Diarrhoea Advice in Treherbert | NHS Pharmacy Advice

If you are looking for diarrhoea advice in Treherbert, Treherbert Pharmacy may be able to help through the NHS Wales Common Ailments Service.

Diarrhoea means passing loose or watery stools more often than is normal for you. It is commonly caused by a short-lived stomach infection, but dehydration, medicines and other illnesses also need to be considered.

Eligible NHS pharmacist advice is free. For acute diarrhoea, the Common Ailments Service is an advice-only pathway for people over 1 year old whose symptoms have lasted less than 7 days and who have no additional risk factors. You do not need a GP referral first. Book an NHS appointment so the pharmacist can check whether routine pharmacy care is suitable or whether you need another service.

Choose an NHS appointment if you would like help with this condition. The pharmacist will assess whether treatment is suitable or whether you need another service.

What is diarrhoea?

Diarrhoea usually means passing three or more loose or watery stools in a day, or passing stools more often than is normal for you. Acute diarrhoea starts suddenly and is usually caused by a stomach bug. Most uncomplicated episodes settle within 5 to 7 days.

Other possible causes include food poisoning, a medicine side effect, food intolerance, anxiety or the first sign of a longer-term bowel condition. The pharmacist will ask questions to help identify the safest route rather than assuming every case is a simple infection.

Symptoms people often notice

• Loose or watery stools: often three or more times in a day, or more frequently than usual.
• Urgency: needing to reach the toilet quickly or more often than normal.
• Tummy cramps: gripping or cramping abdominal discomfort may occur.
• Nausea or vomiting: these can occur alongside an infectious stomach illness.
• Fever, headache or aching: some infections cause wider flu-like symptoms.
• Signs of dehydration: thirst, a dry mouth, dark urine, passing less urine, dizziness, unusual tiredness or weakness need careful assessment.

Can Treherbert Pharmacy help with diarrhoea?

The NHS Common Ailments Service can provide assessment and self-care advice for uncomplicated acute diarrhoea. The pharmacist must first check your age, symptom duration and whether any risk factor makes routine pharmacy advice unsuitable.

Important: diarrhoea is an advice-only condition within the Common Ailments Service. The free NHS consultation can provide assessment, hydration and infection-control advice, but the CAS pathway does not supply a medicine for diarrhoea.

What happens during your consultation?

1. 1
   Confidential assessment. The pharmacist will discuss the symptoms privately and establish who is affected.
2. 2
   Symptom and hydration check. We will ask about frequency, duration, vomiting, fluid intake, urine output, fever, pain and the appearance of the stools.
3. 3
   Risk-factor review. Medical conditions, current medicines, recent antibiotics, travel, occupation and contact with other unwell people may change the advice.
4. 4
   Advice and suitable options. The pharmacist may advise fluids, oral rehydration, diet, rest and infection-control measures. An over-the-counter option may be discussed for short-term symptom control only when appropriate.
5. 5
   Safety-netting or referral. You will be told what improvement to expect, when to seek further advice and whether a GP, NHS 111 Wales, urgent care or another service is needed.

What information may the pharmacist ask about?

• When the diarrhoea started, how many loose stools have occurred and whether symptoms are improving or worsening.
• Whether there is vomiting, fever, severe pain, bloating, blood, mucus or pus in the stools.
• How much fluid is being taken and whether urine is darker, less frequent or absent.
• Recent travel, unusual food, contact with someone who has diarrhoea, or a visit to a farm or petting zoo.
• Recent antibiotics, hospital care and any medicines that can cause diarrhoea or become unsafe during dehydration.
• Medical conditions, pregnancy, immune problems, age and frailty.
• Whether the patient works in food preparation, healthcare or another setting where infection-control rules matter.

Self-care and symptom relief

• Replace fluids: drink water or squash regularly, using small frequent sips if you feel sick. Oral rehydration sachets may be appropriate.
• Continue feeding babies: keep breastfeeding or bottle feeding, offering smaller feeds more often if vomiting occurs. Do not dilute formula.
• Eat when able: start with food that feels manageable and avoid fatty, spicy or heavy meals at first. Fruit juice and fizzy drinks can worsen symptoms.
• Prevent spread: wash hands with soap and water, clean bathroom touchpoints, avoid preparing food for others and do not share towels or utensils.
• Stay away from work, school or childcare: return only after there has been no diarrhoea or vomiting for at least 48 hours.
• Do not automatically use anti-diarrhoeal medicine: it is not routinely recommended and is unsuitable in some infections, age groups and clinical situations. The pharmacist can advise whether short-term symptom relief is safe.

When our pharmacist independent prescriber may be able to help

If the symptoms are outside the NHS Common Ailments Service advice pathway, but there are no emergency warning signs, our pharmacist independent prescriber may be able to carry out a broader assessment and decide which healthcare route is appropriate.

This may be relevant when symptoms are persistent or recurring, a medicine may be contributing, the diagnosis is uncertain, or a more detailed clinical review is needed. The assessment may result in self-care advice, treatment where clinically appropriate, or referral for a stool sample, GP review or another service.

This is not a substitute for urgent care. Blood in the stool, severe abdominal pain, persistent fever, significant dehydration, recent antibiotics with suspected C. difficile, or inability to keep fluids down may need same-day or emergency assessment rather than a routine prescribing appointment.

Find out about our independent prescribing service

When you should seek urgent medical help

Do not wait for a routine pharmacy appointment when serious symptoms or marked dehydration are present.

• Call 999 or go to A&E urgently for confusion, collapse, severe weakness, very little or no urine, signs of shock, severe breathing difficulty, blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, or another sign of severe systemic illness.
• Call 999 or go to A&E urgently for a sudden severe abdominal pain, vomiting blood, vomit that looks like coffee grounds, or green vomit.
• Contact NHS 111 Wales or seek same-day medical advice if fluids cannot be kept down, there is bloody diarrhoea, persistent fever, severe abdominal tenderness or distension, or dehydration is not improving.
• Seek prompt advice for a baby or young child if you are worried, feeding has stopped, wet nappies are reduced, six or more diarrhoeal stools have occurred in 24 hours, or symptoms are lasting longer than expected.
• Seek assessment rather than routine self-care if diarrhoea follows recent antibiotics or hospital admission, occurs after foreign travel, repeatedly returns, lasts more than 7 days, or is accompanied by unexplained weight loss.

Free NHS advice and treatment

The NHS Wales Common Ailments Service provides a free pharmacist consultation for eligible patients. For acute diarrhoea, the service is specifically limited to assessment and advice, so it does not provide a free medicine through the CAS pathway.

• No GP referral is needed: you can book or approach Treherbert Pharmacy directly.
• Assessment comes first: the pharmacist will check whether the advice-only NHS pathway is suitable and whether referral is needed.
• Products may be discussed separately: oral rehydration or short-term symptom relief may be available to buy when clinically appropriate, but this is outside the free diarrhoea CAS pathway.
• Another route may be recommended: this could be an independent prescribing assessment, GP or midwife review, NHS 111 Wales, urgent care or emergency services.

Book a diarrhoea assessment at Treherbert Pharmacy

Book the NHS appointment route for short-term diarrhoea without urgent warning signs. You do not need to obtain a GP referral before contacting the pharmacy.

Book an NHS pharmacy appointment

Choose an NHS appointment if you would like help with this condition. The pharmacist will assess whether treatment is suitable or whether you need another service.

Useful links

• Read about the NHS Common Ailments Service at Treherbert Pharmacy
• View all NHS pharmacy services in Treherbert
• Browse conditions covered by NHS pharmacy services
• Read the Welsh Medicines Advice Service diarrhoea patient leaflet
• Read NHS advice about diarrhoea and vomiting
• Read Welsh Medicines Advice Service information about the Common Ailments Service

Clinically reviewed by Jon James, Pharmacist Independent Prescriber. Last reviewed: June 2026.