Courtenay Pharmacy

11/07/2025

When it comes to food, we tend to focus on proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and vitamins. However, researchers now believe that the human diet actually contains more than 26,000 distinct compounds, the majority of which remain largely unexplored 🍽

What we eat is packed with hidden chemistry that may hold the key to both disease and health. When the human genome was first sequenced in 2003, many believed this breakthrough would reveal the full origins of disease. Yet, genetics accounts for only about 10% of overall risk. The remaining 90% i

11/06/2025

It can be easy to rush through life without stopping to notice things.

Paying more attention to the present moment – to your own thoughts and feelings, and to the world around you – can improve your mental wellbeing.

Some people call this awareness 'mindfulness.' Mindfulness can help us enjoy life more and understand ourselves better.

Reminding yourself to take notice of your thoughts, feelings, body sensations and the world around you is the first step to mindfulness.

As we go about our daily lives, we can notice the sensations of things, the food we eat, the air moving past the body as we walk.

It can be helpful to pick a regular time, such as a morning journey to work or a walk at lunchtime, during which you decide to be aware of the sensations created by the world around you.

Trying new things, such as sitting in a different seat in meetings or going somewhere new for lunch, can also help you notice the world in a new way.

Some people find it very difficult to practise mindfulness. As soon as they stop what they're doing, lots of thoughts and worries crowd in.

It might be useful to remember that mindfulness isn't about making these thoughts go away, but rather about seeing them as mental events that come and go. This can be very hard at first, but with gentle persistence it is possible.

Some people find that it is easier to cope with an over-busy mind if they are doing gentle yoga or walking.

Studies show that mindfulness can help with stress, anxiety and depression.

11/05/2025

Knee braces, hydrotherapy, and exercise are the top non-drug treatments for knee osteoarthritis, according to a sweeping review of nearly 10,000 patients.

A sweeping analysis of nearly 10,000 patients reveals that knee braces, hydrotherapy, and exercise stand out as the most effective non-drug therapies for knee osteoarthritis. Unlike common pain medications that carry risks, these low-cost and accessible options reduce pain, improve mobility, and cou...

11/04/2025

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11/03/2025

🤧🤒It's cold and flu season and you’re standing in front of a shelf full of product and wondering what will get rid of your cold.

The answer truthfully is nothing. Everything that you are looking at in that section is purely symptomatic. If you have a stuffy head and nose, we can use a decongestant of some kind. If you have a cough, we can give you a cough suppressant, and of the cough is thicker and settled into the chest a bit, then we will be able to add an expectorant to help you move it along. In what you see as the night-time products there are antihistamines that will help to dry the sinuses a bit, but they will also help you to sleep. For the most part these products also contain either acetaminophen (TylenolR is the most common brand name) or ibuprofen (MotrinR or AdvilR). These are there for the general pain, discomfort and fever associated with colds and flu.

The two main decongestants we have are pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine. You will find one of these in many cold and flu or sinus preparations. Of the two, most people find that pseudoephedrine is the more effective for getting rid of the pressure and congestion of a head cold.

For cough suppression we have basically two options; dextromethorphan (the DM in products) or codeine. Dextromethorphan is as effective as codeine in the doses that are available without a prescription. Suppressing completely a cough that is productive is not a great idea. However, that irritating dry hack can often be effectively treated with DM products if using an antihistamine or a decongestant were unsuccessful on their own.

Antihistamines are included in the cold and flu preparations and the night-time cold preparations for a couple of reasons. The first is that they do help to dry up the runny nose symptom for most people. The second reason, and probably the most beneficial for the night-time preparations is that they will make you drowsy, and help you to sleep, and rest. The common ones included are chlorpheniramine, diphenhydramine, brompheniramine, and doxylamine.

There are some herbal and natural products that have been used for immune support for a very long time; echinacea, ginseng, allicin rich garlic just to name a few.

Dealing with a cold is a fact of life for the immune system. It is what that system does, so we need to let it do its job. That means that first and foremost we need to give it the support it needs. Primarily that means two things: good nutrition and rest. Grandma was right about this kind of stuff, you need to eat well, and you need to sleep. Adequate fluid intake, good easy to digest foods, and sleep🥛🛌☕️

11/03/2025

Cholecystitis is an inflammation of the gallbladder, a small organ near the liver that plays a part in digesting food. Normally, fluid called bile passes out of the gallbladder on its way to the small intestine. If the flow of bile is blocked, it builds up inside the gallbladder, causing swelling, pain, and possible infection.

A gallstone stuck in the cystic duct, a tube that carries bile from the gallbladder, is most often the cause of sudden (acute) cholecystitis.

The most common symptom of cholecystitis is pain in your upper right abdomen. Other symptoms include:

Nausea or vomiting.
Tenderness in the right abdomen.
Fever.
Pain that gets worse during a deep breath.
Pain for more than 6 hours, particularly after meals.

Treatment for cholecystitis will depend on your symptoms and general health.

You can reduce your risk of cholecystitis by taking the following steps to prevent gallstones:

Lose weight slowly. Fast weight loss can raise the risk of gallstones.
Be at a healthy weight. Being overweight makes you more likely to get gallstones. To get to a healthy weight, cut calories and increase your physical activity. Stay at a healthy weight through healthy eating and exercise.
Choose a healthy-eating plan. Eating foods high in fat and low in fibre may raise the risk of gallstones.
To lower your risk, eat a lot of fruits, vegetables and whole grains🍎🍐🥦🥕🥬

10/31/2025

The first successful human transplant of a kidney converted from blood type A to universal type O used special enzymes developed at the University of British Columbia to help prevent a mismatch and rejection of the organ.

10/30/2025

Friendship is medicine—social connections slow aging and protect the brain.

Studies have proven too, that without social support, we age quicker; with plenty of social engagement, the risk of dementia drops. Consider how good it feels to be with friends and talk and laugh😄

10/29/2025

New research supports a hypothesis that sleep is not solely brain-regulated but arises from the interplay between the body and its microbiome.

What causes us to sleep? The answer may lie not only in our brains, but in their interplay with the bacteria in our intestines.

10/28/2025

The best exercises to increase knee mobility and decrease pain after surgery or injury. If your knee is tight, stiff, or painful, these knee mobility exercises will increase your range of motion and improve your function.

The best exercises to increase knee mobility and decrease pain after surgery or injury! If your knee is tight, stiff, or painful, these knee mobility exercis...

10/27/2025

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
~ Khalil Gibran.

10/26/2025

Low blood pressure is a reading of less than 90/60mmHg. It doesn't always cause symptoms, but you may need treatment if it does.

Get your blood pressure checked if you often get one or more these symptoms:

Light-headedness or dizziness.
Feeling sick.
Blurred vision.
Generally feeling weak.
Confusion.
Fainting.

These might mean your blood pressure is too low.

If you get symptoms when you stand up or suddenly change position, you may have a type of low blood pressure called postural hypotension.

Next time you're in the pharmacy, you can always ask us to check your blood pressure❤️