6 Over the Counter Medicines Every Women Should Have on Hand

You don’t want to be caught with a bare medicine cabinet when in need of some relief from a headache or terrible cold. Whether you’re a mother chasing around little ones or simply a young professional working long days, these are some of the medicines you should always have on hand.

A quick trip to your local pharmacy and you’ll be able to find all of these over the counter. If you already have some in your cabinet, make sure to check the expiration date before using them!

1. Pain Reliever

Whatever your choice of pain reliever may be, you should definitely have some acetaminophen in your medicine cabinet at all times. From relieving pain from a headache to helping sore muscles after an intense workout and even helping you deal with a raging hangover, a pain reliever like Tylenol or Motrin is your go-to medicine.

2. Allergy Medication

Whenever springtime rolls around and pollen fills the air, make sure you’re ready with some allergy medication stocked in your medicine cabinet. This is great to have on hand for more than just seasonal allergies, though.

You may find that you’re allergic to some pets while visiting a friend’s house. Or you could eat something new and start feeling a little itch in your throat.

If you ever start feeling an allergic reaction, simply take a Claritin, Zyrtec, or Benadryl for some much-needed relief.

3. Antibiotic Ointment

Cut yourself while chopping some vegetables for tonight’s dinner? Don’t worry!

Dab some antibiotic ointment on that cut or scrape to prevent any infections from rising. Whether you cut yourself doing everyday things or you have little kids who love to play outside and like to get rough and dirty, antibiotic ointment like Neosporin is a lifesaver. 

4. Midol

Every woman knows the importance of having some form of relief when it’s her time of the month. Midol is an all-in-one lifesaver when period cramps come raging or nausea starts to set in as our hormones start running wild.

Thanks to pharmaceutical market research, this is one of the best over the counter medications a woman can take during her menstrual cycle.

5. Cold and Flu

The last thing you want to do when you come down with a cold or the flu is run out to the pharmacy and buy medicine to help you throughout the day.

So, always keep it on hand. We prefer DayQuil and NyQuil to help manage the symptoms of an intense winter cold. Whenever you feel your body fighting off the cold virus, just take some of these and you’ll get over it in no time.

6. Decongestant

Do you ever wake up with a stuffy or running nose and have no idea why? These head colds can really put a damper on your day and keep you from getting your to-do list. Keeping a decongestant like Sudafed in your medicine cabinet is essential to help you combat these annoying head colds.