A Well Stocked Medicine Cabinet
I work in a surgery dispensary, and I’m often asked advice about over the counter medicines. I don’t pretend to be an expert, but this post is a run through of what I consider to be a well stocked home medicine cabinet.
In general, I always recommend getting the cheaper, generic and own brand products. It will save you money as you are paying for the branding and marketing, rather than the actual drug. There are a few that I have yet to find decent generic equivalents (they will be named below).
Onwards!
Paracetamol
Aches, pains and fevers, you should always have some of these in the house. Dose for an adult: 1-2 500mg tablets up to 4 times a day as required.
Paracetamol costs about 20p in the big chemists if you buy the own brand/value range. You do not need to spend a couple of quid on “big name” paracetamol as the dose per pill is most often 500mg whether you buy Anadin or Poundland.
A lot of the brands put caffeine in their pills to give you a boost while the active drug gets to your pain. If you want this effect, take your tablet with a cup of coffee or glass of cola, though I have never noticed any difference. There are a couple of research trials that show taking the drug with caffeine helps the analgesia to work quicker; other studies show that taken together paracetamol and caffeine can add to liver damage risk. Next week a study will show that taken together, you can fly to the moon. As with everything, use common sense!
Additional: If your family are prone to sore throats, have a small box of soluble paracetamol in stock as gargling with the solution helps.
Ibuprofen
Joint pain, tummy cramps (particularly good for period pain), headaches. Can be taken in conjunction with paracetamol, but I would advise against taking with aspirin as both these medicines have a tendency to irritate the stomach. Dose for an adult: 1-2 200mg tablets up to 3 times a day as required.
Again, don’t pay for marketing – generic own brand tablets will be sufficient. You do not need to take liquid caps or dissolvable tablets; the normal pills will work just as quickly.
Ibuprofen is a non-steroid anti inflammatory (NSAID) and as stated above, can irritate the stomach lining – I always get indigestion if I take more than one dose, so have a few indigestion tablets (own brand! – spot the theme?) on hand just in case. Always, always, always take ibuprofen with food!
If you find you need to take regular Ibuprofen, visit your doctor as there may be a more effective NSAID she can recommend. Also see the doc if you suffer from NSAID related indigestion/stomach problems as they can offer a proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) tablet to help prevent this from happening.
Additional: Not essential, but having an ibuprofen gel in house is handy if yours is an active family. Rub it on a sprained knee or aching shoulder, though the massage action will go a long way to helping this!
Ranitidine
Heartburn, mother-in-law’s cooking and indigestion (though not indigestion related to ibuprofen/NSAIDs; see above). Marketed under the brand Zantac, but can be bought via own brand. Save yourself the money please folks!
Dose for an adult: One 75mg tablet at onset of symptoms, if they persist take another one after an hour or so, but no more than 2 in one day.
Loperamide
For stopping diarrhoea. Marketed as Imodium but you’ll save at least a couple of quid if you buy the generic version.
Dose: Two 2mg tablet initially then a further tablet after each lavatory visit as required, to a maximum dose of 16mg daily. It’s not something I recommend taking on a regular basis but is handy in an emergency situation.
If you are taking Loperamide for more than a couple of days, you really need to see a GP who can advise you further, or perhaps test for horrible bugs.
One word of warning though… Loperamide will make you fart something awful, so limit use for when you have to drive long distances alone, and stopping for the loo every 10 minutes isn’t an option!
Rehydration Salts
For replacing the bodies minerals that are lost with diarrhoea. Branded as Electrolade or Dioralyte. Dose for an adult: 1-2 sachets after every lavatory visit as required.
They come in a variety of flavours, and help make you feel human after a case of “delhi-belly”. Also good as a hangover pick me up!
Senna
For the opposite problem! Sometimes even a high fibre diet can’t shift things, so a tablet before bed will loosen things up overnight and have you sorted in the morning. Dose for an adult: 1-2 tablets before bed, but try to up the roughage in your diet so it doesn’t come to this.
If you’re bunged up for more than 2 days, ring your GP.
Clotrimazole Cream
For thrush and athlete’s foot. You all know the brand name on this one, but get the generic. Dose for an adult: Rub on when itchy.
This is a great product – not just for itchy ladies bits, although that is the most popular use. It’s an anti fungal, also used to treat athlete’s foot and other fungal mankiness as well.
I consider this an essential medicine cupboard product for all ladies – I don’t find the combi packs or pessaries necessary. If the problem doesn’t go away after a couple of days, see your GP.
Tyrozets
For sore throats. Dose for an adult: one as required every three hours, to a maximum of eight in a day.
Tyrozets are not necessarily a medicine, but are an awesome product. These are little lozenges containing an antibiotic and an anaesthetic, and numb your throat (and mouth!), thereby relieving your scratchy, sore throat.
Multibionta Immune Support
A multi-vitamin with immune system boosting abilities. Dose for an adult and/or child: one daily.
It may seem strange for have a multi vitamin on this “medicine” list, but there is a reason behind this. A friend worked in Boots and every Sunday a woman would come in and buy the whole shelf of Multibionta Immune Support. After a few weeks, my friend asked her why.
The lady was a podiatrist and would recommend and sell on the tablets to her patients who had verrucas. We all gave it a go, including me who has had a monstrous verruca since the dawn of time. After a few weeks, bye bye verruca. I stand by these pills as the best verruca treatment ever, and hope they work for you!
Sterimar Nasal Spray
Sinusitis, blocked noses, “flushing out” colds. Dose for an adult: use as required.
There are many different ways of flushing out your sinuses, but I like this as it’s easy to use. There’s something very satisfying about squirting seawater up your snozz and cleaning out your nostrils, and I credit Sterimar with helping me recover from a cold a lot quicker than normal!
I hope this post has been useful. As stated before, I am no expert; these are purely recommendations of things I find useful.
Be well!
