Balally Pharmacy

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Balally Pharmacy Independent family run pharmacy located in Sandyford Dublin 16. Tom McKenna is the Pharmacist owner since 2014. I have 34 years experience and I’m a dad of four.

We have a wonderful highly qualified team instore. Vaccine Information: email [email protected]

08/10/2026

Every autumn, people walk into the pharmacy asking “Should I start taking a multivitamin for winter?” 🍂

My first question?

“What are you hoping it will do?”

Because October isn’t a vitamin deficiency. 💊

Yes, our diets aren’t always perfect. But a multivitamin won’t magically fix that.

👉Supplements absolutely have their place. The right supplement, for the right person, for the right reason.

Before you think vitamin D — yes, there are specific Irish recommendations for autumn and winter supplementation depending on skin tone and age.

That’s very different from saying everyone needs a multivitamin.

After 33 years in pharmacy, here’s my advice.

👉Don’t buy a supplement just because it’s supplement season.

Follow me for independent, evidence-based advice on medicines, vaccines and supplements. No hype💚. No sponsorship or affiliate codes.

Hope this helps

Tom the Pharmacist 🧑‍⚕️

General education only. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist for personal advice

06/10/2026

Can you still get pregnant during perimenopause? Yes and it’s an important part of the menopause conversation that can easily get missed.

Fertility declines as we get older, but perimenopause does not mean infertility. If you’re still ovulating, pregnancy is still possible even when your periods have become irregular or your menopause symptoms have started.

A few things I regularly discuss with women in the pharmacy👇

💊 HRT is not contraception.
If pregnancy is still possible, you may need contraception alongside your HRT.

💊 Irregular periods don’t necessarily mean you’ve stopped ovulating.
Perimenopause can make cycles unpredictable and erratic, which can make things even less obvious and less predictable.

💊 The combined pill can complicate the picture.
Hormonal contraception can affect bleeding patterns and symptoms, so working out where you are in the menopause transition isn’t always straightforward.

💊 When you can safely stop contraception depends on more than whether you’re having menopause symptoms.
Your age, contraceptive method and individual circumstances all matter.

After 33 years as a community pharmacist, this is one of those conversations where I’d much rather a woman ask the question than make the assumption.

👉Because declining fertility and no fertility are not the same thing.

As I say in the Reel. Nature has a sense of humour you really don’t want to test 😂 I have had more than my fair share of shocked/surprised/stunned and upset women in the consultation room believing pregnancy was not possible.

🙏Share this with a woman in her 40s who might not know this. It’s a part of perimenopause I believe isn’t discussed enough.

If you want practical, evidence-based conversations about perimenopause, menopause, HRT, contraception and medicines, follow me,
Tom the Pharmacist at Balally Pharmacy. 💚

General information only. Your contraception and HRT choices should be based on your individual medical history.Always consult your own doctor or pharmacist for advice.

05/10/2026

Coughs, colds and flu season are coming. Is your medicine cabinet actually ready? 🤧💊

After 33 years as a community pharmacist, I can tell you that the worst time to discover you’ve no thermometer, the paracetamol is out of date or there’s nothing suitable for the kids is when somebody is already sick. 😂

As a pharmacist and a dad, these are 5 basics I’d check before winter properly gets going:

1️⃣ Pain & fever relief
Paracetamol or ibuprofen, where appropriate. If you have children, make sure you have an age-appropriate product and know the correct dose for them. This is really important and largely goes by their age and weight. So you can have 2 kids needing paracetamol from different bottles.

2️⃣ A working thermometer 🌡️
Not the one you vaguely remember owning but haven’t seen since 2022. With new batteries. Time to find it now 🤣

3️⃣ Something for a blocked nose
Saline rinse is a very useful option. Decongestants can help some people, but they’re not suitable for everyone, so check with your pharmacist if you have high blood pressure, take other medicines or aren’t sure.

4️⃣ Something to soothe a sore throat or cough
Lozenges, simple soothing remedies or honey for adults and children over 1 can be useful. Not every cough needs a cough bottle. Always ask in the pharmacy.

5️⃣ Oral rehydration sachets
Handy to have at home at the ready if vomiting or diarrhoea joins the winter party.

While you’re checking your supplies , check the expiry dates. 👀

You don’t need a cupboard full of medicines “just in case”. A few sensible basics can make dealing with everyday coughs, colds, sore throats, fever and winter bugs much easier.

I’ve made a simple Winter Medicine Cabinet Checklist you can save on your phone.

💬 Comment COLDS and I’ll send you a copy.

📌 Save this for cold and flu season and share it with someone whose medicine cabinet could do with a clear-out. 😂

I hope this helps

Tom the Pharmacist 👨‍⚕️

Balally Pharmacy | Sandyford, Dublin

Educational content only. Always ask your own pharmacist or doctor for advice.

04/10/2026

Children’s flu vaccine: nasal spray or injection? 💉

✨ This is our Q&A highlight question of the week. I answer your questions on stories every Thursday evening.

👉Most children aged 2 to 17 can receive the nasal flu vaccine. It’s quick, needle free and considered very safe. It contains a weakened form of the flu virus and cannot cause flu infection.

But the nasal spray isn’t suitable for every child. Children with a severely weakened immune system, for example, may need an alternative.

The important bit 👇

If your child can’t have the nasal flu vaccine, that doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t be vaccinated against flu. An injectable, non live flu vaccine for children may be suitable instead.

👉That matters because some children who cannot receive the nasal vaccine are also among those we particularly want to protect from complications of flu.

For parents worried by the words live vaccine.
👉The virus in the nasal vaccine has been weakened. The HSE describes the children’s nasal flu vaccine as very safe, and it cannot cause flu infection.

Not sure which flu vaccine your child should have? Speak to your pharmacist, GP or specialist.

📍We provide children’s flu vaccination at Balally Pharmacy in Sandyford, Dublin, including advice on which vaccine is appropriate for your child. As a dad of four I get how this may be a big decision for any parent.

💬 Comment KIDS for the link for more information from the HSE or pop in and ask us in person

Please share this with a parent who may not realise the difference between the spray and needle options for an immunocompromised child 🙏

I hope this helps

Tom the Pharmacist 🧑‍⚕️

📷 Fluenz image: Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons licence.

33 years later and still living the dream 😂. That 5 year arts and crafts degree really comes in handy on a daily basis P...
03/10/2026

33 years later and still living the dream 😂. That 5 year arts and crafts degree really comes in handy on a daily basis Patricia

September was another reminder that after 33 years as a pharmacist, I’m still learning. 💚This month brought the start of...
30/09/2026

September was another reminder that after 33 years as a pharmacist, I’m still learning. 💚

This month brought the start of flu and COVID vaccination season, new faces behind the counter, our new dispensing robot beginning to understand how we do things 😂, plenty of conversations about medicines, menopause and supplements, and another trip to Newstalk to talk about why “cortisol belly” isn’t quite as simple as social media would have you believe.

I also teamed up with GP Dr Helen Wall to answer questions about ADHD medicines. Because good healthcare isn’t about pharmacists, GPs or anyone else working in isolation. Sometimes the best advice comes from putting the pieces together.

But my favourite pharmacy moment this month happened outside Tom McKenna MPSI | Balally Pharmacy | Sandyford Dublin |

Our daughter moved to Waterford to begin studying pharmacy after a year working with me💊💚

After 33 years in the profession, watching your own child take her first steps into it is a strange one. Proud dad moment? Absolutely. Slightly concerned about how quickly she’ll start correcting me? Also absolutely. 😂

Behind everything you see here is still our independent community pharmacy in Sandyford, Dublin. Real patients. Real medicine questions. Vaccinations. Personal service. A brilliant team. Hopefully the kind of evidence-based health advice that helps make complicated things a little easier for you to understand.

Social media changes quickly. Healthcare changes too.

Good community pharmacy is still very human.

That was September at Balally Pharmacy. 💚
October… let’s see what you’ve got.

Tom the Pharmacist 👨‍⚕️

33 years as a pharmacist. If you made me choose? These are my picks. 💊Generic medicines over paying more for a brand whe...
28/09/2026

33 years as a pharmacist. If you made me choose? These are my picks. 💊

Generic medicines over paying more for a brand when they’re equivalent.

A supplement because I actually need it based on blood tests or clinical assessment, rather than taking one “just in case”.

The boring health basics over the latest health hack. You can’t market the boring ones and sell them by subscription or with an affiliate code.

The medicine that works for you over assuming the newest medicine must be the best. That’s not always the case.

Daily broad spectrum sunscreen SPF 30+ over spending a fortune on skincare while ignoring the basics.

What the evidence says over what the label promises me. The ingredients and what they contribute matter far more than the front of the bottle.

Of course, real healthcare isn’t a game of rock, paper, scissors. There’s nuance behind every one of these choices.

But after 33 years as a community pharmacist, one thing hasn’t changed:

Newer, more expensive, more complicated and better marketed doesn’t automatically mean better.

Sometimes the boring answer really is the best one. 😂

If you like practical, evidence-based advice about medicines, menopause, supplements and everyday health, follow along.

There’s plenty more from behind the pharmacy counter. 💊

Which one would you argue with me about? 👀

I hope this helps?

Tom the Pharmacist 🧑‍⚕️

24/09/2026

When menopause symptoms are affecting your sleep, your mood, your work or simply how you feel every day, of course you want answers. I get it. I have these conversations with women daily.

When something is marketed specifically as a “menopause supplement”, it’s understandable to wonder if that might help you.

A new study published in Climacteric looked at 201 menopause supplements sold in the UK but widely available in Ireland too.

What struck me wasn’t that supplements are “good” or “bad”.
It was just how different they all were.

🍄 Mushrooms particularly caught my attention.
Lion’s mane, reishi, maitake, cordyceps and chaga all appeared in the products studied.

👉Yet research specifically looking at mushrooms for menopause symptoms is extremely limited. The small trial of lion’s mane discussed by the authors found no benefit. The British Menopause Society currently don’t recommend them.

👉The important distinction is this:

Evidence for an individual ingredient isn’t automatically evidence for a finished “menopause blend”. Supplements can be like the Wild West. With little clinical oversight, what’s actually in the bottle can vary hugely from what’s on the label.

💜If menopause symptoms are affecting your quality of life, there are evidence-based options worth discussing with a healthcare professional, including HRT where appropriate, non-hormonal medicines, CBT for certain symptoms and lifestyle measures.

I just think women deserve to know what’s in the bottle, what dose they’re getting, what evidence supports it and whether it could interact with their medicines🙏. Selling hope in a bottle does not sit well with me.

No judgement. No hype. Just better information to help you decide. 💊 Informed consent is key. If they help you then great. But caution is required.

👉Want to read the research yourself? Comment YES and I’ll send you a copy of the paper.

Please share this with someone navigating menopause who might also find it useful.

I hope this helps?

Tom the Pharmacist 🧑‍⚕️

⚠️Educational content only. Always consult your own doctor or pharmacist

Address

Sandyford Shopping Centre, Blackthorn Drive Sandyford D16V2P 5
Dublin
D16V2P5

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 7pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 7pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 7pm
Thursday 8:30am - 7pm
Friday 8:30am - 7pm
Saturday 9am - 1pm

Telephone

+35312954084

Website

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