Health-related media stories often have attention-grabbing headlines. Leyla Hannbeck, head of pharmacy services, NPA, looks at the facts and advice behind some of these recent headlines

A woman is worried about a story she read about the dangers of taking the combined contraceptive pill. She has been taking it for three years and is worried about getting a blood clot.

Where is the story from?

The combined contraceptive pill made the news because of a review of its safety, which concluded that although a small risk is posed, the benefits of any combined contraceptive far outweigh it. The review also concluded that prescribers and women should be aware of the major risk factors for blood clots, such as age, obesity, smoking, personal history of clots, surgery and being immobilised for long periods of time.

The findings are not new. For many years, professionals have been aware of the risks. The story, however, was over-hyped and misleading – only around 12 women per 10,000 taking combined contraceptives are thought to be at risk of having a blood clot in any given year.

Advice to offer

Women who have been using the combined contraceptive pill without problems do not need to stop. However, you can make the customer aware of the symptoms to look out for and advise her to seek medical attention if she experiences:

Severe pain or swelling in either leg

Sudden unexplained breathlessness or rapid breathing

Severe chest pain (which may increase with deep breathing)

A sudden cough without an obvious cause

Weakness or numbness of the face.

If concerned, she should speak to the pharmacist or her GP. If she decides she does want to stop taking the pill, you should remind her that doing so could result in accidental pregnancy.

A woman trying for a baby has heard about the importance of folic acid, but is unsure when to take it and how much to take.

Where is the story from?

Researchers found that the proportion of women taking folic acid supplements before pregnancy has declined. They also found that young women are less likely to take such supplements than older women and that non-Caucasian women are less likely to take them than Caucasian women.

Advice to offer

You should advise the customer of the benefits of taking folic acid – it can reduce the risk of having a baby with a birth defect that can affect the brain, spine and spinal cord, such as spina bifida. Advise her on how much folic acid to take – a daily 400mcg tablet while trying to get pregnant until 12 weeks pregnant. You could also use this opportunity to discuss other vitamins she should take, as well as the ones to avoid. You could also discuss the importance of a healthy diet and not smoking or drinking alcohol while pregnant.

Medicines counter assistants can access a free online module, Assess & Learn, which tests knowledge and customer service skills and makes a recommendation for appropriate follow-up actions. To access, visit: npa.co.uk/assessandlearn