Press

For immediate release: 21 August 2006

Experts support launch of A Pharmacy Guide to Bowel Health

A new training programme, A Pharmacy Guide to Bowel Health, is launched to pharmacists this month (August), which for the first time with some of the latest recommendations, brings together practical approaches to the management of ‘bowel health’. The comprehensive educational resource, accredited by the College of Pharmacy Practice (CPP), has been produced in association with the Bowel Health Board, a multidisciplinary group of expert advisors* with an interest in lower GI disorders.

Developed by Boehringer Ingelheim Consumer Healthcare, the CPD programme covers the management of common bowel conditions including constipation, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, cramps & spasms, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and haemorrhoids. This comprises a twenty-six page main guide and two tailored practical guides for pharmacist and pharmacy support staff which can be requested free of charge.

A Pharmacy Guide to Bowel Health has been designed with a specific focus on interactive and practical resources such as communication techniques, symptoms assessment tools, treatment pathway and case study scenarios. The aim of this is to help instil confidence in pharmacists and support staff in giving their customers up-to-date and informed advice on bowel conditions.

Professor Peter Whorwell, Consultant Gastroenterologist and a member of the Bowel Health Board, comments, “Many people with bowel conditions are too embarrassed to seek advice for their symptoms and a significant proportion will choose to suffer in silence. Pharmacists and their support staff are in a prime position to deal promptly with the problem. They play a crucial role in identifying the symptoms of people with common bowel conditions and offering effective treatment solutions.”

Commenting on the guide, Dr Angela Alexander, Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Reading, explains, “One of the key aspects of the pharmacy profession is providing advice, but getting customers to discuss bowel conditions is not always straightforward and needs to be handled carefully. The guide is a useful and practical tool for pharmacists and it’s great to see this commonly neglected topic covered with sensitivity, in a practical training format.”

A Pharmacy Guide to Bowel Health comes in a distinctive pack and pharmacists can receive a copy by calling 01344 741160. Downloadable copies are also available online at www.bowel-health.co.uk .

Notes to Editors

Expert Advisors – Bowel Health Board

A Pharmacy Guide to Bowel Health has been produced in association with the Bowel Health Board - a multidisciplinary group of expert advisors:

Boehringer Ingelheim Consumer Healthcare: experts in bowel health

Boehringer Ingelheim Consumer Healthcare is a leading expert in bowel health. Their product portfolio includes Dulcolax®¹– the best selling laxative worldwide and Buscopan®²– a world leading antispasmodic available in more than 100 countries. Last year also saw the launch of Buscopan® IBS Relief (contains hyoscine butylbromide) in the UK, already a market leader in its sector, specifically designed for the painful cramps and spasms associated with medically confirmed IBS.

About Boehringer Ingelheim

The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 143 affiliates in 47 countries and almost 37,500 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.

In 2005, Boehringer Ingelheim posted net sales of 9.5 billion euro while spending almost one fifth of net sales in its largest business segment Prescription Medicines on research and development.

For more information please visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.com

Trade enquiries: PowerMed Healthcare - 0845 222 0555

For further media information or photography of A Pharmacy Guide to Bowel Health, please contact:

Katy Simpson
Virgo Health PR
Phone: +44 (0)20 8939 2466
Email: katy.simpson@virgohealthpr.com

1 Dulcolax ®Tablets SmPC and Dulcolax Perles SmPC®
2 Buscopan IBS Relief SmPC®

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