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Medicine Cabinet 101: Must-Haves for Peace of Mind
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items I was married to a medic for almost 20 years so I know what a well-stocked medicine cabinet looks like. Everyone should have a well-stocked medicine cabinet that’s ready for whatever life throws their way. This list includes the essential medications...
Sections
6
Pain & Fever Relief
Gastrointestinal Support
Cold, Cough & Allergy Care
Motion, Nausea & Travel Relief
Wound & Skin Care
Emergency & Specialty Essentials
Pain & Fever Relief
When your head’s pounding or the thermometer says you’re running hot, these are the ride-or-dies you’ll want nearby. Nothing glamorous here—just the basics that keep you from whining on the couch all day.
Brand name or generic, you're all good with acetaminophen. Not medical advice, but use the lowest dosage you can. Ask you doc, if you don't believe me.
TYLENOL 500 Mg Acetaminophen Rapid Release Gels
Same note as the Tylenol. Brand name or generic, I don't notice a difference. This is a staple in my medicine cabinet.
Advil Ibuprofen Pain Reliever & Fever Reducer Tablets
Same thing with acetaminophen and ibuprofen, brand name or generic, just make sure you have some aspirin on hand.
Bayer Aspirin 325 mg Safety Coated Caplets
Another brand name ibuprofen. You can grab the generic if you want. The only benefit of a brand name is people recognize it. So when your grandpa is looking for something to ease his pain, he'll recognize this one.
Motrin IB, Ibuprofen 200 mg Tablets for Pain & Fever Relief
Gastrointestinal Support
Let’s be real: stomach troubles hit at the worst times. Whether it’s mystery takeout or your “I swear I can handle spicy food” moment, these meds will keep things… moving (or not moving) in the right direction.
Luckily I haven't need Imodium in a long time, but I will ALWAYS have some on hand. You never know when it will hit.
Imodium A-D Diarrhea Relief Caplets
The liquid, generic version of Imodium. The mint isn't bad. I prefer the tablets, but the liquid works in a pinch.
Walgreens Loperamide Hydrochloride Oral Solution, Anti- ...
This is the type of Pepto my mom gave me as a kid. It's chalky and gets stuck in your teeth, but it's what I'm used to. What kind do you like?
Pepto Bismol Chewable Tablets, Indigestion and Anti-Diarrhea Stomach Relief
The liquid version of Pepto. Like most medication, I'm not a huge fan of liquid versions, but I have issues with texture. But I would take this as a last resort.
Pepto Bismol Liquid, Indigestion and Anti-Diarrhea Stomach Relief
Haven't tried these yet, but I'm intrigued. I don't mind chewable tums, so I bet these are similar.
Pepto Bismol Chews, Chewable Indigestion and Anti-Diarrhea Stomach Relief
I like the chewable tums. This is the generic version, but they're equal in my mind. I've found relief with both name brand and generic.
Walgreens Ultra Strength Antacid
The brand name antacid. Like I said I think these are the same in quality and taste.
Tums Antacid Chewable Extra Strength Tablets Assorted ...
Liquid version of tums.
Equate Maximum Strength Antacid Liquid, Cherry
Cold, Cough & Allergy Care
Sniffles, sneezes, and that one cough that won’t quit—these little lifesavers make sure you don’t sound like a dying walrus at work. Plus, allergy season? Yeah, you’re covered.
This is another medication that I don't think needs the brand name. Go ahead if it makes you feel better, but if you want to save some money, go generic.
Equate Allergy Relief Diphenhydramine HCl 25 mg Antihistamine Tablets
I do like this as a name brand, but you could do any product with guaifenesin. Make sure to drink plenty of water with this med. It dried the crap out of me.
Mucinex DM 12 Hour Max Strength Expectorant & Cough Medicine
This is generic Claritin. It works pretty fast, so among all the allergy stuff, I'd keep this on hand.
Equate Non-Drowsy All Day Allergy Relief Loratadine 10 mg Tablets Antihistamine
I am a huge fan of Alka-Seltzer. I always thought it was just an antacid. Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is. And sure I'll still keep the antacid version around but durn, the cold and flu fizzes are amazing. I feel like a new person afte...
Alka-Seltzer Plus Powerfast Fizz Severe Cold & Cough Medicine
I have these in my purse as well as my medicine cabinet. Love them!
Ricola Sugar Free Lemon Mint Throat Drops
Motion, Nausea & Travel Relief
Planes, trains, road trips—or just bad leftovers. Nobody wants to be the queasy one in the group. Toss these in your bag so you can focus on adventure, not holding back your lunch.
Love these little vials, I use them for other meds once I'm done with them. This is the OG for motion sickness for me. The only downside is the drowsiness, but sometimes that's nice. Sleep through the sickness.
Dramamine Original, Motion Sickness Relief
Don't let the name fool you, it's less drowsy, not NO drowsy. This is my go-to when at amusement parks.
Dramamine All Day Less Drowsy, Motion Sickness Relief
Go au-naturel with the Sea Band. When you don't want to take meds, try these instead.
Sea-Band Nausea & Motion Sickness Acupressure Wristband
When you have a minor upset tummy, try ginger candy to settle it down. And they taste good.
Prince of Peace Ginger Chews Plus Original, 3 oz Bag, Upset Stomach, Nausea, Morning Sickness, Vegan
Wound & Skin Care
From kitchen mishaps to mystery scratches you can’t explain, it’s good to have the stuff that keeps cuts clean and burns from screaming at you. Basically, a mini spa day for your boo-boos.
Mild soap and water is a good way to clean a wound and then adding a spritz or two of this will keep it all kosher. :)
Bactine Max First Aid Spray
I like to grab the assorted sizes box. It's just easier.
Band-Aid Flexible Fabric Adhesive Bandages, Assorted
Lots of different shapes in this box. All for smaller wounds of course.
Band-Aid Brand Tru-Stay Sheer Adhesive Bandages
Anything bigger than this that's needed, you'll probably have to cut your own gauze and tape it down.
Band-Aid Brand Skin-Flex Adhesive Bandages, Extra Large Size
Need tape for the gauze. That is all.
Band-Aid First Aid Hurt-Free Medical Paper Tape Small
Gauze doesn't have to be fancy. I do like the Band-Aid brand. If you couldn't tell.
Band-Aid Cushion Care Gauze Pads, Small 2 x 2 inch
Aloe is good for burns of all kinds. I tend to use it for sunburn on the off chance I get a little red.
Walgreens Dye-Free After Sun Gel
Emergency & Specialty Essentials
This is the “break glass in case of chaos” section. Severe allergies? Sudden sugar crash? Tweezers for that splinter you swear is a tree trunk? These are the just-in-case heroes.
Are Tweezerman tweezers pricey? Yes. Are they worth it? Absolutely. I will never buy a different brand of tweezers. Ever.
Tweezerman Neon Pink Mini Stainless Steel Slant Tweezer
Even if you don't know anyone with diabetes, you still should have some of these on hand.
TRUEplus Glucose Tablet
This is essential for every medicine cabinet. I think the ear themometers are the best. I don't completely trust the forehead ones, but that's just my opinion.
Braun Thermoscan Ear Thermometer
It never hurts to have a bunch of different size cold packs in your freezer. I have small, medium and large sizes. I got rid of the extra large ones because I hadn't used one in more than five years.
CryoMAX Medium
These silly looking scissors really are great for cutting bandages and tape. You could use regular scissors, but these are better.
Medicut Shears Neon Orange 7-1/4