We all have some basics in our medicine cabinets, or at least most people do. Most of us have the usual suspects, including prescription medications, some Tylenol or Advil, and maybe a Band-Aid or two. The question isn’t what the majority of us have already, but what should we all have in there. The humble medicine cabinet is the start of your preparedness from a medical perspective. It’s easily recognizable by anyone who comes into the home, and everyone in your home knows exactly where to find what they need in an emergency by looking here. It is a centralized place, and the spot you will usually be when dealing with a medical crisis; in the bathroom, or kitchen in my mom’s case.
Getting Organized
To address the things we should have on hand, I’m going to break them up into three categories. These categories will help to organize the way to think about what’s needed for your family unit, and make stocking up easier. The categories I will use are prescription/rescue medications, basic medications (those you can pick up without a doctor’s order), and non-medication supplies. In my cabinet, these are the way I keep everything organized, in little bins with each labeled for a category. If this won’t work for you, just make up your own categories that work in your family unit, and go with it.
Prescription & Rescue Medications
I also organized these in order of importance, hence having prescription and rescue medications first. These medications are prescribed by a doctor or family practitioner, or can be picked up from speaking with a pharmacist, and are specific to the medical conditions of those in your family unit. First on the list are your basic prescription medications, those that are taken regularly for ongoing medical condition management, i.e. blood pressure medication, or insulin. As mentioned in a previous blog, you should always aim to have extra on hand if possible to mitigate any issues in reaching a pharmacy, or the loss of some meds through other means, such as them falling into water. Then we get into the rescue medications. These are things that pertain to specific severe issues that can arise from ongoing medical conditions, or bad reactions to certain medications. There are five main ones that I suggest here, but there are many more I won’t mention that may apply to you. If these don’t apply to you, that’s great, but speak with your pharmacist to determine if there are any rescue medications you should have on hand. The main five are also the most common, being Nitroglycerin spray for cardiac syndromes, Ventolin puffer for asthma or copd, Epipen for severe allergic reactions, Dextrose tabs for low blood sugars in diabetic people, and naloxone for the potential reaction to narcotic pain medications. These are common and used regularly in rescue medicine, and should be on hand if you or anyone in your family has these conditions. If you need to have these around, make sure they are accompanied by instructions on their safe use, because it may not be you who has to use them.
Basic Medications
This type of medications are used for a variety of everyday treatments, as well as some severe issues in times of crisis. These are broken down into three sections as well; gastrointestinal medications, pain medications, and other.
Gastrointestinal
The main gastrointestinal medications I have stocked up are Gravol, Tums, Zantac, Pepto, and Imodium. These are the mainstays, used to treat nausea, heartburn, diarrhea, and indigestion. There are other options on the market, which can work just as well, just make sure to have treatments for all of these main issues, and you should be covered. The main reason, as a prepper, to have these medications is to ensure the ability to consume calories and maintain adequate hydration and electrolyte balance, which is immensely difficult if having episodes of vomiting or diarrhea.
Pain Control
The next is pain control, which includes Tylenol, Advil, Aspirin, and Robax. While all of these work to relieve pain, they are each only used for mild to moderate pain. The upside is that they work in different ways, which is useful to know when choosing the best pain control. Robax is a combination of muscle relaxant and basic pain medication (usually Tylenol or Advil), so ensure you know which medications are used so you do not accidentally take too much of one or the other. While Robax is marketed for back pain, it can be useful in treating all kinds of muscle aches and pains, from minor overuse aches to moderate sprain and strains. Tylenol is the best mild pain relief mediation, as it works on all types of pain, and can be taking in conjunction with inflammation treating medications. The biggest thing to watch out for with Tylenol is the possibility of overuse, as it is a common additive in many combination pain relievers. Advil is classified as an NSAID, which stands for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication. In short, this means it treats pain by helping to lessen inflammation at the site of injury, marked by redness, pain, swelling, and heat at the site. This medication is great for treating any type of injury, but especially those of the joints. Finally we reach the workhorse of pain medications, Aspirin. Aspirin does a little bit of everything; it treats mild pain, inflammation and muscle relaxation, plus has the bonus effect of acting as a blood thinner. This makes it useful for a lot of situations, but keep in mind that it may make things much worse if the injury is bleeding. Aside from treating pain, aspirin, Tylenol and Advil are also all used to help lower fevers, and aspirin can be given in the case of coronary syndromes (aka chest pain).
Other
Then we reach the other category, consisting of two important medications; Benadryl and multivitamins. Benadryl has multiple uses in our homes, including treatment of basic allergic reactions, topical numbing of bug bites, and sedation for sleep or motion sickness. The most versatile type of this medication is liquid gels or children’s liquid, allowing you to utilize it easily in a topical sense, in addition to the usual oral dosing, without having to crush or dissolve tablets. The other medication on this list is a little strange for most people to think about, apart from the usual daily support of our digestive systems. Multivitamins, however, are extremely helpful in situations where food is a limited resource. When we are unable to obtain all our essential nutrients, those which our bodies cannot make from other sources, we begin to see issues with all our body systems, including mental ability and skin integrity. Therefore, having multivitamins on hand can help to ensure that you get the essentials when our diet is lacking.
Non-Medication Supplies
And finally, we have reached the non-medication category. This grouping consists of sunscreen, anti-itch/bite cream, solarcaine, bug spray, polysporin, Vaseline, and a first aid kit. These are all pretty self-explanatory, as most of us have used them at some point in our lives for various reasons. These are simply the main ones I keep on hand to help prevent and treat those basic issues of sunburns, mild burns, cuts and scrapes, and bug bites. The key with these is to remember that prevention is the best treatment for anything, so bug spray and sunscreen is a must have.
Bottom Line
Summing this up, have all the important and frequently used medications and medical supplies in a central place, and ensure everyone in your family unit knows where to find it and what to use it for. As always, just keep organized and keep safe. Sincerely yours, Prepping Medically.
As always, feel free to leave and comment or question below. Also feel free to contact me using the link below.