treatment. On completion
of the module
entrants will receive a pack containing promotional posters, badges
and window stickers.
Pharmacy teams can also nominate themselves
for the “Mycota foot first pharmacy of the year 2007” competition,
where a prize will be awarded to a team whose work has improved
foot care in the local area.
For further details or to apply for
the training
module visit www.mycota.co.uk or
telephone 01484 842217 |
Identifying opportunities
Dotun Adebayo, a community pharmacist from John Bell and
Croyden pharmacy in London, explained how initiatives such as the minor
ailments schemes
are gradually moving foot health up the agenda.
She said that patients might not be aware that common foot conditions
can spread and cause complications if not treated, especially in patients
with other medical conditions. For example, untreated athlete’s
foot may lead to an ulcer.
At John Bell and Croyden there is an instore chiropody service, so many
patients with foot problems come to the store, but Miss Adebayo pointed
out that all pharmacists have a role in identifying patients at risk
of foot problems. She recommended that pharmacists consider the following “four
Rs”:
Reassess Reassess current foot health advice. “It is not just the
products you sell, it is the advice you give,”she said.
Realise Realise your opportunities when a customer asks about foot care
products, foot health or related conditions.
Research Ask the customer relevant questions such as how long they have
had the symptoms and ask about any medical conditions they may have.
Recommend Know your products for both treatment and prevention. Give
appropriate advice or refer to local foot specialists.
Foot facts
• The average adult takes over 18,000 steps per day.
• Our feet carry us the equivalent of five times round the earth
in an average lifetime.
• There are 250,000 sweat glands per square inch on our feet
(more than anywhere else on the body) and the average pair of
feet produces
about half a pint of perspiration per day.
• Between 75 and 80 per cent of the adult population have some
form of foot problem.
• Women have about four times as many foot problems as men.
• One in five people think that their feet are the most unattractive
part of their body. |
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Retail Round-up
