Bowel disorders such as constipation, diarrhoea and haemorrhoids are commonly presented conditions in the pharmacy. Customers may, however, be embarrassed about discussing their bowels, so the pharmacy team needs excellent communication skills in order to help customers talk about this highly sensitive issue. Changes in bowel habits can signal serious disease and so discussing bowel health with your customers, including the importance of the bowel screening test if they are eligible, can be life-saving.

Bowel cancer, which is one of the conditions that might be found as a result of bowel screening, is the second most common cause of cancer deaths after lung cancer. Far too many people are still being diagnosed at the later stages, even though early detection and treatment can be the key to a successful recovery. 

Other bowel conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and coeliac disease seem to be increasingly common, but are not that easy to diagnose. Diagnosis and treatment of IBS is particularly challenging because symptoms vary from person to person and people can respond differently to treatments. 

The pharmacy team is in an ideal position to talk to people about bowel health and to identify customers who might be self-medicating to ease bowel symptoms when other strategies €“ either seeing a GP or tackling lifestyle issues €“ might be a better way forward. You can advise customers on how to keep their bowels in good working order through attention to healthy living and, where appropriate, short-term OTC treatments.