Pharmacy care guides — medicines, safety & delivery

Pharmacist-reviewed

Antimalarials: safe use

Antimalarials are medicines used to treat confirmed malaria infection. Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are the recommended first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria in most settings, and they work best when taken correctly after a positive test.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Antibiotics & resistance: why you need a prescription

Antibiotics treat bacterial infections — they do nothing for viruses like colds, flu, or most sore throats. Misusing them drives antibiotic resistance, which is making common infections harder and more expensive to treat worldwide.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Blood-pressure medicines

Blood-pressure (antihypertensive) medicines lower the force of blood against artery walls, reducing the risk of stroke, heart attack, and kidney damage. Hypertension is very common and usually needs lifelong, consistent treatment.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Diabetes medicines & insulin storage

Diabetes medicines keep blood sugar in a safe range and prevent complications affecting the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and heart. Insulin in particular is sensitive to heat, so correct storage matters — especially in warm weather, while travelling, or if your fridge is ever switched off.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Pain relievers: paracetamol vs NSAIDs, safe limits

Paracetamol (known as acetaminophen in the US and Canada) and NSAIDs (like ibuprofen and diclofenac) are the most widely used pain relievers. They work differently and carry different risks — paracetamol mainly stresses the liver in overdose, while NSAIDs can harm the stomach, kidneys, and blood pressure.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Ulcer medicines: antacids & PPIs

Ulcer and acid-reflux medicines range from quick-acting antacids that neutralise stomach acid to proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) that reduce acid production for longer-lasting relief. Many stomach ulcers are caused by an infection (H. pylori) that needs specific combination treatment to cure.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Antihistamines & allergy medicines

Antihistamines relieve allergy symptoms such as sneezing, itchy eyes, runny nose, and hives by blocking histamine. Older types tend to cause drowsiness, while newer ones are mostly non-drowsy and better for daytime use.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Cough & cold remedies: what works

Most coughs and colds are viral and resolve on their own within one to two weeks. Remedies mainly ease symptoms — they do not cure the virus — so the goal is choosing safe relief while your body recovers.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Malaria prevention in pregnancy

Malaria in pregnancy is dangerous for both mother and baby, raising the risk of anaemia, miscarriage, and low birth weight. In malaria-endemic areas, guidelines recommend intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp) given at antenatal visits, alongside sleeping under insecticide-treated nets; pregnant travellers to such areas should seek pre-travel advice.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Family planning: contraceptive options

Modern contraception lets you decide if and when to have children. Options range from daily pills and injectables to implants, IUDs, condoms, and permanent methods — each differing in how long they last, how they are used, and how quickly fertility returns.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Emergency contraception: the facts

Emergency contraception reduces the chance of pregnancy after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure, such as a burst condom or missed pills. It works mainly by delaying ovulation and is more effective the sooner it is taken.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Fertility supplements: an evidence check

The market is full of supplements promising to 'boost fertility', but the evidence behind most is weak. A few nutrients have a real role — folic acid before conception is the clearest — while many heavily marketed blends have little or no proof and can delay proper care.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Multivitamins: who actually needs them

Multivitamins are hugely popular, but most healthy adults eating a reasonable diet do not need them. They genuinely help specific groups — pregnant women, people recovering from illness, those with restricted diets, vegans, and some older adults — rather than everyone.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Iron & folic acid in pregnancy

Iron and folic acid are core supplements of pregnancy, recommended widely because anaemia in pregnancy is common. Iron supports the extra blood a pregnancy demands, while folic acid taken early prevents serious birth defects of the baby's brain and spine.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Dewormers: how often

Intestinal worms can affect anyone but are most common in children and in people who have travelled to or live in regions where worms are widespread, where they contribute to anaemia and poor growth. In most high-income countries, deworming is based on a confirmed diagnosis or known exposure rather than a fixed routine.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Typhoid treatment medicines

Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection spread through contaminated food and water, mainly seen in travellers returning from regions where it is endemic, and it requires properly chosen antibiotics to cure. It is easily over-diagnosed when a single unreliable antibody test (such as the Widal test) is relied on, leading to needless antibiotic courses.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Asthma inhalers: technique & spacers

Inhalers deliver asthma medicine straight to the lungs, but most people use them incorrectly, so much of the dose never arrives. Knowing the difference between a daily preventer and a quick-relief inhaler — and using good technique, ideally with a spacer — transforms asthma control.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Eye drops: safe use

Eye drops treat conditions from allergy and dryness to infections and glaucoma, but the eye is delicate and unforgiving of misuse. Correct technique, hygiene, and knowing when a red eye needs a professional rather than a pharmacy shelf protect your sight.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Steroid skin creams & bleaching cream dangers

Steroid skin creams are valuable medicines for eczema and inflammatory skin conditions when used briefly and correctly. They are widely misused — including in skin-lightening (bleaching) products — and prolonged use thins the skin, causes stretch marks, and can disrupt the body's own hormones.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Antifungal treatments

Fungal infections — ringworm, athlete's foot, nail fungus, and thrush — thrive in warm, humid conditions and on damp skin. Treatment ranges from creams for small skin patches to longer oral courses for scalp, nail, or widespread infections.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Scabies & lice treatments

Scabies (intensely itchy burrowing mites) and head lice spread quickly through close contact in households, schools, and hostels. Treatment succeeds only when applied correctly and when everyone in close contact is treated at the same time.

Pharmacist-reviewed

ORS & zinc for children's diarrhoea

In childhood diarrhoea the main danger is dehydration, not the stooling itself. Oral rehydration salts (ORS) replace lost fluids and salts; a short course of zinc reduces the severity and duration of an episode and is recommended in settings where it is part of standard care — together they are the proven home treatment.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Children's fever medicines

Fever in children is usually a sign the body is fighting infection — most often a viral illness, sometimes a bacterial one (and malaria after travel to an endemic area). Fever medicines make the child comfortable while you address the cause; they do not treat the underlying infection.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Sickle cell daily care medicines

Sickle cell disease is one of the world's most common inherited blood disorders, and daily routine medicines — typically folic acid, malaria prevention, and for many patients hydroxyurea — dramatically reduce crises, complications, and hospital admissions. Consistency is everything in sickle cell care.

Pharmacist-reviewed

HIV PrEP & ARV adherence

PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is medicine taken by HIV-negative people to prevent infection, while ARVs (antiretrovirals) keep people living with HIV healthy and make the virus untransmittable when consistently suppressed. Both depend almost entirely on taking the medicine reliably.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Hepatitis B medicines

Hepatitis B is a common chronic viral infection of the liver, and while it often causes no symptoms for years, untreated active disease can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Antiviral medicines suppress the virus effectively, but not everyone with hepatitis B needs immediate treatment — staging by a clinician decides.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Mental health medicines: starting safely

Medicines for depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions are effective, evidence-based treatments — not a sign of weakness or 'spiritual attack'. Starting them safely means understanding that benefits build gradually, early side effects often settle, and stopping must be planned, not abrupt.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Sleep aids: cautions

Sleeping tablets can help short-term during a crisis, but they are among the most habit-forming medicines in common use, and they treat the symptom rather than the cause. Most chronic insomnia responds better to fixing sleep habits and underlying issues than to months of pills.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Herbal medicine & drug interactions: the agbo caution

Herbal mixtures — including bitters, roots, and 'cleansers' — are widely used in many communities, often alongside conventional medicines without anyone knowing. Herbs are chemically active: they can amplify, weaken, or dangerously collide with prescribed drugs, and unregulated mixtures may carry contaminants or undeclared pharmaceuticals.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Counterfeit & substandard medicines: how to spot them

Counterfeit and substandard medicines are a global public-health problem, ranging from products with no active ingredient to dangerous look-alikes. Buying from licensed, registered pharmacies and checking packaging integrity are the most reliable protections.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Storing medicines in heat and humidity

Most medicines are tested for storage below 25 to 30 degrees Celsius, yet rooms, car interiors, and kiosks in warm climates routinely exceed this. Heat, humidity, and sunlight quietly degrade medicines — sometimes making them weaker, occasionally making them harmful — so where you keep your medicines genuinely affects whether they work.

Pharmacist-reviewed

Drug expiry: what it really means

The expiry date is the last date the manufacturer guarantees full strength and safety when the medicine has been stored correctly. After it, medicines may gradually lose potency — and poor storage in heat shortens real-world shelf life well below the printed date.