5 Things To Always Have in Your Medicine Cabinet

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Along with cooler weather, the fall and winter months also increase the odds of catching colds or getting the flu. Be prepared for any seasonal illness by stocking your home with the right health and wellness products.

Here are five types of products you’ll want to have on hand to both prevent and treat seasonal ailments.

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Preventative products

The best defense against common seasonal illness is prevention. Protect your good health with immune-boosting vitamins. Defend yourself against germs that can cause colds and flu with a supply of antibacterial wipes, hand sanitizer, and masks.

Over-the-counter remedies

Be ready when flu and cold symptoms like body aches, fever, stuffy nose, sinus pressure, coughing, sneezing, sore throat, and headaches strike. Over-the-counter remedies can help soothe the discomfort these symptoms cause. Even better, some products can ease multiple symptoms, so you might need only a single dose every few hours to experience overall relief. Remember, store brands are more affordable, and work just as well as name brands to relieve your symptoms.

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Non-medicated symptom relief products

Sinus rinses and nasal sprays, cough drops, heating pads, and ice packs – each of these products can play a role in reducing pain, cooling a fever, soothing a sore throat, or relieving congestion. Also, be sure to get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids.

Vaporizers and humidifiers

Though they work in different ways, both humidifiers and vaporizers may help ease throat irritation and congestion by adding moisture to the air. Humidifiers use cool water to create a fine mist or spray, while vaporizers heat water and add steam to the atmosphere.

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Soup and crackers

Okay, you might not store these in your medicine cabinet, but both can come in handy when you or a family member is battling a cold or flu. The steam from soup helps clear congestion, while the soup itself provides fluid that may help thin mucus and prevent dehydration. (There is science behind the curative power of chicken soup, after all!) If the flu causes you to have an upset stomach, try munching on simple, easy-to-digest foods like crackers until your appetite returns.

In a single trip to your local Walgreens, you can get everything you need to face the upcoming cold and flu season. For reliable, affordable go-tos, consider Walgreens branded health and wellness products which are just as effective and safe as brand-name alternatives, but for less.

Plus, when you link your myWalgreens® membership with your AARP membership, you’ll enjoy special benefits.* For instance, you can get 10% Walgreens Cash rewards when you purchase Walgreens branded cold and flu remedies, whether you make those purchases in-store or online.

Click here to link your AARP and myWalgreens® memberships and take advantage of exclusive benefits! 

^{*Exclusions and restrictions apply. For details, see store or Walgreens.com/AARPcard.}

¹_{https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/influenza/facts-about-the-common-cold}

_{² https://www.cdc.gov/flu/vaccines-work/vaccineeffect.htm}