What's In Your Medicine Cabinet??

[cheap shot at the "What's in Your Wallet" commercial..]

Yesterday, as I had the shear stupidity of going to a store shortly after roads were clear enough to venture out and my entire town had been trapped indoors for almost 36 hours (yes, total murder and mayhem; as the whole friggin' town was out and about), it struck me again how much unnecessary CRAP gets put into OTC (over the counter) medications. I mean, why in the blazes does even a simple cold remedy need to contain FD&C yellow this, FD&C blue that, artificial flavoring this, maltodextrin that? It's MEDICINE, for goodness sake, it's supposed to taste BAD (and actually, most the regular OTC stuff now tastes really bad to me and the boys - yup, we reprogrammed our taste buds..)

And then of course most cold remedies contain acetaminophen (aka "Tylenol".. NOT for MY boys), or corn or dairy derivatives.
So what's a mommy to do, because Salamander truly is miserable and he needs a little 'somethin' to help him fight whatever this is off.

You try to find stuff that is "less bad".

So here's what I stocked yesterday for my 'sniffles, coughs, cold, croup, laryngitis, etc' cabinet:

• Benedryl - Dye-free; yes, that one still contains 'stuff' I don't like. But it's a MUST have here, in case of allergic Shenanigans.
• Motrin - Dye-free: Yes, that one too contains 'stuff' I don't like. But sometimes you've got no choice.
• Boiron Coldcalm homeopathic tablets
• Hyland's Cold 'n Cough 4Kids Syrup
• Hyland's Sore Throat homeopathic tablets
• ZICAM Homeopathic No-Drip Liquid Nasal Gel Cold Remedy
• HerbsforKids Temp Assure Temperature Support Herbal Supplements

Now please understand that I know very little about homeopathy. But the homeopathic stuff I listed above I have used myself, with decent success.

For Salamander's current "congestion, stuffy, croupy cough, laryngitis" thing, the ZICAM nasal spray, Hyland's Cold n' Cough syrup and Sore Throat tablets seem to give him relief (and this is of course on top of his usual antiviral & antibacterial & immune system support stuff). And yes, I DO give him Motrin at bed time, and even during the day, if the headaches get too much to bear (we do the 1 to 10 scale. He gets Motrin for anything over an 8).

For the rest, this thing will have to run its course. So good food, lots of liquids, plenty of rest.

Salamander looked better this morning when he get up, the cough seems to be a little more lose. Still no voice (he has a 'mouse squeek', poor kid).

I am still planning on running a UTM as soon as I have more test kits..