Picture this: you’re at home, and one of your friends accidentally cuts themselves. You go looking around your house for bandages and gauze, but you can’t find anything. You want to at least clean the wound, so you scurry around searching for hydrogen peroxide. Again, you can’t find anything. This tends to happen frequently in households low on medical supplies. Some people don’t even have medicine in their homes! This is an accident waiting to happen, and it’s about time you fix it. Most people don’t fill up their medicine cabinet because they don’t know what exactly to keep in it. Today, we will be going over some of the most commonly-used supplies you will eventually need in your home.
A Basic First-Aid Kit
For obvious reasons, you should always have band-aids, gauze, and hydrogen peroxide available for random cuts and scrapes. Band-aids will help prevent bacteria from getting into the wound, gauze will help stop the bleeding, and peroxide is used to help keep the cut from infection. It’s important to note that cuts should be handled differently depending on the type of wound and what caused it (see the guide here). Aches and pains come out of nowhere and affect all of us. If you want to push through the pain, it might be a good idea to keep some Tylenol or other painkillers in your medicine cabinet. Feel like you’ve been warmer lately, or the complete opposite? It would be wise to always have a thermometer in your home so you can check your temperature.
Cold Compress and Medicine
Someone is bound to end up with a black eye or a sore muscle, and that’s the perfect time to pull out the cold compress. Leaving the bag in your freezer for emergencies is convenient and can soothe the body in a matter of minutes. Suffer from heartburn? By keeping antacids like Tums around, you will be able to fight back as soon as you feel your body begin to flare. Waking up from a rough cough throughout the night? Cough medicine will help suppress spasms and keep you asleep throughout the night. If you aren’t fighting a cough but are still having trouble sleeping, look into buying melatonin, which helps relax your body naturally.
Allergies, Congestion, and More
Feeling congested sucks. Keeping a decongestant close at hand is key. From Advil to Mucinex, there are many over-the-counter decongestants that will do the job. For those who wear glasses, it’s easy to understand that your eyes become dry. Keep eye drops or contact solution handy for those moments of discomfort. Last but not least, allergy season seems to be year-round, and keeping medication to fight back is important. Look for a box of Sudafed, or even Allegra. Both will help you reclaim your body from allergens.
We hope these tips help keep your medicine cabinet stocked with the best supplies for any emergency.
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