Information on alcohol consumption, rabies, and bites – both animal and human – were among the top of the list for NHS advice being sought on Christmas and Boxing Day last year, new data shows.
Page visits on burns and scalds also soared, according to NHS England.
In 2023, views on pages of the NHS website relating to breastfeeding and drinking soared by 146% – from 1,028 to 2,526 – compared to the week before Christmas.
There was also a 60% hike in people seeking information on alcohol poisoning compared to a normal 48 hours, with hits up from 1,268 to 2,008.
Elsewhere, visits to NHS pages on rabies jumped by 123% on Christmas and Boxing Day last year, from 700 a week earlier to 1,564, while visits to pages about animal and human bites rose by a third to 1,494 from 1,128.
Page views on burns and scalds and how to treat them also surged by 50% compared to the week before Christmas to 2,748 from 1,782.
Pages on general burn advice jumped to 2,846 visits from 1,990 and pages on burns recovery attracted 1,984 visits compared to 1,432.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England’s Medical Director, said: “We hope everyone has a happy and healthy Christmas – but accidents and injuries can happen, so if you do burn yourself putting the roast potatoes in the oven, or you pick up a winter virus and want some support to manage the symptoms, the NHS website is the best place to find useful advice on what to do.”
In terms of health conditions, the most commonly viewed page after Covid-19 was norovirus with 19,170 visits over the 48-hour period, equal to one every nine seconds.
Pages that provide advice for chest infections had 17,398 visits, the equivalent of one every 10 seconds, while pages on diarrhoea and vomited had 11,789 views.
Prof Sir Stephen added: “NHS staff will still be working hard throughout the festive season to provide care for those most in need and anyone in need of emergency help should contact 999, or 111 for less urgent health needs.
“For other health advice, the NHS website and the NHS App are available around the clock and contain a wealth of helpful information as well as providing access to NHS services.”
