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Training your team and ensuring everyone's knowledge is up-to-date are important CPD triggers. We suggest that you get the team together for a training session based on the activities below and discuss the various ways in which you can offer customers and patients added care in this category.

Subject: Allergy & hayfever

This Train Your Team checklist provides support and information to run a team training session on allergy and hayfever. This content can also be used for your own CPD.

Reflection

• Is your pharmacy team aware of the prevalence of allergy?
• Does the team have an understanding of the hygiene hypothesis and its relevance to allergy?
• Can the team give good advice on the continuing importance of good hygiene?
• Do we know how to advise on the self-administration of an adrenaline injection?
• Are we aware of the potential risks of ragweed pollen allergy?
• Do we look out for the possibility of coeliac disease in our customers, both young and old?

Training checklist

Ensure your support staff understand the following key points:

• The incidence of allergies is increasing
• The potential for misinformation about allergies is high
• The importance of studying food labels carefully for potential allergens
• The new EU rules on allergens in foods
• How to avoid gluten
• Allergy can result in anaphylaxis
• The difference between an allergy and an intolerance
• When to refer customers with allergies to the pharmacist.

Action. I will:

• Consider how we can raise awareness on the importance of testing for coeliac disease rather than self-treating for suspected wheat allergy
• Make sure the pharmacy team is up to date on the latest thinking and research about peanut allergy
• Ensure that we advise customers on the importance of appropriate diagnosis of allergic symptoms
• Train my pharmacy assistants to ensure that they can meet the points in this training checklist.

Practice points

• Which oils or fats would you use if making baked goods for someone with peanut allergy?
• Which foods or ingredients in foods may contain milk? See: allergyuk.org/milk-allergy/milk-allergy