There are many common respiratory viruses seen in children, which most will have had by the time they turn 2.
However, in children under 2, the more serious consequences can lead to bronchiolitis, infection of the lower airways, that can make the airways inflamed and mucusy making it harder to breath.
The early symptoms of bronchiolitis are similar to those of a common cold, such as a runny nose and a cough.
Further symptoms can develop over the next few days, and may include:
- a slight high temperature (fever)
- a dry and persistent cough
- difficulty feeding
- rapid or noisy breathing (wheezing)
- parents should seek emergency NHS care if their child become breathless – the most common symptom of severe RSV.
If you suspect you have a coroavirus infection, please don't attend the surgery unless advised to do so. If you do attend it is important that you wear a face mask at all times.
If you have the NHS App on your phone (or if you use Patient Access on your computer/tablet, then you can order your repeat prescriptions online without phoning the Practice. Why not give it a go?
There have been changes to the shingles vaccination programme. Unfortunately the communications around those changes is contradictory and confusing. A clarification page has now been posted on the Gov.UK website. Until they are rectified, the nationally produced leaflets and advertising say that all patients aged 65 are eligible for shingles vaccination but this is not accurate.
The situation is that patients who turn 65 on or after 1st September 2023 are eligible and we will be contacting patients to make an appointment after their birthday. If you turned 65 prior to 1st September 2023 then you will become eligible for vaccination from the age of 70. Over the next 5 years the programme will gradually bring in everyone aged 65-69 and also everyone already eligible aged 70-79.
Therefore please do not make an appointment for a vaccination unless we have contacted you as you may not be eligible, even if you are 65. We appreciate this may be frustrating but the vaccine is only available in limited quantities and we are not able to vaccinate outside of the national programme which works on date of birth and not current age in years.
To clarify, if your date of birth is 1st September 1958 to 31 August 1959 then you will become eligble for shingles vaccination when you turn 65. In addition anyone aged 70-79 is also eligible, this part of the programme is unchanged.
Updated 25/9/23
We have equipment that can be used to diagnose two lung conditions - Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). COPD is the name for a group of conditions that can cause breathing difficulties and includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. COPD is a common condition that mainly affects middle-aged or older adults who smoke. Many people do not realise they have it.
In order to diagnose COPD we use a device called a spirometer. You blow into a tube and we can assess the force of your breath and the amount of air you can blow out. This test usually takes around 20 minutes to perform and we use it regularly for people with known COPD to check how they are doing. For diagnosis we do the test twice with a short gap between the tests having administered an inhaler. In that case you will have a 20 minute appointment, followed by a wait in the waiting room and then another 20 minute appointment. In total the tests will take about 1 hour.
For asthma diagnosis we follow a clinical guideline that has different steps depending on your age and the results of tests. The tests that we use include blood tests, peak flow diaries, spirometry and FeNO. The FeNO test involves blowing into a tube to measure your exhaled nitric oxide gases. Because we are measuring the content of your exhaled air, rather than just the amount or force of the blow, there are some things you have to be aware of in preparation for the test. In particular as regards exercise, drinking alcohol and certain foods. The attached sheet provides more information and should be read carefully in advance of your test. The test itself involves blowing steadily for around 12 seconds.
From September 2024 patients aged 75-79 will be eligible for an RSV vaccination. We will routinely call people for vaccination as they turn 75 throughout the year. However we will be calling in everyone aged 75-79 from September, working down from age 79 to age 75. Please note that to ensure best immune response to this vaccine you should ideally not have another vaccine within 7 days.
