7 Essential Supplies for Your Home Medicine Cabinet

It's always good to schedule an appointment with your doctor when you're feeling very sick. However, there are instances where a hospital visit isn’t required. Minor health conditions or injuries can often be addressed from the comfort of your own home. These include colds, mild allergies, and small cuts or scratches. To properly manage these health concerns, you should always be equipped with the right medical supplies.

You can’t predict when you’ll experience a certain health condition or acquire an injury, so it’s best to have a fully stocked medicine cabinet. The last thing you want is to take a trip to the pharmacy or grocery while you’re experiencing a nasty cold or a bleeding cut. Fortunately, creating a well-stocked medicine cabinet is a fairly simple process that doesn’t have to be costly. TheShop.mu carries a variety of essential medical supplies and frequently offers buy one get one free promos, so you can purchase more for less.

Now you may be wondering: what are the essential medical supplies that should be stored in your cabinet? If you want to be prepared for all your minor health concerns, below are seven medical supplies that you simply cannot do without:

Hand Sanitizer and Antibacterial Wipes

Make sure to store enough alcohol-based hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes in your medicine cabinet. These sanitising supplies have proven to be indispensable during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they prevent the spread of disease by keeping your hands clean. You’ll also need them to sanitise your hands before cleaning cuts or gashes. Dirty hands can transfer germs onto wounds, which could cause a painful infection that may require more serious medical attention.

Antiseptics

If you’ve acquired some minor cuts, bites, or scratches, you’ll need to thoroughly clean them with an antiseptic solution to prevent an infection. Antiseptics are formulated to kill and prevent the growth of harmful microorganisms on your skin. For proper wound disinfection, make sure to keep some bottles of this handy solution in your cabinet.

Bandages and Dressings

After disinfecting cuts or gashes, you might want to apply bandages or dressings onto them, especially if they’re open wounds. Bandages and dressings provide the coverage needed to prevent wounds from coming into contact with harmful germs. It's best to get them in different sizes, so you can cover both small and large abrasions or cuts.

Thermometer

If you’re experiencing a fever, you’ll need a thermometer to monitor your condition. While you may be able to feel the chills that usually come with a fever, it’s hard to gauge your exact temperature. A thermometer will help you determine the severity of your condition so you can take the appropriate steps to address it. Even if you feel like you’re experiencing a fever, medical professionals recommend that you check your temperature through a thermometer first before taking any medications.

However, do avoid purchasing a glass thermometer as they usually contain mercury. Instead, opt for a digital thermometer, which is safer and easier to use. Plus, digital thermometers give more precise temperature readings so they’re more reliable.

Painkillers

To alleviate headaches or decrease the temperature of a fever, you may need to take over-the-counter painkillers. For fever reduction, you can stock up on medications that contain acetaminophen. Medications with ibuprofen are anti-inflammatory, so it helps to keep some at home to relieve headaches or body aches. Be sure to take these medications only when you need them and at the appropriate dosages, as they may cause unpleasant side effects. If you have pre-existing health conditions like allergies, make sure to consult your doctor before taking these drugs.

Cough Medicine and Throat Lozenges

Even if the common cold is usually nothing to worry about, dealing with its symptoms can be a pain—quite literally. Nothing can ruin your day more than coughing and an itchy throat. That’s why you should stock up on cough medicine and throat lozenges. If you’re experiencing a painful or itchy throat, lozenges can help soothe it and give you relief until your cold subsides. To address hacking coughs, buy medicines that contain cough suppressants like dextromethorphan. For coughs with a lot of mucus, keep a stock of expectorants like guaifenesin.

Antihistamine Cream or Calamine Lotion

You may experience rashes or skin allergies after coming into contact with certain irritants, so it's best to include antihistamine cream or calamine lotion in your medicine cabinet. Calamine lotion is usually a pink-coloured liquid that alleviates mild to moderate itching caused by bug bites or rashes. Antihistamine cream, on the other hand, provides stronger relief for more acute cases of itching. You can stock up on both antihistamine cream and calamine lotion, or purchase products that combine both ingredients for more effective itch relief.

Do keep in mind that most medical supplies have an expiration date, which means they won’t be effective or consumable forever. That being said, be sure to frequently take stock of your inventory so you can replace or replenish supplies when necessary. Whether it’s wounds, colds, headaches, or skin allergies, a well-stocked medicine cabinet will always help you expect the unexpected.