This is what the medicine cabinet should look like
Today we are looking at a topic that has often been asked about: the medicine cabinet. However, the question is whether I am the right person to talk to.
Because I confess: our medicine cabinet (for which, logically, I was responsible) always looked like a mess - much to my wife's chagrin. I have put together a list below so that you don't feel the same way and have a well-stocked but essential medicine cabinet.
It is important to me that you do not approach this pharmacy too quickly. A child does not need an electrolyte solution immediately after vomiting and not every fever needs to be brought down immediately with suppositories or fever syrup. Nevertheless, a well-stocked medicine cabinet is important. And just as importantly, if you are unsure about your child's condition, consult your trusted paediatrician. That's what my wife always did, which is why it always turned out well for us :-)
Medicine cabinet
Clinical thermometer
various plasters, sterile compresses, gauze bandages, quick dressings
Burn dressing and triangular cloth
Tweezers and small scissors
Hot water bottle and cooling pad
Disinfectant spray without alcohol
Medication
Fever juice (ibuprofen and paracetamol, so that you can alternate if necessary) and/or fever suppositories
Antihistamine gel (for burns, sunburn, insect bites)
Wound and healing ointment (minor injuries)
Nasal spray, decongestant and sea salt
Electrolyte solution for vomiting
Bum ointment for small children
If your child needs medication regularly or in emergencies (asthma, febrile seizures, etc.), this should always be in stock.
Please check the expiry date of all medicines regularly.
Home remedies
Aniseed, fennel and caraway tea (flatulence)
Camomile tea (stomach ache)
Sage tea (flu-like infections)
Salt sticks and rusks
Onion for onion compresses (earache, insect bites)
And of course our small practice brochure with all the emergency numbers!
PS: Globules also have their place in the medicine cabinet for children. But they should be dosed and not used constantly. It is part of a child's development to put up with a little pain from time to time. In such a case, it's better to bring magic into play: by blowing, holding and comforting, the little pain disappears without any medication or globules.
Further interesting tips
Paediatric myths
Have you ever heard these phrases or said them yourself? "The child has such yellow snot, it's probably something bacterial!" "The urine smells so bad, it's probably a urinary tract infection!" "The child is coughing so badly, it must be pneumonia!" You hear all these sentences over and over again and they are all, you guessed it, rubbish.
Adultism
Recently, the word "adultism" has been cropping up again and again in the education/school/nursery sector. So it's time to say something about it from a paediatrician's point of view.
Autimus spectrum disorder
There is hardly a clinical picture in which misinformation, myths and rumours play such an important role as in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Time for a categorisation from the doc.