Today, I’m sharing with you the contents of my medicine cabinet.
Since several readers have asked me to share what I keep in my medicine cabinet, I have been thinking how to save you time, money, and make your way to natural health more sure and enjoyable. This is one of those posts you may want to print out to have on hand!
What I would like to show is that there are many safe and logical natural alternatives that do a fabulous job of helping our body to heal itself – to clarify – I can’t say they NEVER have side-effects, but they are without the widely-known, common side effects of typical pharma drugs. I believe we save money and potentially untold grief by staying out of the health care system as we know it today.
A word of warning: It would be very expensive to pull all this together overnight. If you can afford it, go ahead. Instead, if you’re on a tighter budget like us, you can begin replacing conventional medications with more natural alternatives – little by little – as so many of you are doing.
How To Build A Natural Medicine Cabinet
I began by purchasing only what I needed when I needed it. I was hooked on finding more natural things to avoid going to the doctor for every little thing and consider it a challenge! Today with the internet, we can research so much.
This list is selected with concern for:
- completely non-toxic, no-side-effect ingredients
- and more effective outcomes because your immune system is protected instead of suppressed or damaged
Some remedies you can make yourself, and some you will want to buy. I shop all over the place to find the best value for our medicine cabinet needs. I don’t necessarily get the least expensive product, but look at the quality and especially look at ingredients.
Places I Shop
Amazon
, The Bulk Herb Store, my Local Health Food Store
Besides frequent hand-washing, chugging glasses of pure water, slurping up bowls of bone broth, here is my arsenal.
Medicine Cabinet Categories:
Colds/Flu/Coughs
Vitamin D3 – This power vitamin can often reduce your risk of getting sick in the first place when taken properly. It is estimated that 25 to 50 percent of any healthcare budget could be saved with adequate vitamin D serum levels. The best way to get Vitamin D is outdoor sun, but in winter that is often impossible. For most adults, the daily Vitamin D maintenance dose is above 5,000 IU per day, and for children it is 35 IU per pound of body weight per day. Best taken with K2…this product.
We keep buffered powdered Vitamin C around at all times. At first sign of illness, we take 1000 mg. (1/4 tsp) every hour until stools are slightly loose (bowel tolerance) and then reduce the dose to half and continue taking. Often, the cold or flu never develops, especially when in combination with elderberry syrup.
Vitamin A – (a valuable part of Cod Liver Oil which also has natural Vit D) a deficiency in vitamin A can increases susceptibility to infections and slows recovery when sick. Decreases risk of dying from many diseases.
Elderberry – Antiviral elderberry has gained a significant following as an effective preventative and treatment for flu. You can make your own elderberry tincture or elderberry syrup with dried elderberries, cinnamon, and raw honey. A good brand of elderberry syrup to purchase premade is Nature’s Answer. Both taste great. If flu does strike, 1 tsp. of this syrup 4 times a day can chase that flu out the door in a day or 2 or noticeably lessen the severity with no side effects.
Chelated Zinc – we take extra zinc first thing when our immune system needs a boost, we are under stress, or on a deadline.
Defense Plus Tablets (grapefruit seed extract)- we use this when a cold or cough goes into the chest and shows signs of becoming entrenched. Defense Plus and Oreganol Oil-P73 (between 3-4 drops in an empty capsule, 3x/day) are my go-tos for anything more serious than a cold since I can’t use traditional antibiotics. We have been fortunate and have had to use antibiotics only once for one of our children, so that is saying something about these products!
Give Cod Liver Oil (not fermented which might be rancid) to build the immune system and overall robustness like my grandmother kept in her medicine chest. We give up the old ways too easily! Update: we changed to Dropi or Virgin CLO (best value bc they contain fully natural Vit A and not synthetic retinyl palmitate).
I wrote a post on Cinnamon and Honey: A Powerful Duo Knocks Colds and More
Garlic is a powerful, natural antibiotic and true medicine. Odorless Garlic
softgels are easily taken by children or adults, but fresh is best. When not going out, take 1 big fresh clove, 3 times a day (crush and expose to air for ten minutes before consuming in V8 juice, etc).
Silver-Biotics (nano particles, not colloidal) – we learned about nanosilver when we had a well contamination and needed comprehensive and immediate help! We drank 1/4 cup twice a day for 3 days, then 1/4 cup once a day for 2 days. It’s highly effective against bacteria, viruses, and fungal organisms, even those that had become resistant to antibiotics (MRSA).
Colloidal silver, get exact information on how to calculate the dose to according to body weight here.
In this post, I write about making my own cost-effective, immune-boosting blend of Thieves® Oil. Diffuse it or take it orally.
<—-For a difficult cough, I posted here on using raw honey mixed with ACV (organic ‘with the mother’), organic cayenne pepper, and organic ground ginger in a base of water…very effective! My favorite store-bought: Dr. Christopher’s cough syrup with mullein.
We take a hot 30-minute detox baths (or foot bath) using mineral salts and bentonite clay and add 10-14 drops of essential oils such as lavender, lemon, peppermint, or eucalyptus. A detox bath is the only detoxing you should do if pregnant or nursing.
On car trips, we always pack Echinacea Plus tea or Echinacea Elder tea for a quick immune boost in case we catch a bug away from home.
Sore Throat
Throat Coat Tea – one of our favorite teas ever, and it works! Gargle with salt water or lemon juice
Get the free printable Elderberry Recipes PDF!
Digestive/Gastrointestinal Tract/Urinary Tract
Probiotics for healthy gut flora, to fight candida and leaky gut. We use Primal Defense (powder most economical) for adults and children. Very healing. And for a one, two punch with difficult gut issues, also use FCLO (next).
Cod Liver Oil to heal a leaky gut or poor absorption of food w/ wonderfully high levels of Vitamins A&D and Omega-3s.
Smooth Move Herbal Tea – for occasional constipation.
A few sips of Ginger Aid Tea is always the first remedy to try for nausea, tummy upset, or morning sickness. It usually works wonders – and quickly.
Peppermint Essential Oil or DigestZen– 4-5 drops mixed with virgin coconut oil and rubbed on the tummy.
For upset stomach/food poisoning: Bentonite Clay or Activated Charcoal will often absorb the offending toxin. It has kept us from full-blown food poisoning before.
Parasites are pretty much epidemic, so we routinely do a parasite cleanse once a year. Paragone and Paragone for Kids
I have had 100s of bladder infections that ruined my days until I discovered the combo of D-Mannose, and Kidney Cleanse (with Cranberry and Uva Ursi herb).
Emergency Medicine Cabinet/First Aid/Pain
I always keep Activated Charcoal on hand for spider bites, food poisoning, accidental ingestion of a poison, or a stomach bug. See my post on how to use. Also Bentonite Clay.
1-2 drops of non-diluted Lavender Essential Oil heals/soothes many things: cuts, burns, scrapes and splinters…a wonderful topical pain reliever. Naturally antibacterial and antiviral virgin Coconut Oil does the same thing.
Instead of a topical antibiotic that will be absorbed and increase the potential for developing antibiotic resistance, we use Nutribiotic Ointment or Spray with Grapefruit Seed Extract. 5 Star! Raw local honey for wounds.
Arnica Gel helps to relieve muscle pain and stiffness and to reduce pain, swelling and discoloration from bruises.
For pain of body aches and pains, many people find relief with White Willow Bark. White willow bark contains salicin, a glycoside used in the synthesis of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin).
Leg Cramps. These are often a symptom of underlying mineral deficiency.
Women’s Health: UTIs/ Vaginal/ Menstrual Cramps/ PMS
NutraBlast Boric Acid Vaginal Suppositories for vaginal yeast infections.
D-Mannose a very effective and safe treatment for UTIs, especially during pregnancy.
Hyland’s Menstrual Cramps Tablets, Natural Relief for Menstrual Pain
Hyland’s #8 Cell Salt Magnesia Phosphoric 6X Tablets, PMS Relief and Muscle Cramp Symptoms Muscle Relaxer
Upper Respiratory/Chest/Sinus/Allergies
We use many of the same things I’ve listed under Colds/Flu/Coughs above: Vitamin D3 and Advan-C Capsules, Zinc, Garlic, Defense Plus, Oreganol Oil-P73, Cod Liver Oil, my Thieves® Oil blend.
Eucalyptus Essential Oil is my favorite decongestant and expectorant. I like to dilute it in a carrier oil or coconut oil to use as a chest decongestant. Mix it with other essential oils (peppermint, cloves, cinnamon, lemon, tea tree, lavender) if you have them on hand to make a great vapor rub fro the medicine cabinet.
Elderberry syrup or tincture (see Cold/Flu) isn’t only for colds and flu. It addresses viral upper respiratory infections and builds immune system all winter.
Mullein is an awesome herb to help get mucous up and out of the chest. Drink lots of water with this to loosen phlegm. I love gathering mullein to make my own dried herb.
Allergies are often fought successfully with raw local honey! If you can’t find a truly raw, local source, this is next best value (both price and quality, IMHO): YS Bee Farm, 32 oz.
Hay Fever/Allergy additional help: Sabadil homeopathic tablets. Also Hyland’s Allergy Homeopathic Tablets (sublinguals).
Neti Pot and Saline Solution – what we go to when a sinus infection rears its ugly head.
Colloidal silver – get exact information on how to calculate the dose by body weight here.
Essential Oil Diffuser – Add your own blend or single oil in the sick room, bathroom, and kitchen to prevent germs from spreading. This is a wonderful method to help clean-up after the flu, as well. I LOVE my diffuser!
Car Diffuser with peppermint or lavender (or Thieves blend if there is a flu outbreak).
In this post, I write about 20 ways I use Tea Tree Essential Oil.
My mom gave us a Kaz (now Vicks) personal steam inhaler a long time ago to use with essential oils, and we have used it multiple times every winter!
Ears and Eyes
We had so many ear infections when our children were young. My favorite store-bought remedy is the Willow/Garlic Ear Drops. Cut out dairy for 3 weeks to test for a dairy allergy.
You can also make your own mullein ear drops using Dried Mullein Herb. Mullein is awesome and works to draw out pressure and congestion relieving pain! I use a dark amber bottle for storage.
Consider looking into a possible dairy allergy if there are many ear infections.
For Pink Eye, this is indispensable: Similasan Eye Drops.
In this post, I write about the 19 approved essential oils that are safe for children and babies.
PMS/Headaches
MoonMaid Botanicals: Pro-Meno Wild Yam Cream – my herbal alternative to bio-identical hormone creams for menopausal symptoms. Very calming, balancing, and I have seen good changes in my body.
Magnesium – Blue Ocean Minerals maintains the highest potency and pharmaceutical-grade natural magnesium available on the market today.
In this post, I write about 14 No-Side-Effect Migraine/Headache Remedies.
My Medicine Cabinet Anti-Aging & Brain Health Favorites
*Turmeric – this one helps so much keep my inflammation in check
I use TRS detox spray daily. Read more here and here. It safely removes ~8,000 toxins and heavy metals – the root of our prions (brain-fog gone!), Lymes, and now I’m growing thick, new hair after years of losing it! Download my TRS User Guide here: https://deeprootsathome.com/trs-guide or go to my website here:
I take 1 tsp. Dropi Cod Liver Oil daily to build my immune system with natural Vitamins A and D like my grandmother regularly took. We give up the old ways too easily!
1 Selenium capsule or eat 2 Brazil nuts a day – anti-cancer, due to selenium deficient soils
N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) 1/day (<—this is my preferred brand bc of the added detoxifying Molybdenum and selenium (so you don’t’ need the selenium above).
I take high quality Himalayan pink salt liberally to cover all my magnesium and trace mineral needs. I take it straight in water or make a salt sole. Read about the fascinating powerhouse it is here.
“Magnesium deficiency can produce symptoms of anxiety or depression, including muscle weakness, fatigue, eye twitches, insomnia, anorexia, apathy, apprehension, poor memory, confusion, anger, nervousness, and rapid pulse.”~ Carolyn Dean, The Magnesium Miracle
Ginkgo biloba– enhances mental function and memory.
CoQ10 – strengthens heart, lungs, immune system. I learned about CoQ10 in the OR. It reduced our open heart patient post-op medicine and stay from 8-10 days to 4 days back in the early 80s!
*Niacinamide (Vitamin B-3) – anti-aging, chronic Lyme’s, MRSA, Staph, Candida yeast overgrowth, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, depression, Schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, and learning disabilities.
*Alpha Lipoic Acid & Acetyl L-Carnitine – strong anti-aging and cognitive function. I’ve taken this one for about 7 years.
Haha! I must need some ginseng…I’m tired of this loooong post…lol but I am so glad to help and encourage Mamas in this important endeavor. It is so satisfying to see families building their own medicine cabinet and getting well.
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