Pearls

The word ‘addiction’ conjures specific images for each of us. Perhaps it is a person struggling to stop smoking in STOPTOBER? Or perhaps it is a behaviour more ‘normalised’ and ubiquitous in our society – alcohol or social media use? All can impact health.

October is National Cholesterol Month so we may see more people come forward to ask for a cholesterol check. And, as we are processing the results, we need to have our antennae out for possible cases of familial hypercholesterolemia. 

Joe Wicks’ recent documentary ‘Licensed to Kill’ has brought this topic back into the spotlight. While the scare-tactic language in the title and promo are perhaps not the best way to support people to make sustained change, the programme contained some important points and may well result in questions coming primary care’s way.  

Genital warts are on the decrease in this country thanks to HPV vaccination, but they are still a common presentation in primary care and GUM clinics. What do you need to know?

We often hear from GP registrars that interpreting LFTs is one of the trickier tests to deal with. So, in this month’s trainee Pearl, we want to share our Liver Disease GEMS.

Women in this situation will commonly seek our advice. Conflicting media coverage over the safety of different menopause treatment options after breast cancer have created a recipe for confusion and frustration for patients and clinicians alike. 

In this week’s Pearl, we share our article on varicella and provide everything you need to know to decide whether post-exposure prophylaxis is needed.

In this week’s Pearl, we share an update of our article on cervical screening... here is what you need to know!

The Primary Care Respiratory Society has drawn our attention to the ‘September surge’ (or autumn asthma spike). This refers to the significant increase in asthma admissions that occurs each September in the UK, particularly impacting children and young people.  

In this week’s Pearl, we take a look at the evidence for and potential benefits of CBT for menopause symptoms, and consider access issues – you can make up your own mind!  

One of the skills you will develop during GP training is safety-netting. Safety-netting is an essential consultation tool we can use to manage our patients safely, while acknowledging the uncertainty that exists and communicating this clearly.

NICE produced updated guidance on nutrition and weight management in pregnancy earlier this year. In this week’s Pearl, we share all.

For this week’s Pearl, we wanted to share our article on emotionally-based school avoidance (previously less-helpfully called ‘school refusal’) so that we are prepared with key information if questions come our way.

This week, the BBC reported that the UK ‘gonorrhoea vaccine’ became widely available through sexual health services from Monday 4 August, so here is our article to help you with any consultations you may have on this!

So, here we are at the beginning of another academic year! This month we’re sharing our article on Workplace-based Assessment (WPBA). We’ve even mapped out a 3-year plan, based on the RCGP guidance, to help you to pace your training.  

For women who choose to breastfeed, mastitis can be painful and unwelcome, and they often seek our advice and support – but are we offering the right information?