What is a pharmacy technician?

Pharmacy technicians...

Assist a pharmacist with the preparation of prescription medications for customers.
He or she may receive written prescription requests or may process requests doctors' offices send electronically or phone in.
Depending on their level of training, may compound or mix medications
Organizes drug inventory and lets a pharmacist know if there are any shortages.

A Day in the Life of a Pharmacy Technician
"Prepack bulk medicines, fill bottles with prescribed medications, and type and affix labels"
"Handle all cash register operations"
"Resolve customer complaints, issues, and concerns"
"Type prescription information to produce labels"
"Keep detailed records of medications and stock"

Many technicinas receive only on-the-job training, but employers prefer those who have attended a formal training program.

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What Skills Do You Need to Succeed As a Pharmacy Technician?
In addition to any required or optional education and training, registration, and certification, you should also have certain qualities, commonly called soft skills, which will contribute to your ability to do this job. They are:
Active Listening: You will have to understand doctors' instructions, and customers' requests and inquiries.
Speaking: You must be able to convey information to pharmacists and comfortably communicate with doctors and customers.
Attention to Detail: It is essential to be careful when filling prescriptions and preparing labels. Mistakes can be deadly.
Organizational Skills: Being well organized will also allow you to avoid dangerous errors.
Reading Comprehension: You need to be able to understand written documentation.

Swallowing difficulties (dysphagia)

Causes of swallowing difficulties

Swallowing difficulties can happen at any age. There are a wide range of causes for them, including:

some medicines, such as antipsychotics
heartburn and acid reflux
cancer, such as mouth or throat cancers
nervous system or brain disorders
muscle disorders
blockages or structural issues with your mouth, throat or oesophagus.

Symptoms of swallowing difficulties

Symptoms of swallowing difficulties may include:

coughing or choking when eating or drinking
bringing food back up, may be through your nose
the feeling that food is stuck in your throat
having issues chewing your food
problems with dribbling.

Swallowing difficulties can cause weight loss, dehydration and chest infections.

Diagnosing swallowing difficulties

Let your healthcare provider know if you have swallowing difficulties. They will ask you about your symptoms and check if any other health conditions you have may be the cause.

Your healthcare provider may refer you to a specialist for tests. These may include a:

gastroscopy—a camera is passed down through your mouth to look at your throat and stomach
swallowing study—your throat and stomach are x-rayed as you swallow small amounts of food.

Treating swallowing difficulties

How your swallowing difficulties are treated depends on the cause and how severe it is. Treatments may include:

medicines to treat acid reflux
swallowing therapy with a speech and language therapist
making changes to what you eat and drink, such as softer foods and using thickener in drinks
using special spoons, plates and cups
surgery to widen your oesophagus.
using special medication lubricants eg Gloup to help make it easier to swallow tablets etc. For more information click here.

Self care for swallowing difficulties

As well as seeing your healthcare provider, the following tips may help you to get food or liquids into your stomach.

Sit upright in a chair—at a table is best.
Have regular small meals instead of the main large meals.
Eat or drink small mouthfuls at a time.
If your voice is gurgly when you eat or drink, give a small cough to make sure your airway is clear.
Wet food will be easier to swallow as dry food can catch in your throat.
If your food has 2 consistencies, such as fruit in juice and cereal in milk, try to mix it into 1 consistency, or eat the solid and liquid portions separately.
Concentrate on eating and avoid talking.
Hot, ice-cold or fizzy liquids are easier to swallow than room temperature liquids.
If you are told to have thickened liquids, avoid ice-cream and jelly as they thin before swallowing.
Drink from the top half of you cup to avoid tipping your head back.

Have a look at our range of Gloup medication lubricants here which can help with difficulties swallowing tablets...

Bureta Pharmacy Shop

We're 'the little pharmacy with the big heart' - our slogan explains our attitude - small in size but big in attitude, we like to go the extra mile for our customers!