These days, it’s vital to be prepared for anything that could happen. That includes making sure that your home pharmacy is well-stocked, especially if you have children. From antipyretics to pain relievers, it pays to have medicines ready whenever someone in the family gets sick, and you can’t rush to the hospital due to the pandemic. Here are five items that you need to stock in your home pharmacy:
- Antipyretics/Analgesics. With pain and fever being the most common ailments that family members experience, you need a well-stocked pharmacy with antipyretics and analgesics for both adults and kids. Choose a brand that’s been tried and tested to reduce fever within just 15 minutes. Liquid paracetamol, such as Dymadon, is among those medications ideal for pain and fever caused by flu, headache, and teething.
- Antacids and Intestinal medications. You’ll never know when someone in the family experiences a sudden bout of diarrhoea or constipation, so you need to keep stool softeners, antacids, laxatives, and other intestinal medications at home. This could include Omeprazole, Milk of Magnesia, or Cimetidine.
- Decongestants. With such drastic weather changes in Australia, it’s not uncommon for the household to catch a cold, especially during the cooler months. This is why you need to stock up on decongestants that will help deal with stuffy noses to help family members sleep well at night.
- Antihistamines. Chances are, someone in the family has allergies, or you might have a visitor who suddenly develops an allergy after eating seafood that you served. That’s why it pays to have antihistamines in your home pharmacy all the time. It could be the short-acting Benadryl or Claritin that lasts for 24 hours and is non-sedating. Make sure that you have both kid and adult formulations because you’ll never know who needs them in your house.
- Antifungals. Whether it’s diaper rash, vaginal yeast infections, or Athlete’s foot, you can benefit from having antifungal medications like Miconazole in your home pharmacy. This will help you deal with the itchiness before you consult your doctor for more proper medications.
Of course, you also need to stock up on other home pharmacy essentials like gauze dressings, paper tapes, antiseptics, Band-aids, alcohol, and other first-aid products that will surely come in handy at some point. You should also look at the individual needs of your family members to make it easier to choose the medications that you should have on hand at all times.
For instance, if your husband always experiences itchy eyes, then it would be smart to have some eye drops on hand. If family members have sinusitis and other allergies, you need to purchase nasal sprays and creams.
A well-stocked home pharmacy is a must these days when things could change very drastically, and you can’t just go out to purchase your needs. You can also feel more secure knowing that you have the things that you need within reach at all times.