Autumn and winter health

The flu vaccine is a safe and effective vaccine. It’s offered every year on the NHS to help protect people at risk of flu and its complications. The best time to have the flu vaccine is in the autumn before flu starts spreading. But you can get the vaccine later.

It’s important to get the flu vaccine if you’re eligible. The flu vaccine is given free on the NHS to adults who:

• are aged 65 or over (including those who will be 65 by 31 March 2025)
• have certain long-term health conditions
• are pregnant
• live in a care home
• are the main carer for an older or disabled person, or receive a carer’s allowance
• live with someone who has a weakened immune system
• are frontline health and social care workers who can get a flu vaccine through their employer.

Flu will often get better on its own, but it can make some people seriously ill. It’s important to get the flu vaccine if you’re advised to. Find out more about the adult flu vaccine and the children’s flu vaccine.

Children are most likely to have an asthma flare-up when they start the new school year in September but using their preventer inhaler every day as prescribed can help stop this happening.

Please see this back to school support for parents and carers of children with asthma for further guidance.

Keeping warm can help to prevent colds, flu and more serious health problems, such as heart attacks, strokes, pneumonia and depression.

Follow these steps:

• Heat your home to at least 18°C (65°F). You might prefer your main living room to be slightly warmer.
• Keep your bedroom window closed on winter nights. Breathing cold air can be bad for your health as it increases the risk of chest infections.
• Keep active when you’re indoors. Try not to sit still for more than an hour or so.
• Wear several layers of light clothes. Several layers trap warm air better than one bulky layer.
• Food is a vital source of energy and helps to keep your body warm so make sure you have plenty of hot food and drinks.
• Keep well to be able to do more and keep your independence. Being cold isn’t just uncomfortable it can be bad for your health. Sitting or sleeping in a cold room is not good for you and increases the risk of heart attacks, stroke and breathing problems. 
• Don’t let the cold catch you out, check the weather forecast and be ready for cold weather.
• Wear shoes with a good grip to prevent slips and falls.
• Make sure you have spare medication in case you are unable to go out.

This winter health information leaflet has some important information from the NHS to help you stay well in winter. There’s also this advice on staying well in winter on the NHS website.

Sources of support:

• Make sure you’re receiving all the help that you’re entitled to. There are grants, benefits and sources of advice available to make your home more energy efficient, improve your heating or help with bills. Visit www.simpleenergyadvice.org.uk and ​​​www.gov.uk/browse/benefits/heating for further information.
• Encourage those who may find it more difficult to cope in cold weather to request help through volunteer networks, for example the Royal Voluntary Service website
• Power and utility companies have schemes which make at-risk groups a priority for reconnection following power cuts. Find out if you meet the criteria and if so, sign up. For more information visit the Ofgem (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets) website.

A person with a cold can start spreading it from a few days before their symptoms begin until the symptoms have finished. You may have had a flu vaccination which will help prevent you from getting flu, but it won’t protect you from colds. To avoid catching a cold:

• wash your hands regularly with warm water and soap
• don’t share towels or household items (like cups) with someone who has a cold
• don’t touch your eyes or nose in case you have come into contact with the virus – it can infect the body this way
• stay fit and healthy

A COVID-19 vaccination is an important part of protecting yourself if you’re at increased risk from severe COVID-19. You or your child may be offered a seasonal COVID-19 vaccine, those eligible include:

• adults aged 65 years and over
• residents in a care home for older adults
• individuals aged 6 months to 64 years in a clinical risk group (as defined in tables 3 or 4 in the COVID-19 chapter of the Green Book)
• frontline NHS and social care workers, and those working in care homes for older people

If you think you may be eligible, see this page to find out how you can get a seasonal COVID-19 vaccination.

Your pharmacist can now provide prescription medicine (if you need it) for seven common health conditions - there’s no need to see your GP. Those common health conditions are:

• sinusitis (12 years and over)
• sore throat
• earache (1 to 17 years)
• infected insect bites (1 year and over)
• impetigo (1 year and over)
• shingles (18 years and over)
• uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women.

Get well sooner - think pharmacy first. There’s more information about how pharmacies can help on the NHS website.

There’s a wide range of self-care medication available in pharmacies, shops and supermarkets. These can be used to treat common ailments and save you the trouble of a GP appointment. As with all medicines, always read the label to make sure they are suitable for you and keep them out of the reach of children. If you are unsure if a medicine is suitable for you to take, or if you need advice, talk to your pharmacist.

Great Ormond Street Hospital has published this guidance for keeping a well-stocked but safe medicines cabinet at home. It’s a good idea to check your medicine cabinet regularly so you can replace any medicines that are out of date and therefore unsafe to use. If you have any medicines that are out of date, you should not put them in the bin, down the toilet or down the sink. This causes damage to the environment as medicines end up where they shouldn’t be - in the ground and in the water. This can be harmful to nature and to humans.   

All medicines, whether tablets, liquids like paracetamol or eye drops, inhalers or creams, should be returned to your pharmacy if you don’t need or want them anymore, or if they are out of date. Your pharmacy will dispose of them safely. 

Make sure you have any other medications you need
If you take a prescribed medicine, or need to take an over-the-counter medicine regularly, make sure you have those medicines ahead of a bank holiday. Your GP practice and local pharmacy may close or have different opening times on bank holidays so it’s important to have what you need in your medicines cabinet.

If you’re struggling to pay your energy bills you could be eligible for help. See our leaflet for handy links to support services and information about the different benefits and grants available. View an Affordable warmth warm information leaflet. 

Living in a cold and damp home increases the risk of asthma and bronchitis in children, as well as low weight gain in babies, slower growth, slower development and higher levels of hospital admissions for the young. For more information and tips to keep you and your families warm and well, see our Affordable warmth children’s leaflet. You can also see our affordable warmth website page.

Remember that older neighbours, friends and family members may need a bit of extra help over the winter. There’s a lot you can do to help people who are frailer than you. Keep in touch with your friends, neighbours and family and ask if they need any practical help, or if they’re feeling under the weather.

Make sure anyone you’re looking out for has enough food supplies for a few days in case they can’t go out. If they do need to go out in the cold, encourage them to wear shoes with a good grip and a scarf around the mouth to protect them from the cold air, and to reduce their risk of chest infections.