I'M a taxi driver and I've found out I have to have a hysterectomy. How soon can I go back to work?

Your GP can help you decide when you feel fit to drive. This can be anything from three to eight weeks after the operation. Your car insurance company may ask for a certificate saying you are safe to drive. You should not drive a car until you are comfortable wearing a seatbelt and can perform an emergency stop.

MY friend has a nut allergy and carries adrenaline. What is this for?

Anaphylaxis is your body's immune system reacting badly to a substance or food, which it wrongly perceives as a threat. Anaphylaxis varies in severity. Sometimes it causes only itchiness and swelling, but in some people, it can cause sudden death.Adrenaline is used to treat anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis should always be treated as a medical emergency. It can lead to death if breathing becomes severely obstructed or if blood pressure becomes extremely low (known as shock). If someone becomes severely ill or collapses soon after an insect bite, eating a particular food or taking medication, call for an ambulance and tell the operator that you think the person has anaphylaxis. Remove the trigger (allergen) if possible.

An adrenaline injection (epinephrine) must be given as soon as a serious reaction is suspected. If the person is carrying an adrenaline injection kit, they may be able to inject themselves or you can help them to use it.

WHAT is Impetigo?

Impetigo is a common and highly contagious skin infection that causes sores and blisters. It's not usually serious and often improves within a week of treatment.

There are two types of impetigo:

• non-bullous impetigo, which typically affects the skin around the nose and mouth, causing sores to develop that quickly burst to leave a yellow-brown crust fever.

• bullous impetigo, which typically affects the trunk (the central part of the body between the waist and neck), causing fluid-filled blisters (bullae) to develop that burst after a few days to leave a yellow crust.

Both types of impetigo may leave behind some red marks when the crusts have cleared up, but these will usually improve over the following days or weeks.

Symptoms

Impetigo does not cause any symptoms until four to 10 days after you first become infected. This means that people can easily pass the infection on to others without realising it.

Non-bullous impetigo

• The symptoms of non-bullous impetigo begin with the appearance of red sores – usually around the nose and mouth.

The sores quickly burst leaving behind thick, golden crusts typically around 2cm across. The appearance of these crusts is sometimes likened to cornflakes stuck to the skin.

• The sores are not painful, but they may be itchy. It is important not to touch, or scratch, the sores because this can spread the infection to other parts of your body, and to other people.

• Other symptoms, such as a high temperature (fever) and swollen glands, are rare but can occur in more severe cases.

Bullous impetigo

• The symptoms of bullous impetigo begin with the appearance of fluid-filled blisters (bullae) which usually occur on the trunk, arms and legs.

• The blisters may quickly spread, before bursting after several days to leave a yellow crust that usually heals without leaving any scarring.

• The blisters may be painful and the area of skin surrounding them may be itchy. As with non-bullous impetigo, it is important that you do not touch or scratch the affected areas of the skin.

• Symptoms of fever and swollen glands are more common in cases of bullous impetigo

Diagnosis

Your GP will normally be able to diagnose impetigo by carrying out a simple examination of your skin.

Treatment

Impetigo is not usually serious and usually clears up without treatment after two to three weeks.

For mild cases of impetigo that cover a small area, antibiotic cream is often recommended. This will usually need to be applied three or four times a day for seven days. Additionally, antibiotic tablets may be prescribed if the infection is more severe and widespread, or if the symptoms do not improve after using antibiotic cream. These will usually need to be taken two to four times a day for seven days.

To reduce the risk of spreading impetigo to others, you or your child you stay away from work, school or nursery until either: after 48 hours of treatment starting , or after the sores have stopped blistering or crusting

Further tests are usually only required in cases where the infection is severe or widespread, does not respond to treatment, or keeps recurring. In these circumstances, your GP may refer you to a dermatologist (skin specialist) for further tests or they may take a swab of the affected skin themselves for testing. This can help to rule out or confirm other skin conditions that may be responsible for your symptoms and can detect whether you carry one of the types of bacteria responsible for the bacteria inside your nose.