A first aid kit is a must for every home, so that you’re always prepared to handle accidents and minor injuries like cuts, bruises, or sprains. It also ensures that you can provide immediate treatment for minor illnesses like a cold, cough, or allergy.

While you can purchase a kit pre-filled with medical supplies, building your own lets you select specific items that suit your and your family’s needs. As you put together a home first aid kit, make sure to include the essential items listed below:

Over-the-Counter Medicines

Whether you have a headache, muscle strain, or stomach pain, there are over-the-counter medications you can rely on to manage your symptoms. These medicines can be easily purchased and don’t require a prescription. You can either get them from your local pharmacy or buy medicines online for your convenience. You also have the option to buy either branded or generic medicines.

Whatever you choose, remember to stock your first aid kit with these medications:

• Ibuprofen – It is used to treat pain in the form of headaches, menstrual cramps, dental pains, muscle aches, and the like. It can also reduce fever and relieve minor symptoms associated with the common cold or flu. As a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, ibuprofen blocks the body’s production of substances that cause inflammation. 
• Paracetamol – This is also used to treat various pains and reduce fever. Compared to ibuprofen, paracetamol doesn’t help in decreasing inflammation.  
• Loperamide – It is taken to treat sudden diarrhea. It works by slowing the movement of the gut, which decreases the frequency of bowel movements and makes the stool less watery.
• Antacids – They help relieve symptoms of heartburn, indigestion, or an upset stomach by neutralizing the acidity in the stomach.
• Laxatives – These are used to help treat constipation. They work by loosening stools and increasing bowel movement.
• Antihistamines – These are medications that help relieve symptoms of allergies like watery eyes, itchy eyes, sneezing, and runny nose. They are also used to treat symptoms of allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, and the common cold.
• Cold medications – These can be any medicines to help you relieve the symptoms of the common cold. Typically, you get nasal decongestants to help unclog stuffy nose or cough suppressants to control coughing. Also, include expectorants in your kit to loosen mucus in your lungs and make it watery enough so you can easily cough it up.
• Throat lozenges – They help ease symptoms of sore throat.

Prescription Medication

If you or anyone in your household is taking prescription medications, make sure to keep at least a week’s worth of them in your home first aid kit. Keeping a small stock of your maintenance medications can be very useful in case you run out and can’t leave the house, especially during typhoons or similar emergencies. 

Wound Care Supplies

Some of the most common injuries you might experience in your home are cuts, scrapes, and burns. To ensure you’re ready to treat these minor injuries, stock your first aid kit with gauze pads, dressing pads, bandage rolls, micropore tape, and adhesive bandages. Make sure they are of varying sizes to cover different-sized wounds. 

Also, remember to put wound cleaning supplies in the kit such as antiseptic cleaning solution, hydrogen peroxide, and antibiotic ointment. Additionally, keep a tube of hydrocortisone cream to ease any symptoms and discomfort caused by skin conditions like itching, swelling, insect bites, eczema, dermatitis, or skin allergies.

Thermometer

The normal body temperature ranges from 36.4 to 37.2 degrees Celsius. This can vary throughout the day, so this change isn’t something to be really concerned about. However, you need to watch out for any sudden elevation in body temperature as this may be an indication of an infection or illness. Keeping a thermometer in your home first aid kit allows you to easily check if you or other members of your household have a fever. This way, you can determine the next steps you need to take whether that may be taking over-the-counter medicines or seeking immediate treatment from a doctor.

Tweezers

Having a splinter or shard of glass stuck in your skin can be quite uncomfortable. It can also lead to an infection if you leave it for too long. If you have a pair of tweezers, you can quickly and safely remove stubborn splinters no matter how small they may be. Keeping tweezers in your first aid kit also means you can access them as soon as you need them instead of rummaging through the house to find them.

Hot and Cold Pack

While inside the house, you can accidentally slip, fall, or hit your head. These injuries can be painful but fortunately can be quickly remedied by a reusable hot or cold pack. Depending on what you need to ease the pain from the incident, you can warm or cool the pack. If you need something warm, you can submerge it into a pot of hot water until it has reached the desired temperature. In case you need an ice pack, put the pack in the freezer until it chills.

Whether you’re buying a first aid kit or building one for yourself and your family, make sure it has the must-have items mentioned above. These supplies can help you treat minor injuries and common illnesses. More importantly, having a stocked first aid kit in your home allows you to reduce the severity of any injury. 

Complete your first aid kit with health essentials online at Southstar Drug. Take advantage of our FREE delivery service if you purchase a total of Php 1,499 and up for Metro Manila, Rizal, and select areas in Pampanga, Cavite, and Batangas. For the remaining provinces, you may enjoy FREE delivery service for purchases worth Php 5,000 and up.

Disclaimer: This article features medical and health topics for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to replace or serve as medical or professional advice for self-diagnosis, self-treatment, self-medication, or the like for any health-related condition or medical emergency. Make sure to consult a health care or medical professional for proper medical care, diagnosis, or treatment related to your situation. 

Read on to know which vital items you should consider buying from a drugstore.

When you think about or search for “online drugstore Philippines,” you’re most likely planning to purchase over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medication. It’s practically automatic because, after all, a drugstore’s primary function is to sell pharmaceutical products.

However, most drugstores in the country nowadays have more than just medicines on their shelves and in their refrigerators. From snacks and beverages to a range of home essentials, you can find plenty of affordable products from your trusted drugstore (online or otherwise).

Here are some examples of products that you should put in your cart the next time you’re shopping at a drugstore:

Health Supplements

If you take health supplements and vitamins, the best source for them is a drugstore. Aside from a wider variety of products than you can find in supermarkets, drugstores also have proper storage facilities to maintain the potency of these products.

In addition, pharmacists can give you recommendations if you have specific health goals or concerns. It’s not absolutely necessary, of course, and supplements are usually OTC anyway. Nevertheless, it’s good to know that you have this option should you want or need it.

Medical Supplies

It’s always good to have a well-stocked first aid kit at home. Some of the essentials include adhesive bandages, gauze, medical tape, antiseptic, antibiotic cream, burn ointment, sterile gloves, small scissors, tweezers, and some cotton balls or swabs. For OTC medications, your first aid kit should contain painkillers, antihistamines, as well as those for immediate cough and cold relief. To be extra prepared, consider adding medicines for hyperacidity and loose bowel movement.

The good news? All of these can be found at affordable prices in drugstores! Aside from these products, most drugstores also sell medical aids and basic equipment. These include glucometers and digital blood pressure monitors.

Baby Diapers

One of the biggest expenses of new parents, particularly those with newborns, is diapers. The usual recommendation is about once every 3 hours, although the best rule to follow is “as often as needed.” This is because babies may urinate every hour or so, and have up to five bowel movements in a day. In short, you can go through a big pack of diapers in just 1 week.

Thankfully, drugstores sell different brands and sizes of diapers; just pick the product that’s “hiyang” for your baby. If you want to save a bit more money, check if the drugstore has generic or store-brand diapers.

Formula Milk and Adult Nutrition Powders

Another big expense for parents is formula milk. For newborns, you can expect to be feeding them up to 12 times every 24 hours. As they grow older, they will start needing fewer but bigger amounts of milk. To save money, buy formula milk from drugstores. Not only is it much cheaper, but you may also find variants or special formulations that are more suitable for your baby’s needs.

You can also buy adult formula and nutrition powders from drugstores. As with food supplements, pharmacists can provide advice and recommendations to help you or your loved ones achieve health goals.

Paper Products and Cotton Products

Aside from baby diapers, you may also want to purchase your daily paper products like bathroom tissues, paper towels, and table napkins from drugstores. You’ll enjoy lower prices, which is definitely good for your wallet because these are often-used products that run out quickly.

In addition, drugstores also sell cotton products like rolls, balls, and swabs at the same or lower price than supermarkets.

Hygiene Products

One of the best places to buy hygiene products is your favorite drugstore, due to coupons and other forms of discounts. Some of the items you might want to stock up on include deodorant, razors, and regular bath soap.

There are also plenty of affordable dental products that you can buy in drugstores, particularly toothbrushes. Remember, you don’t need expensive toothbrushes with special bristles. As long as you’re using proper strokes, brushing for at least 2 minutes, and brushing your tongue as well, you’re good! Follow it up with dental floss for complete dental care.

Basic Cosmetics

For your basic cosmetic needs, such as lip balm, eyeshadow, or even compact powder, you may be surprised to find a decent selection at drugstores. Plus, like many other items in this list, the cosmetics you’ll find at drugstores are much cheaper than those you’ll find at specialty stores.

Gone were the days when drugstores only sold medicines. When you take a look at their array of products, they often rival or sometimes exceed those found in convenience stores.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that a drugstore can completely replace a grocery or supermarket. However, it’s also true that some products are cheaper in a drugstore; there are also certain item categories that you can’t find in other stores at all.

The key here is to determine which products are worth buying in different kinds of shops. This way, you can better manage your time and money.

To ensure you buy trusted health essentials such as over-the-counter medicines or vitamins and supplements, you may purchase online at Southstar Drug. Take advantage of our FREE delivery service if you purchase a total of Php 1,499 and up for Metro Manila, Rizal, and select areas in Pampanga, Cavite, and Batangas. For the remaining provinces, you may enjoy FREE delivery service for purchases worth Php 5,000 and up.

Happy shopping!