Essentials for Your Family’s Medicine Cabinet

Walking through your local pharmacy, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by aisle upon aisle of over-the-counter medicines and first aid items. There’s only so much room in your medicine cabinet, so it’s helpful to know which items are essential and which are not. Stanford Medicine Children’s Health pediatrician Nicole Dudaney, MD, discusses the top five to have on hand to get your child through a mild injury or illness. She also gives sage advice on how to treat a cold and handle an emergency.

Top five medical items for children of all ages

“The five major items I recommend in general for all ages are a fever and pain reducer, a proper dosing device, a reliable digital thermometer, basic first aid supplies, and anti-allergy medications,” says Dr. Dudaney.

A fever/pain reducer and a dosing device. Dr. Dudaney’s first recommendation is acetaminophen, since it is safe for all ages. It can be given every four hours. Ibuprofen can also be used, starting at age 6 months or older, and given every six hours, ideally with food.

“Parents can actually alternate between acetaminophen and ibuprofen every three hours to help keep a fever down for children ages 6 months and up,” she says.

Children’s medicines often list proper dosing amounts on the box based on your child’s specific weight. Pediatric and adult medication may have the same ingredient, but the concentrations are very different. That’s why purchasing medicine specifically designed for infants and children is important. They usually come with a dosing device, like an oral syringe.

“Dosing errors are one of the most common medication mistakes that I see. Many families tend to use kitchen spoons to estimate the dosage, but these are not very accurate, especially for little ones, where every milliliter counts,” Dr. Dudaney says.

A reliable digital thermometer. Instead of a forehead, infrared thermometer, which she considers not very reliable, Dr. Dudaney recommends an old-school digital stick thermometer to track a fever. For younger kids, it can be used in the armpit, and for infants in the rectum. Older kids can use it orally.

Basic first aid supplies. Most minor cuts and scrapes can be treated with a few essentials. These include different-sized adhesive bandages like Band-Aids, gauze, medical tape, petroleum jelly, and good old simple soap and water.

“I know an antibacterial ointment is popular, but recent studies show that it has a high risk of allergic reactions and contact dermatitis. And we find that most wounds don’t really need it to heal,” Dr. Dudaney says. “After washing, petroleum jelly does the trick of keeping the wound nice and moist to help with healing, followed by a Band-Aid on top.” If a cut looks very deep or dirty, or is not healing well, call your pediatrician.

Antihistamine for mild allergies. If your child is experiencing allergy symptoms such as a runny nose, itching, or hives, an antihistamine will help. Dr. Dudaney steers parents away from antihistamines with diphenhydramine due to its sedative effect, and points parents in the direction of a daytime nondrowsy antihistamine. Watch out for advanced allergic symptoms such as difficulty breathing, swelling around the mouth, or vomiting. These indicate a more serious allergic reaction. If your child was prescribed an EpiPen, use it with these advanced symptoms or go to the nearest emergency room.

Tips to help your child through a respiratory virus

Now that you know the basic essentials for your medicine cabinet, let’s talk about how to help your child through a common cold or flu.

Besides giving your child a pain and fever reliever to manage a fever, headache, or body aches, administer nasal saline drops and run a humidifier overnight to “keep everything nice and moist,” says Dr. Dudaney. If your child is really stuffy or congested, bring them into the bathroom and run a hot shower, letting them breathe the steam for 10 to 15 minutes, a few times a day. Also, give your child plenty of fluids. For kids older than 1, honey works well to coat the back of the throat and soothe a cough or soreness.

“Babies and respiratory viruses are a bad combination because it’s hard to clear mucus from their small nasal passageways. I highly recommend using saline drops or a saline spray along with a nasal suction device,” Dr. Dudaney says.

She does not recommend an over-the-counter cold or cough medicine for young children “They have a number of side effects, a lot of them being cognitive-related, and many do not work very well either.”

Being prepared for an emergency

Dr. Dudaney has seen children looking fairly fine, then suddenly decline rapidly, so when your child is ill, keep a close watch. Knowing which symptoms indicate an emergency helps you act quickly. These include difficulty breathing, persistent vomiting, severe allergic reactions, unresponsiveness, and seizures. When any of these happen, go to the emergency room immediately or call 911. Also, consider taking a basic first aid and CPR class, especially if your child has health issues. Finally, avoid accidents with medications.

“Accidental poisonings are quite common, but they can be prevented with a few simple precautions. First and foremost, store all medications and supplements out of reach and out of sight. Avoid leaving pills on the counter, your nightstand, or in your purse, and be extra careful when you have visitors such as grandparents coming to stay,” Dr. Dudaney says.

Keeping resources at your fingertips

She recommends saving the national Poison Control number on your phone. It’s (800) 222-1222, and it is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Also, Dr. Dudaney suggests avoiding internet searches to find health information and instead going to reliable sources that have been reviewed by pediatric specialists and pharmacists. Her favorites are healthychildren.org by the American Academy of Pediatrics, MedlinePlus.gov, and the Stanford Children’s System Checker.

Her final tip is a simple one: Review your medicine cabinet regularly to throw away expired items, replace them, and consider any changes as your child grows.