Pearls

Carers are a quiet constant in our consultations. Many do not even recognise themselves as carers, and their own health can take a back seat. Take a few minutes to read this and consider: is there a hidden carer in your next consultation?

When patients ask about travel vaccines, it’s easy to focus on the familiar. But for those planning walking holidays or outdoor adventures across Europe and beyond, there’s a less-commonly considered risk that deserves a place on our radar: tick-borne encephalitis.

With summer travel in full swing, ‘mystery rashes’ are appearing more often in general practice. Could bedbugs be the cause? This week’s Pearl offers a practical guide to recognising and managing bedbug bites in primary care.

Our article on what makes a good PDP will help you move beyond acronyms to turn your PDP into something that works for you. Just as well because PDPs aren’t just for GP training – they’re for life!

This month is a double treat because we are also sharing our article on communication skills to tackle those tricky presentations where physical and mental health collide. 

Inflammatory bowel disease has been one of the most popular topics this season on the GP Update course. As it’s often diagnosed in younger patients, reproductive health and pregnancy are key considerations in primary care. In this week’s Pearl, we share our article on IBD and reproductive health.

World Wellbeing Week is a timely reminder that caring for others has to start with caring for ourselves. In primary care, whatever our role, this isn’t always easy. This week’s Pearl is all about ‘Communicating our needs and setting boundaries’.

With the UK’s recent May heatwave and clear signs that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, heat-related illness should be on our radar. In this week’s Pearl, we share our recently-updated article on heat-related illness.

This Diabetes Week (8-14 June), Diabetes UK is highlighting the harm caused by stigma, reminding us that diabetes is not anyones fault and that the way we talk about it matters. In this Pearl, we explore bias in healthcare - something that impacts us all.

Spot the difference. It’s easy to look at the spotty forehead of a teenager and think of acne as an inconvenient and minor rite of passage. But acne is rarely just skin deep. This month’s Pearl on acne will prepare you for patients quoting skincare influencers.

Discussions around men’s health often focus on urogenital and sexual health. While important, this is only part of the picture. In this week’s Pearl, we share our article Men’s health: a holistic approach, inviting us to step back and take a broader view.

It is Dementia Action Week, and media campaigns often trigger a wide range of consultations about memory, brain fog or future risk of dementia. Our Pearl is here to help!

In light of recent conversations in the media regarding Meningitis, we are making this GEMS free to view

In this week’s Pearl, we share our coveted Liver disease: GEMS (Guidelines and Evidence Made Simple), which offers a clear, practical framework for interpreting LFTs and spotting early liver disease.

This Pearl on gout will cut through the uric acid crystals to give you a clear roadmap on these conundrums, and much more, leaving you feeling confident in your diagnosis and management of gout.

In this week’s Pearl, we share what is known about PMS and PMDD and focus on how we can help in general practice.