By the second month of the new year, you may have everything organised; old books, toys and clothing were sorted, thrown away and donated. One spot however remains untouched, and is probably bursting at the seams; The bathroom medicine cabinet.
Faded, dull prescription medication, supplements, flu medicines, first aid items and an unidentifiable bottle of liquid that has crystallised are all shoved in there with no discernible order. Mopani Pharmacy is here to help.
Unpack everything and clean the cabinet!
Take out every item, wipe it down with sanitiser. The only time a hand goes in there, is when someone is sick. This is also a good time to evaluate the space. If it is just one cabinet, you might want to invest in some plastic drawers or compartments. If you already have those, you can to label them according to need.
A good guideline will be:
Scrutinise what you have
Inspect the overall condition of all the medications you have, as well as the expiry dates. If no expiry date is visible, look for the date it was dispensed and consult your pharmacist. If the medication looks faded, unidentifiable, the texture seems different or you are not sure about the expiry date, put these medicines aside.
List your items
A list of items that you should have in your cabinet is always handy. You can print out a list of items, what it is used for and which drawer or compartment they should be in. Laminate it and stick it to the inside of the cabinet door.
This will help you find what you need, and also help everyone in the home find the correct medication or item, if they are not familiar with your cabinet.
Items that you should definitely have in your medicine cabinet include:
- Pain and fever tablets
- Wet, dry or chesty cough medicine
- Chest vapour rub
- Cold and flu remedy
- Nurofen – period pain
- Throat spray
- Nose spray
- Something for constipation
- Something for nasal congestion and allergies
- Antiseptic ointment
- Something for sore muscles
- Probiotic (can be used daily but definitely when taking other medication)
- Antacid
- Vermox (To be used by everyone in the home once every three to six months, deworming)
- Something for diarrhoea and nausea
- Something for urinary tract infection
- Natural sleep aid
- Disinfectant
- Band aids
- Bandages
- Dressing
- Burnshield
Stock take
Once you have sorted your cabinet, you can reference your list and take note of items you need to purchase on your next trip to Mopani Pharmacy.
Many of the items are available to shop online and in-store. If you do not have a brand for each that is tested and true to you, it will be best to consult one of our pharmacists to choose the correct products for your family. Some of the items may not be suitable for children, or may be contraindicated to your health condition or chronic medications.
That old medication
We have a Brown Paper Bag Policy in place. All you need to do, is to get a brown paper bag from your nearest Mopani dispensary counter. Then you place all your old medications in the bag, and return it to us to either review or discard of in the proper manner.
Reconciling your medication through our pharmacy will help you identify and sort through everything, to see what you can still use and what it is for.
Many items may be bad for the environment, and it is therefore not advisable to dispose of them in the toilet. Discarding them in the trash may be dangerous to scavenging animals. We have a protocol in place to dispose of medications safely with minimal environmental impact.
Read more: Intern hearts already beating Mopani blue
We can deliver your medication, supplements, cosmetics, fragrances and other Mopani online shopping, nationwide. Contact us for info: mopani.co.za | crossing@mopani.co.za | Tel: 0137555500 | WhatsApp: 0661921703
