What do you need in your self-care kit?
Self-care can be the best choice to treat very minor illnesses and injuries. A range of common illnesses and injuries can be treated at home simply by combining a well-stocked medicine cabinet with plenty of rest.
Make sure that your well stocked medicine cabinet is out of the reach of children.
Over the counter medicines are available from pharmacies, local stores and shops. They include paracetamol and ibuprofen for common complaints such as colds and flu. These over the counter remedies can be bought quickly and easily for much less that than the cost of a doctor’s appointment. It is estimated that it costs the NHS around £50 for a consultation and prescription for a minor condition that can be treated for no more than £10 and as little as a few pence
Locally it is also estimated that doctors could have an extra hour every day for other appointments if they didn’t have to deal with a range of common conditions which could be helped instead with over the counter remedies.
We have created a simple list of over the counter medicines to have at home. The prices for each suggested item are estimates based on a range of local high street pharmacies, shops and supermarkets:
- Junior Paracetamol – £1.90
- Paracetamol – 25p
- Ibuprofen – 25p
- Aspirin – 30p
- Diarrhoea relief – £1.00
- Constipation relief – £1.60
- Antihistamine – £2.50
- Lozenge – 99p
- Antacid – 99p
Total – £9.78
Having these remedies at home could help relieve most minor conditions where the best thing to do is let nature takes its course.
It is a misconception that antibiotics are a cure all and in fact for the most common viral illnesses, such as colds and flu, they just don’t work and you have to let nature take its course.
If you’re not sure which is the best treatment for you or you need advice you can always just call in and have a chat with your local pharmacist. Pharmacists are trained and qualified to give professional, free advice and have a wide range of remedies available. You don’t need an appointment to see a pharmacist and many of them also have private consultation rooms.
There is also help, any time day or night, from the NHS Choices website or by calling NHS 111 free of charge to be connected to an adviser.