Mentholatum, manufacturer of topical pain relief brands Deep Heat, Deep Freeze and Deep Relief, is challenging pharmacy teams with its new “Switch and Match” campaign.

Historically, advice for musculoskeletal pain would centre around taking oral painkillers and resting. However, Mentholatum is challenging teams to ‘switch’ this advice and instead encourage the use of topical products and staying active to help people recover more quickly. Pharmacy teams then need to ‘match’ the customer’s need to the right product. “Musculoskeletal pain is on the rise, thanks to bad posture, obesity and an ageing population,” said Jillian Watt from Mentholatum. “There is a huge educational message to communicate how to look after your body and strengthen muscles,” she said, adding that more can be done to educate people about topical treatments, as only 17 per cent of households use topical pain relief.

To help pharmacy teams match products to customer needs, Mentholatum has produced a pictorial guide to topical products, which will be delivered to pharmacies by Ceuta Healthcare.