Advice

Medicine Chest

A well-stocked medicine cabinet will help you treat everyday illnesses at home.

Dos and Don'ts

• Do not give aspirin derivatives to any child under the age of 12 years.
• Do not take more than the prescribed amount of paracetamol in each 24 hour period.
• Always keep medicines in a safe place with a lock or store them well out of reach of children.
• You should return out of date or unused medicines to you pharmacist.
• Remember that your local chemist can give you advice about medicines.

Here is a list of useful medicines and dressings with a description of their uses. All are inexpensive and worth keeping at home in readiness for minor illness.

• Soluble Aspirin Tablets    
  For adults and older children. Good for headaches, colds, sore throats and painful bruises.
• Paracetamol Mixture
  For relief of pain or fever in young children.
• Sedative Cough Linctus
  For dry or painful coughs, but not coughs caused by the common cold.
• Menthol Crystals
  Add to hot water to make steam inhalations for treating catarrh and dry or painful coughs.
• Vapour Rub  
  For Steam inhalations. Also for children with stuffy noses or dry coughs. Rub on the chest and nose.
• Ephedrine Nose Drops
  For runny noses in children over one year old. Use before meals and at night but not for more than four days.
• Antiseptic Solution
  One teaspoon diluted in warm water for cleaning cuts and grazes.
• Antiseptic Cream
  For treating septic spots, sores in the nose and grazes.
• Calamine Lotion  
  For dabbing (not rubbing) on insect bites, stings and sunburn.
• Dressing Strips  
  For minor cuts
• Crepe Bandage (Three inch wide)
  To keep dressings in place and to support sprained or bruised joints.
• Cotton Wool
  For cleaning cuts and bruises.
• Thermometer  
  For fevers.
• Tweezers
  For removing splinters.

Self Help of Illnesses and Accidents

NHS Direct Website Self Help

Useful Links - NHS Choices

Colds, Coughs and Stuffy Noses

Fever (Raised Temperature) in children

Diarrhoea

Chickenpox

Head Lice

Threadworms

Back Pain

Cystitis

Burns

Sunburn

Useful Links

Allergies www.allergy-clinic.co.uk

Alzheimer’s www.alzheimers.org.uk

Arthritis and Rheumatism Council www.arc.org.uk

Asthma UK www.asthma.org.uk

British Heart Foundation www.bhf.org.uk

British Hypertension Society www.bhsoc.org

Cancer Research UK www.cancerresearchuk.org

Citizens Advice Bureau www.citizensadvice.org.uk

CRUSE (Bereavement Care) www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk

Department of Health www.dh.gov.uk

Diabetes UK www.diabetes.org.uk

Family Planning Association www.fpa.org.uk

Multiple Sclerosis www.mssociety.org.uk

NHS Direct 0845 4646 www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

Parkinson’s Disease www.parkinsons.org.uk

Primary Care Support Service www.pcss.nhs.uk

Relate www.relate.org.uk

Samaritans www.samaritans.org

Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust www.suttonandmerton.nhs.uk

Travel Advice www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk

Useful Telephone Numbers