Self care
There are lots of things that you can do individually or even as a family or group of people to improve your health and wellbeing.
We know from our consultation that 65% of people said that they wanted to improve their physical and / or mental health over the next five years. There are lots of help and support available to help you achieve your goals – whether it’s getting more active, losing weight or stopping smoking.
Getting vaccinated is one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself and your children against ill health. Get your annual winter flu jab – your GP will invite you if you’re eligible. Keep up to date with childhood immunisations. Speak to your GP if you think your child may have missed one.
The NHS website provides a guide to vaccinations and when to have them. This includes vaccines from 8 weeks, flu vaccines, COVID vaccines as well as a range of vaccines for children which are normally carried out as part of the school immunisation programme.
You can also get further information about vaccinations from your GP.
There’s lots of common illnesses that you can manage at home. A well-stock medicine cabinet should include:-
- Paracetamol/Ibuprofen
- Antihistamines
- Anti-diarrhoea medicine
- Oral rehydration salts
- Indigestion treatment
- First aid kit including plasters, bandages and a thermometer
A healthy balanced diet is really important for maintaining good physical and mental health.
Eating healthily can help you to feel your best and help to prevent ill health and diseases. Simple changes can make big difference.
There is lots of information and advice available online here. Everything from reducing sugar in your diet to understanding more about healthy eating. It doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive to make simple changes that can make a big difference to you and your family.
Keeping active is essential for good health. It can help reduce the risk of conditions such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, obesity and can help strengthen bones and muscles too. Keeping active can help your mental health too. It can help to reduce stress and tension, lift your mood, help you to get a better night’s sleep, help to give you more focus and motivation as well as getting out and about and meeting people.
Whatever your age or ability, there’s something for everyone. Start small and build up how much you do over time.
There’s a range of ideas to help you to get active from getting off the bus at an earlier stop and walking the rest of the way through to housework and gardening – it all counts! Find out more on the Healthy Knowsley website.
Knowsley also has a borough-wide ‘Healthy Weight Plan’ which sets out how the Council, its partners and residents will work Better Together to help people in Knowsley achieve and maintain a healthy weight. The Council also works closely with its partners across health, social care and the third sector to drive the plan forward, for example, to commission services that residents can access easily if they want support to lose weight and/or increase their physical activity.
Stopping smoking brings multiple benefits to health, some immediate and others that build over time. These include being able to breathe more easily and having more energy.
It’s never too late, because quitting will improve your health whatever your age and no matter how long you have smoked. With the right support you’re up to three times as likely to quit for good.
There are financial benefits too, the average smoker can save around £250 a month, or £3,000 a year when they quit.
Smokefree Knowsley, Knowsley’s stop smoking service, offers specialist support for Knowsley residents to quit smoking, including those who are pregnant.
You can also find out more about services available, or access support from Knowsley Stop Smoking Service by calling 0151 426 7462, texting quit to 61825 (normal network charge) or visiting the website www.smokefreeknowsley.org.uk
You can also use your local pharmacy stop smoking services. Please contact your local pharmacy for more information.
Further information and support, including second-hand smoke, can be found on the Healthy Knowsley website.
Cutting back on the booze can be a really effective way to improve your health, boost your energy, lose weight and save money.
Lots of people like to unwind with a glass of something at the end of the day, but a couple of drinks a night can soon add up and drinking too much too often can put your health at risk.
It’s important to know how much you are drinking and how to cut down. Men and women are advised not to drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week. By sticking to these guidelines you can lower your risk of harming your health. A can of strong lager/beer/cider contains 2.4 units and a large glass of red/white/rose wine contains 3 units of alcohol.
Any reduction in the amount you drink every week will be beneficial to your health.
There’s lots of help, support and tips to help you to cut down on how much you drink including don’t stock up on alcohol at home (if it’s in the home, you’re more likely to drink it!), don’t get involved in rounds (you can drink at your own / slower pace), have low-calorie soft drinks in between alcohol and just have one drink with your evening meal.
Find out more on the Healthy Knowsley website.
If you are concerned that you have an alcohol problem or if you’re worried about a friend or family member, contact the Knowsley Drug and Alcohol Integrated Recovery Service on 0151 482 6291 for advice and support.
Telephone: 0151 482 6291.
You can also visit their website for more information.
To help keep track of your drinking, you can download the free Lower My Drinking app from the App Store or on Google Play.
You can reduce your risk of having a heart attack or stroke by keeping your heart happy and healthy. You can find lots of information and advice on the Happy Hearts website.
Support is also available to help you prevent, find and manage conditions that increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, such as;
- High blood pressure
- Atrial fibrillation (abnormal heart rhythm)
- High cholesterol
You can also download the Happy Hearts leaflet here.
You can calculate your heart age here to see how healthy your heart is.
The online calculator will compare your real age to your heart age by asking you questions about your health. You can also find out how to improve your heart age.
Blood pressure is a measure of your blood as it is pumped around the body. It can be low, normal or high. High blood pressure rarely has noticeable symptoms, but if left untreated it increases your risk of developing serious health problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
You can get your blood pressure checked at your GP and most pharmacies. You can also buy a blood pressure machine to keep a check on your readings at home.
Top tips for reducing your blood pressure include:
- Cut down on salt – Don’t add it when cooking or at the table. Check food labels for salt content and avoid processed foods high in salt. Aim to eat less than a level teaspoon (6g) a day.
- Eat well – a healthy, balanced, high fibre diet that includes plenty of fruit and vegetables – at least five different portions every day will help. Find out more on the Healthy Knowsley website.
- Keep active – No matter how much you do, physical activity is good for your body and mind. Adults should aim to be active every day. Some is good – more is better still, just do what you can to your own ability. If you are unsure about becoming more active, ask your GP.
- Drink less alcohol – cutting back on alcohol doesn’t just help improve your health, it can boost your energy, help you lose weight and save money. Any reduction in the amount you drink every week will be beneficial to your health. Download the lower my drinking app to help keep track of the amount you drink.
- Stop smoking – find out more about support to help you quit smoking.
If you are concerned that you have a drug problem or if you’re worried about a friend or family member, contact the Knowsley Drug and Alcohol Integrated Recovery Service on 0151 482 6291 for advice and support. You can find out more information on their website.
There’s also a range of information and support on the Talk to Frank website or you can call 0300 1236600.
Having good mental health is just as important as looking after your physical health. Your mental health goes through ups and downs and can be affected when you face difficult or challenging times.
There’s lots of help and support available on the Healthy Knowsley website to help you to cope with issues such as anxiety, not sleeping, coping in a crisis and outlining the 10 ways to wellbeing which includes keeping active, talking about your feelings, keeping in touch with others, making time for yourself and asking for help if you feel overwhelmed or feel that you can’t cope.
The Better Health Every Mind Matters website has free self-care resources and support available to help you to look after your mental health, including the free Mind Plan. Simply, answer 5 short questions to get a free personalised mental health action plan, with tips and advice to help you manage stress and anxiety, sleep better and boost your mood.
Mental health crisis support
If you are in mental health crisis and no longer feel able to cope or be in control of your situation and need urgent help, you can call the NHS Mental Health crisis line. NHS staff will then support you to get the help you need. Available for people of all ages, including children and young people, available 24/7.
Call freephone 0800 051 1508.
Children and young people mental health crisis support
For young people up to the age of 18 experiencing emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties which are causing difficulties in their school, family or social life.
Available 24/7, for children and young people up to age 18 (registered with a GP in Knowsley, Halton, St Helens or Warrington.)
Call 01744 415640.
Mental Health support and advice helplines and services
The services below can offer support to help look after your mental health or if you are concerned about someone you know.
- Shout – offers confidential text messaging support for times when you need immediate support. The service is staffed by trained volunteers who will work with you to take your next steps towards feeling better. They can help with issues such as stress, anxiety and depression and are able to talk via text 24 hours a day. Simply text the word “REACH” to 85258. Find out more giveusashout.org/
- Talking Therapies – free NHS therapy for people with common mental health problems such as anxiety or depression, to help you change the way you feel by changing the way you think. Online therapy available 24/7, with weekly online support from your therapist. Six-week course also available to help you to develop skills to manage your mood. Visit merseycare.nhs.uk and search talking therapies.
- Listening Ear – provides face to face counselling support for people of all ages including children and young people.Call 0151 488 6648. Find out more https://listening-ear.co.uk.
- Kooth – provides online support and counselling, information, advice and support for young people in secondary schools. Visit kooth.com or speak to your child’s school.
- AMPARO – support for anyone affected by suicide. Call 0330 088 9255 or find out more amparo.org.uk.
StayAlive app – suicide prevention resource which provides accessible support including a safety plan and LifeBox where people can upload images or videos that remind them of their reasons to stay alive. The app is designed to help both those who are having suicidal thoughts and those who are concerned about someone else. Free to download on both iOS and Android devices.
Looking after your sexual health is really important. If you have any concerns, Axess is the free sexual health service for Knowsley offering a range of services to support your sexual health. There is also a Young Person’s clinic for people aged 19 and under.
You can get help with sexually transmitted infections, testing and contraception including emergency contraception and pregnancy testing.
For further advice and support or to find out where your nearest clinic is, call the Sexual Health Service on 0151 244 3580 or visit the website.
The free NHS Health Check is designed to help spot the early signs of stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and dementia. The check enables people, aged 40 – 74, to get specialist advice so you can take early steps to lower your risk of getting these conditions.
The health check includes recording your height, weight, age, sex and ethnicity, taking your blood pressure and doing a simple finger prick test to check your cholesterol.
You can find out more about the NHS Health Checks on the Healthy Knowsley website and you can book an appointment for a Health Check by contacting your GP.
Looking after your mouth and oral health is important in preventing gum disease, tooth decay, tooth loss and oral cancer.
Tooth decay is the most common reason for young children to be admitted into hospital and very common in adults, leading to loss of permanent teeth. You can prevent tooth decay and help keep your mouth healthy by following a few simple steps including regularly visiting your dentist, brushing your teeth for 2 minutes twice a day and reducing the amount of sugary foods and drinks you have. You can find out more on the Healthy Knowsley website.
The Healthy Knowsley website provides you with a week by week guide, giving you the essentials about what’s happening with your baby and what to expect with appointments, what you’re entitled to and things that are good to know throughout your pregnancy and your baby’s first three months.
There’s also a range of useful information about free prescriptions and dental care, immunisations, feeding your baby, check-ups with your midwife, smoking in pregnancy and support to quit (you can call Smokefree Knowsley’s trained pregnancy advisors on 0151 426 7462 who are ready to support you), mental health, advice for expectant dads, healthy start for baby, eating for two and alcohol in pregnancy (and support to stop drinking).
The NHS provides a range of screening programmes which can detect certain diseases including cancer before any symptoms have developed.
Screening programmes are targeted to groups who will have most benefit from it. This includes screening tests during pregnancy, screening test for newborn babies and breast screening for women over the age of 50.
The council works with a wide range of partners including the NHS and community groups to ensure local residents are aware of and have easy access to screening.
The NHS website provides a guide to screening and the different programmes.
Your GP will invite you to attend screening programmes as appropriate.
It is also important to be aware of potential cancer symptoms. Although its unlikely to be cancer, it is important to speak to your GP who will then investigate. Symptoms to look out for include if you have a cough for 3 weeks or more or if you noticed changes in your bowel habits for 3 weeks or more. The NHS website provides advice on a range of symptoms on how to check yourself regularly.
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