Did you know that 8 out of 10 sore throats in adults are because of a virus that can’t be treated with antibiotics? ** Antibiotics are important medicines that are used to treat serious bacterial infections and when used correctly, they save lives. Unfortunately, they are often taken when they aren’t needed and are frequently being overused to treat simple illnesses including sore throats. In fact, over the last 10 years, antibiotic use in New Zealand has dramatically increased.

To help this problem, Unichem and Life Pharmacy in association with Strepfen, Strepsils, Mucinex and Lemsip are providing a quick consultation service from Monday 27 May – Sunday 18 August for people aged 19 years or older with sore throats*. Our pharmacy team will provide you with a consultation to assess your symptoms and if required, conduct a quick and easy throat swab to determine whether your sore throat is viral or bacterial and whether you need to visit the Doctor for antibiotics.

So if you have a sore throat, aged 19 years or older and you've tested negative for Covid-19, get in contact with your local Unichem or Life Pharmacy below to check their availability for Sore Throat Consultations.*