Cheerfully Frugal First Aid
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Do I get overtime for working both Christmas AND New Year's Eves?!?
Just kidding! I'm tending a sick kid, anyway, so it's not as if I'm missing out on a steak-and-lobster dinner. A free Redbox coupon code movie rental is all the party we'll have.
I am, however, celebrating my newly organized first aid kit. Out with the old, syrup-crusted bottles...and in with a fresh supply of Tylenol, Benadryl, and all-new droppers and dispensers.
Having these items on hand will save you a bundle, should you ever be forced to send a spouse to Walgreen's at midnight. Trust me!
Dollar General has the best rock-bottom prices on generic over-the-counter medicines. Children's pain reliever costs $1.50, with infant pain reliever drops about $2. Children's liquid Benadryl costs $2 a bottle; Loratidine tablets (Claritin) are cheaper even than Walmart.
Don't forget the generic creams like triple-antibiotic (Neosporin) and cortisone (for itching).
Of course, you can get all kinds of adult over-the-counter medicines free with coupons.
But I find that with children's medicines, it's best to restock the first aid box all at once, so you're sure to have one of everything at all times.
Make sure you have generic Bandaids, rubbing alcohol, an instant-read thermometer and some Vaseline for taking the baby's temperature. Even if you use cloth handkerchiefs, you might include a box of Kleenex for sick times.
Ask the pharmacist for an extra medicine dispenser (or three). Am I the only one whose children sneak these "test tubes" to the bathtub later?
If you're a really sweet mom, buy a bag of hard candies to dispel the yukky medicine taste.
Here's to a New Year free of colds, coughs, and constant nasal discharge! And if we can't dodge the inevitable--here's to fighting the symptoms with cheerfully frugal first aid.
What else do you include in your family first aid kit--and where is the cheapest place to find it?
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8 Responses to “Cheerfully Frugal First Aid”
December 31st, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Great tip on Dollar General meds! That’s my favorite place to shop for meds too.
We also include the generic version of Dimetapp, and Delysm has become a staple for my medicine cabinet.
January 1st, 2008 at 2:11 am
We replace our outdated and/or yuckified meds at the end of the year, too!
A reminder, too, to those covered by flexible spending plans: many plans now cover OTC products and first aid supplies. If yours does, don’t forget to submit your receipts for reimbursement and avoid leaving $$ in the account. We had a couple hundred dollars left in our flex spending and bought more band-aids, theraflu, bendadryl and so forth than I’ve seen anywhere outside of a drugstore – we’re making up boxes of supplies for our older relatives to use the excess and making sure not to forfeit even one dime of that account.
January 1st, 2008 at 3:07 am
Something good to keep in a first aid kit is a bulb syringe or a soft plastic syringe. I know I got a plastic syringe when I had my wisdom teeth removed so that I could “irrigate” the scar tissue and keep the area free from food particles. They’re also good for moving liquids from one container to another when you don’t want spillage.
A small pair of scissors is good, too.
January 1st, 2008 at 5:12 am
Um, not to rain on anyone’s parade, but please think twice about using Neosporin and other similar products. Topical antibiotic creams are almost always unnecessary for run of the mill scrapes and cuts, and are one of the sources of growing antibiotic resistance. It’s better to just clean the wound thoroughly and if necessary (stretching or cracking of the scab) moisturise with a regular cream for dry skin.
January 1st, 2008 at 7:31 am
We do not have Dollar General, but our best grocery here frequently clears the shelves and I stock up on name brand meds (with adequate expiration dates left) between Oct 31 and Thanksgiving.
In addition I stock chicken broth, raw garlic and frozen ginger chunks; ginger ale and saltines from holiday sales; test and clean the humidifiers, and check the stash of sop-up towels and buckets. We are grateful no one has been sick here yet, but it is inevitable!
deb meyers
January 1st, 2008 at 8:15 am
Meredith-I’d invite you guys over if you lived closer
I’m a bit paranoid about the kiddo medicine-I hate to give a multi symptom product when the child only needs one part of it. So I tend to make sure I have , for example, just a decongestant, just an antihistimine, just an expectorant, then a few of the combos.
Also, it is very easy, and dangerous to overdose with tylenol-it can destroy a person/kid’s liver. So when you use a multi symptom medicine, make sure you check to see if it has tylenol (acetaminophen) before you dose the child with tylenol on top of it.
this articles explains it better than I can;
http://parenting.families.com/blog/children-are-at-risk-for-deadly-tylenol-overdose
and this
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/253533_painkiller27.html?source=mypi
January 5th, 2008 at 12:35 am
Rebekka, we don’t use Neosporin on everything. But it definitely has a use in the household–say for hangnails which are red and hurting, on the verge of a bigger infection, or a scrape that’s not healing quickly
A couple of days of Neosporin has kept us out of the doctor’s office on more than one occasion!
January 5th, 2008 at 12:38 am
Debbie, I shudder to think about the need for buckets. But I know it’s coming, and I’d better set aside a couple for us, too.
Thanks for the grim reminder!
Jenn, I feel the same way. I don’t even stock any combo kids medicines–in fact I think many of them have been taken off the market altogether this year, precisely because of the reasons you gave.
We like generic versions of Tylenol for fever, Ibuprofin for ear infection pain, Dimetapp for congestion and Benadryl for allergies.
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