Health guides

Plain-English guides for people in Ireland researching a condition, pregnancy concern or treatment before they decide whether to seek care.

If this may be an emergency

Call 112 now or go to the nearest emergency department. These guides are not a diagnosis.

• A cough that will not settle: what to do next How long a cough usually lasts, what a clinician will ask, and when a cough needs to be seen.
• Anxiety: what support is available in Ireland The range of support for anxiety, from self-help to talking therapy and medicines.
• Back pain: what helps and what needs checking Why staying active helps most back pain, and the warning signs that change the plan.
• Breathlessness: when it needs urgent assessment The difference between breathlessness that can wait and breathlessness that cannot.
• Chest pain and heart attack warning signs Why chest pain is never assessed online and what to do right now if you have it.
• Diarrhoea and vomiting: staying safe while you recover How to keep fluids up, how long symptoms usually last, and the signs that need care.
• Dizziness: what the pattern tells a clinician Why how your dizziness behaves matters more than how bad it feels.
• Early pregnancy warning signs: when to seek care Warning signs in early pregnancy and how Shifa routes you to the right consultation in Ireland.
• Fever in adults: what to check and when to get help How to check a temperature, what usually helps, and the signs that mean you should be seen today.
• Hair loss: what can be checked Common patterns of hair loss and what a clinician may look for.
• High blood pressure: what to check before you book A plain-English guide to repeated high readings, warning signs and which clinician can help.
• Joint pain: preparing for an assessment What a clinician needs to know about your joint pain before they can help.
• Low mood: when to reach out How to tell a low patch from something that needs help, and what help looks like.
• Migraine treatment options to discuss with a clinician How to prepare for a consultation about migraine-like headaches without treating the guide as a diagnosis.
• Skin rashes: what a clinician needs to see How to describe and record a rash so it can be assessed properly.
• Sore throat: when antibiotics do and do not help Most sore throats are viral. Here is what that means for treatment.