Health And Fitness Tips

           Health Care




You can often treat small ailments well at home. But what medicines and tools are useful to have in your home? asks pharmacist Chuck van de Cappelle for advice on the home pharmacy.

Everyone does have a medicine cabinet or other place in the home where self-care drugs are stored. Research by the Consumers' Association shows that 95 percent of the 4,700 respondents have paracetamol in their home, 45 percent t ibuprofen, 26 percent nasal spray and 24 percent anti-diarrheal drugs.

According to Van de Cappelle, a pharmacist in Utrecht and secretary of the Association of Young Pharmacists, an extensive home pharmacy is not necessary. "Resources are limited in shelf life and you may never need them at all. So a shame to buy."
Indispensable in the medicine cabinet: paracetamol
"In addition to any prescription drugs, it is good to have paracetamol at your fingertips," says Van de Cappelle.

Paracetamol is the first choice as a painkiller and fever inhibitor. However, many people also have ibuprofen in their homes. "Ibuprofen is for sale in many places, but is not without risk," Van de Cappelle explains. "Among other things, there is a chance of stomach damage and stomach bleeding. Especially in the elderly."

Also, ibuprofen does not go along with certain medications, for example, medicines for high blood pressure. "Paracetamol has relatively few side effects and interactions with other medicines compared to ibuprofen," said the pharmacist.

You can take two tablets of 500 milligrams of acetaminophen three times a day. Van de Cappelle: "If this does not help enough, then ibuprofen is an option, but preferably consult with the general practitioner or pharmacy about its use."

Freely available gastric tablets also appear innocent, but do not always go along with other medicines. "If you take gastric tablets at the same time with certain antibiotics, the antibiotic is not absorbed properly," says the pharmacist.

Stomach tablets in your home if you ever suffer from your stomach, he thinks fine. "But consult with the pharmacy if you also use other medicines. This actually applies to all self-care drugs."