What is Health?

Great health is not just the absence of disease. Rather, it is the feeling you experience when “everything is working right.” Great health means actively managing your lifestyle to ensure your body is nurtured with good foods and exercise. It means knowing your body and what might go wrong in the future, if you don’t act now. Great health also means spending time with your family and friends, making the time for pursuits that please you, and maybe helping the less fortunate.

Good health is not living someone else’s dream, suffering needlessly, or worrying about future health issues because you don’t know where to turn. Neither is it wishing you had somewhere to go where you could get answers to current health concerns that don’t require a visit to the doctor - concerns about your medications, for example, or whether or not you should be taking a health supplement to improve your well being.

How We Can Help?

London Drugs can help you achieve your wellness goals in many ways. Our caring pharmacists will help you better understand your health condition and how the medication you have been prescribed might affect you. If you have any concerns about your medication, your pharmacist will be pleased to counsel you. (You can even set up a personal appointment, to ensure you and the pharmacist have enough time to address all your concerns.) If you are worried about managing multiple prescriptions, you can ask to have your medications dispensed in a convenient blister pack.

If you have been diagnosed with a common health condition, such as asthma, diabetes, hypertension (elevated blood pressure), high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease or arthritis, you may wish to set up an appointment with a specially trained London Drugs Patient Care Pharmacist. He or she can help you become better acquainted with your health condition, its causes and management. The Patient Care Pharmacist can also help you develop a personal action plan and show you how to monitor your condition to determine if your medication is working as effectively as possible for you.

Complementary Health

Complementary medicines include herbal formulations, other natural products, and homeopathic remedies. Many people find complementary medicines helpful in both a preventive sense and/or for treating or alleviating an existing condition.

Sometimes, natural therapies are taken alongside prescription medications, to improve management of the health condition. While this is usually helpful, some herbals may interact with your prescription medication and make it less effective. Your London Drugs pharmacist has received special training to advise you which natural therapies may help you and which ones to avoid.

You will find a comprehensive selection of complementary therapies, including herbals, homeopathics vitamin/mineral formulations and other dietary supplements, in your London Drugs pharmacy.

London Drugs Screening Clinics

Preventing the development of diseases is becoming increasingly important. In recognition of the need to take a proactive role in maintaining health, London Drugs regularly schedules screening clinics that focus on a specific aspect of wellness. The screening clinics include heart health, osteoporosis, diabetes, asthma and sun care. Upcoming clinics are generally advertised in Focus on bettercare™.

Attending a screening clinic at one of our stores will help you learn more about a specific condition and help to determine your individual risk factors.

Smoking Cessation and Weight Loss

Stopping smoking and losing weight require a lot of motivation and support. London Drugs pharmacy carries many products to help you achieve these very important health goals, including weight management products and smoking cessation aids.

In support of your commitment to stop smoking, our specially trained Patient Care Pharmacists are available to help you develop a personalized program and to identify your best sources for continued support. If you would like to schedule a one-on-one appointment, simply drop by or call your local London Drugs pharmacy.

Health and Wellness Aids

Getting fit and staying healthy has never been easier. New technologies and helpful devices can assist you with a number of your wellness goals and management of existing health conditions.

Whether it be a blood pressure monitor, pedometer, heart rate monitor, bodyfat analyzer or other fitness aid, you’ll find the best selection at London Drugs.

Diabetes Support and Supplies

A diagnosis of diabetes can be confusing and you may be unsure of how to manage this serious health condition. A visit to the London Drugs pharmacy can help set you on the right track. Here, you will be able to obtain a helpful Diabetes Starter Kit, as well as any diabetes supplies that you may require. These include blood glucose testing meters and strips, needles, lancets and tips, and a full range of diabetes- related products and literature on the shelves of the Diabetes Resource Centre.

If you would like to speak to a Patient Care Pharmacist about how best to manage diabetes, and participate in the bettercare™. Patient Assistance Program, Please drop by or call the pharmacy to set up your personal appointment.

Needles and other sharps may be conveniently and safely disposed of in the bettercare™ needle disposal centre, located in every London Drugs pharmacy.

The Power of Knowledge

The more you know about your personal health, the better you are able to manage it. Your London Drugs pharmacy is a resource centre for educational materials on a number of aspects of health and well being. In addition to many health books that you may purchase, you may also borrow informative videotapes, or pick up a brochure or booklet that details the latest knowledge on your health condition.

As part of our ongoing commitment to your health, every year, we host a public forum titled The Power of Knowledge, the Promise of Healing. These forums are designed to provide you with the newest information on a variety of timely and fascinating health topics. (Broadcasts of past forums may be accessed from the London Drugs website, see below.)

Since many people enjoy surfing the Internet for their health information, the London Drugs website, www.ldhealth.com, encompasses a full health resource centre, including an online health library. Here, you will find information on a wide variety of health conditions (including their causes and treatment options), lifestyle, nutrition, medications, stress management, medication information, First Aid and more. You can even take advantage of our popular “health calculators” - including Baby’s Due Date, Life Expectancy, Daily Calories Burned, Body Mass Index and Stress Quiz.

The London Drugs website may also be accessed from the convenient bettercare™ health information kiosk, featured in our pharmacies. Here, you can learn more about your health condition, and print out that information to take away with you. You may also renew your prescription online.

Blood Pressure Monitoring

Knowing your blood pressure is very important, and your doctor may have requested that you test it daily.  For your convenience, each London Drugs pharmacy incorporates a blood pressure monitoring centre. To test your blood pressure, all you need do is sit down, slip your arm into the cuff, and press a button. If you require assistance, the pharmacist will be more than happy to help you.

Health Equipment Rentals

Health equipment such as crutches, nebulizers and breast pumps are normally used temporarily. You may therefore wish to rent these items from your London Drugs pharmacy, rather than purchase them. (A nominal fee is charged for rentals.) For reasons of hygiene, you will be required to purchase the bottle and tubing that accompany the breast pump.

If You Have Diabetes or Heart Disease

With your education in mind, London Drugs pharmacists have recently developed two newsletters to help customers with diabetes or heart conditions.

• Living with Diabetes provides details of the latest research findings and presents tips to help people with diabetes manage their condition and lead healthier lives.
• Heart-Healthy Living helps people with heart problems control their cholesterol and blood pressure by providing the information needed to follow a “heart-healthy” lifestyle.

Subscribing to these newsletters is easy. Simply stop by the pharmacy department and request a sample copy. Inside each newsletter is a form you can use to sign up for a free subscription.

These are a few of the many ways London Drugs can assist you in achieving your wellness goals. We are proud to be your premier destination for health and wellness!