Irish people suffer highest number of minor ailments in Europe, says study

Irish people suffer from the highest number of minor ailments, such as stomach upsets, coughs and sore throats, compared with people in 20 countries across Europe.

The Irish had on average 3.66 minor ailments over a period of one month, according to a pan-European survey which was released yesterday.

Commenting on the findings, Brian Murphy of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) said, "Changing lifestyles and the hectic pace of life may be contributing to the frequency of minor ailments, such as headache, back ache and sleep problems." People living in Britain had the second-highest number of minor ailments (3.5) and Finnish people had the third-highest number (3.48).

The minor ailments covered in the survey include sore throat, cough, cold, indigestion, sleeping problems, headache and back ache.

When compared with other Europeans, Irish people had the highest number of stomach upsets, and experienced the second-highest levels of indigestion and heartburn.

The survey results were released yesterday to coincide with Feel Better, an education campaign from the Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU) and the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association, which encourages people to self-treat minor ailments with the help of their pharmacist.

"Thousands of GP visits are made for ailments that are potentially self-treatable," said Mr Murphy.

According to the online and phone survey, one-quarter of Irish people head straight to the doctor with a minor ailment. This compared with a European average of 29 per cent.

The Feel Better campaign includes free leaflets and a website (www.feelbetter.ie) so people can look at the various symptoms and treatment options for various minor ailments.

The campaign also highlights the importance of reading the labels of over-the-counter medicines and checking with a pharmacist if you are taking more than one medicine at once.

"I know some people are still taking aspirin for stomach problems and aspirin is a stomach irritant," said pharmacist Michael Guckian. According to Mr Guckian, some people take paracetamol for a headache and a product such as Lemsip for a cold without realising that both products contain paracetamol and that by taking them together, they are taking a higher dosage than is recommended.

The survey also found that when treating minor ailments, 28 per cent of Irish people turned to a medicine in the home, 36 per cent bought a non-prescription medicine and 12 per cent tried a home remedy.

The Feel Better campaign also reminds people not to take out-of-date medicines and to store their medicines in a safe, dry cabinet, which is out of reach of children.