Antibiotics treat bacterial infections, and many of the infections people ask about are viral, which is why the most useful thing a doctor can do is work out which one you have. Most coughs, colds, sore throats, sinus infections and earaches are caused by viruses and get better without antibiotics, and NICE guidance notes that a cough can last around 3 weeks, sinusitis around 2 to 3 weeks and a sore throat about a week. Antibiotics clearly help with some infections, including many urinary infections, infected skin and wounds, some throat infections with clear bacterial features, pneumonia, and certain sexually transmitted infections. Taking them when they will not help still carries side effects and adds to resistance. The UK Health Security Agency reported that antibiotic-resistant bloodstream infections in England rose to 20,484 in 2024, with an estimated 2,379 deaths, about 400 new resistant infections every week. A video consultation is a good way to decide, because many infections can be assessed from your history, a temperature reading and, where useful, photos, with antibiotics prescribed when they will help and a clear plan when they will not. At The Wellness you can be seen by video the same day from £150, with any prescription sent to a pharmacy near you, or assessed in person, with fees confirmed before booking, when listening to the chest or looking in the ears is needed. Fees appear further down this page.

If you have run out of a regular medicine, there are 3 fast and legal routes, and choosing the right one can save you a day. A pharmacist can often give an emergency supply without a prescription, under regulation 225 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, if a UK prescriber has prescribed the medicine for you before and the pharmacist agrees you need it immediately. That supply can cover up to 30 days for most medicines, a single cycle of the contraceptive pill, the smallest pack of an inhaler or insulin, and up to 5 days of some controlled drugs, while many controlled drugs cannot be supplied this way at all. NHS 111 can also refer you to a pharmacy for an urgent supply when your GP surgery is closed. The third route is a same-day video consultation with a doctor, who can review your medicine and issue a private prescription to a pharmacy near you, often for longer than an emergency supply covers. Do not stop medicines that are dangerous to miss, such as insulin, epilepsy medicines, steroids, blood thinners and some heart and mental health medicines, without advice. At The Wellness video consultations start from £150 and telephone consultations cost £59. Prescribing depends on assessment and is not guaranteed. Confirm appointment availability, any separate prescription fee and pharmacy medicine costs before booking. Fees appear further down this page.

Most menopause care can be started and reviewed by video, which makes it one of the most practical things an online doctor does. NICE guidance is clear that women over 45 with typical symptoms can be diagnosed with perimenopause or menopause from their symptoms and periods alone, without blood tests, so the most important part of the assessment is a careful conversation. Hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, is the most effective treatment for hot flushes and night sweats, and the evidence on risk is more reassuring than many people think. NICE states that HRT started under the age of 60 does not increase the risk of heart disease, that oestrogen alone is associated with little or no change in breast cancer risk, that combined HRT can increase breast cancer risk in a way linked to how long it is taken and that falls after stopping, and that oestrogen through the skin, as a gel, patch or spray, at standard doses carries no increased risk of blood clots. Cognitive behavioural therapy can help with low mood and anxiety during menopause. After starting treatment, NICE recommends a review at 3 months and then once a year. At The Wellness an initial menopause consultation by video or in person is from £395, follow-up reviews from £195, and a Year One Menopause Programme from £1,395. Fees appear further down this page.

Bed bugs, scabies and fleas all cause intensely itchy spots, but they are treated in completely different ways, so working out which one you have is the most important step. Bed bug bites usually appear in a line or cluster on skin uncovered in bed, such as the face, neck, arms and hands, and new bites appear after nights in a particular bed. Scabies is caused by tiny mites living in the skin, and according to the NHS it causes intense itching that is worse at night, with a rash that often appears between the fingers, around the wrists, under the arms and around the waist, groin and bottom, and usually spares the head and neck in adults. Flea bites are usually small clusters around the ankles and lower legs, often in homes with cats or dogs. Hives, eczema and other rashes can look similar. Scabies spreads through close skin contact and needs a cream or lotion over the whole body, repeated after 7 days, for everyone in the household at the same time. Bed bugs need professional pest control, and fleas need treatment of pets and the home. Bed bug activity in the UK is rising, and council bed bug visits rose 35% from 2022 to 2024 according to Freedom of Information data published by Direct Line. At The Wellness a doctor can review photos by video the same day from £150 and arrange an examination when needed. Fees appear further down this page.

Bed bug bites are raised, itchy spots that often appear in a line or a small cluster on skin left uncovered in bed, such as the face, neck, arms and hands. On white skin they usually look red or pink, and on black or brown skin they may look brown, red or purple and can be harder to see. Most people do not feel the bite, because bed bug saliva contains a numbing substance, and marks can take 1 to several days to appear, while some people show no reaction at all. According to the NHS, bites usually clear up on their own in a week or so, and a cool damp cloth, a mild steroid cream such as hydrocortisone and an antihistamine at night can ease itching. Bed bugs are not known to spread disease, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but scratching can lead to skin infection, a few people react strongly with painful swelling, and an infestation can seriously disrupt sleep. They are becoming more common, as Rentokil reported in August 2026 that confirmed bed bug activity in the UK rose by an average of 44% a year between 2023 and 2025. See a doctor if bites are spreading, very swollen or painful, or not settling with pharmacy treatment. At The Wellness a doctor can assess your bites by video with photos the same day from £150. Fees appear further down this page.

If you wake up in a hotel, rental or on a trip with new itchy bites in a line or cluster, bed bugs are a real possibility, and acting the same day protects your skin, your luggage and your home. First, check the mattress seams, headboard and bed frame for small, flat, reddish-brown bugs, blood spots or dark droppings, and photograph anything you find. Tell the hotel immediately and ask to move to a room that is not next to or directly above or below the affected one. Keep your luggage off the floor and the bed, and when you get home, unpack outside the bedroom, wash all clothing, including unworn items, at 60°C and tumble dry on a hot setting for at least 30 minutes, then check suitcase seams carefully. Bites usually settle within a week with a cool cloth, a mild steroid cream and an antihistamine, according to the NHS, and bed bugs are not known to spread disease. Bed bugs can be found in very clean, high-end accommodation, and Rentokil reported in August 2026 that confirmed UK bed bug activity rose by an average of 44% a year between 2023 and 2025. At The Wellness video consultations start from £150. Hotel visits in London cost £495 daytime or £595 evening. Confirm availability and any separate weekend or out-of-area fees before booking. Fees appear further down this page.

Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is best known as a cause of bronchiolitis in babies, but it also causes serious illness in older adults and people with heart and lung conditions, and the season usually builds from October and peaks in winter. In most healthy adults RSV feels like a heavy cold, with a runny or blocked nose, cough, sore throat and tiredness, and it settles within 1 to 2 weeks. In older adults and people with COPD, asthma, heart failure or a weakened immune system, it can lead to pneumonia, worsening breathing and hospital admission. There is no specific antiviral treatment for most adults, so prevention matters. NHS eligibility for the RSV vaccine has widened in 2026. It is now offered to people aged 75 and over, including everyone aged 80 and over since 1 April 2026, to residents of care homes for older adults, and, from 1 September 2026, to people aged 65 to 74 with chronic respiratory disease or a weakened immune system. Pregnant women are offered it from 28 weeks to protect their baby. A single dose is given. At The Wellness video consultations start from £150 and home visits cost £450. Enquire for in-person consultation and RSV vaccination assessment, availability and fees. Vaccines and any separate tests are quoted before booking. Fees appear further down this page.

Shingles is a painful rash caused by the chickenpox virus reawakening years after the original infection, and the most important thing to know is that treatment works best when it starts early. It usually begins with tingling, burning or pain on one side of the body, followed a few days later by a band of blisters on the same side, most often on the chest or tummy, and sometimes on the face. Antiviral medicine is most effective when started within 3 days of the rash appearing, and it is particularly important for people over 50, people with a weakened immune system, severe pain or rash, and anyone with shingles near the eye. Shingles near the eye needs to be seen the same day, because it can damage sight. In England, pharmacists can treat uncomplicated shingles in adults under Pharmacy First, while a doctor is needed for shingles on the face, severe pain, a weakened immune system or other complications. The NHS shingles vaccine is now offered at 65 for people who turned 65 on or after 1 September 2023, to everyone aged 70 to 79, and to adults aged 18 and over with a severely weakened immune system. At The Wellness video consultations with photo review start from £150 and home visits cost £450. Enquire for in-person consultation and vaccination assessment, availability and fees. Vaccines and any separate tests are quoted before booking. Fees appear further down this page.

COVID-19 is rising across the UK this autumn, and 2 variants are in the headlines. XFG, nicknamed Stratus and sometimes called “American Covid”, is the most common variant in the UK and has circulated for about a year. BA.3.2, nicknamed Cicada, is a highly divergent descendant of the Omicron family that the World Health Organization lists as a variant under monitoring, with the public health risk assessed as low. In a statement on 8 October 2026, the UK Health Security Agency said current data does not show either variant causing more severe illness than others in circulation, and that positive test rates rose to about 7% in September while hospital admissions rose by about 50%, in line with a general rise in COVID-19 activity as the weather turns colder. Symptoms are now often cold-like, with a sore throat that can be severe, a hoarse voice, cough, blocked nose, fatigue, aches and fever, and loss of taste or smell is less common than with earlier variants. Most people recover at home within days. People at highest risk can be assessed for antiviral treatment, which needs to start quickly after symptoms begin. At The Wellness video consultations start from £150 and home visits cost £450. Enquire for additional household members and confirm availability and any separate prescription, medicine or test costs. Fees appear further down this page.