Disclosure: This post was guest written and sponsored by Aimee.
Modern healthcare advancements have done much to prevent disease and keep families healthier than at any time in history. From innovative medications and treatments for diseases, to immunizations and other aspects of preventative medicine, whole families are able to grow and live without the fear of deadly illnesses that previous generations endured.
For most families, though, healthcare starts at home with the basic remedies and treatments that can be found in a standard medicine cabinet. These will cover most common ailments and minor injuries. Whether it’s dealing with cuts, scrapes and abrasions, headaches, stuffy noses and sore throats; or itches, allergies and the like, it is important to have a variety of materials and over-the-counter medications on-hand to treat, comfort and heal a family’s wounds and illnesses.
Bandages of various sizes, as well as some type of disinfectant and an antibacterial ointment, are necessary additions to any medicine cabinet and will likely need to be replenished regularly as they are used. Witch hazel, calamine lotion and anti-fungal cream are good to have handy to treat a variety of itches and rashes. Allergy medications, in both oral and topical forms, should be kept on hand to treat seasonal allergies, itches and rashes and even mild reactions to insect stings.
Handling flu symptoms and the common cold means keeping cold and cough medications, cough syrup and vapor rub on hand. Families with children should be sure to have child-friendly formulas of cold medications and cough syrup, since adult dosages could be too much for their bodies to handle. A thermometer is also an important item to have in the medicine cabinet.
Most medications and materials for first aid and basic home medical care can be purchased in pharmacies, discount retail stores and grocery stores. Many medications can be purchased for a discount online through sites such as the Canada Drug Center.
An ounce of prevention
The availability of healthcare today is unprecedented, and adults and children within a family have the opportunity to get regular health checkups and preventative screenings more than ever before. Regular health checkups, sometimes called wellness visits, can help doctors build a profile for patients, picking up health problems that could become serious later and enabling them to start treatment quickly. A number of factors may influence how often healthcare may be needed; some of these factors include age, family health history, weight, nutrition, current health status and lifestyle choices.
Immunizations
One of the greatest accomplishments of modern medicine is the discovering and proliferation of vaccinations. Due to the schedule of immunizations that have grown in number, from polio in the early part of the 20th century, to nearly a dozen in the current cocktail for infants, many vaccine-preventable diseases have been all but eradicated.
Immunizations help to stimulate the immune system, causing it to become stronger and more capable of fighting off the so-called “childhood” diseases, such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis or whooping cough, as well as measles, mumps and chicken pox. Immunizations also help protect adults and children from seasonal illnesses such as pneumonia and flu.
Immunizations are particularly important for babies and young children, the elderly, pregnant women and anyone with chronic illnesses that could result in complications or death if exposed to the original disease.
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