 I won't lie—every time I open my medicine cabinet some random item comes flying out and hits me. Did I mention every time? So, I'm taking the advice of the American College of Emergency Physicians, which recommends you clean out your medicine cabinet for the new year. To make this task a little easier, we offer you a list of what you need to buy to re-stock your cabinet and what you can leave on the shelves.
Cough: Nonmedicated lozenges with glycerin or honey are fine, but don't buy cough medications containing dextromethorphan, such as Mucinex DM, Robitussin Cough Long-Acting, or Vicks 44 Cough Relief. Those drugs don't do much to relieve a cough caused by a cold.
Cuts and scrapes: Bandages in a variety of shapes and sizes are good to have around. Also keep a local anesthetic on hand, like Americaine Spray or Dermoplast.
Headache, muscle ache, fever: Acetaminophen (Tylenol or generics) is safest for most people.
Heartburn: Antacids like Tums are safe, effective, and cheap for occasional heartburn. But don't take them with milk, which might irritate the stomach or even damage the kidneys over time. If you get predictable bouts of heartburn when eating certain foods, keep Pepcid Complete or Zantac 150 around to take before meals.
Runny nose: Benadryl Allergy and Chlor-Trimeton are effective, but they can cause drowsiness.
Sore throat: Dyclonine (Sucrets Maximum Strength, Original Sore Throat Lozenges) is your best bet.
Stuffy Nose: Decongestant or nasal sprays (Afrin 12-hour spray, Neo-Synephrine 12-hour spray) will work on stuffy noses, but switch to pseudoephedrine (Sudafed or generics) after three days to prevent rebound congestion.
Yeast infections: Clotrimazole cream (Gyne-Lotrimin or generics) or miconazole cream (Monistat 7 or generics) will work. But don't buy them unless you've been given a yeast-infection diagnosis by a doctor at least twice so you know the difference between that and something more serious, like a bacterial infection.
It's best to keep drugs in a dry, cool place, so the bathroom medicine cabinet isn't the ideal spot. And keep an eye out for expired liquid medications, which can separate and lead to inconsistent dosages. And, don't stockpile leftover antibiotics. Some grocery stores are offering free antibiotics to customers with a prescription, but we don't think this is a good deal. No matter how miserable you feel, antibiotics don't help viral infections, such as the common cold, bronchitis, and run-of-the-mill sore throat. Plus, they can cause serious side effects and every antibiotic prescribed unnecessarily increases the risk of a future infection from a bacterial mutation that is resistant to antibiotics.
Nicole Sarrubbo |
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