Streamline Your Supplies

Real Simple asked the pros: What do you really need in your desk, toolbox, and more. 

All You Need in Your Medicine Cabinet

• Children’s ibuprofen and acetaminophen (your doctor may recommend either).
• Calamine lotion, for insect bites and exposure to itch-inducing plants.
• Floss picks: easier for kids.
• Dental floss: better for adults.
• One tube of toothpaste: Stock extras where there’s more room.
• Replacement toothbrushes, for forgetful overnight guests.
• A digital thermometer: quicker and safer than the breakable version.
• Tweezers with angled tips, for splinters.
• A small nail clipper.
• Chewable antacids work for kids and adults.
• Shea butter, for chapped lips and cheeks.
• Kids’ cough medicine, in a favorite flavor.
• Hydrocortisone cream, for rashes, eczema, and skin irritation.
• An antibiotic ointment, for killing bacteria and soothing cuts.
• Alcohol pads (instead of a big bottle), for disinfecting.
• Flexible bandages in a multipack, including some giant-size ones for big scrapes.
• Acetaminophen and ibuprofen, for adult aches.
• Benadryl, an oral antihistamine, for allergic reactions.
• Hard-core cough syrup for grown-ups.
• Saline nasal spray: a small bottle for each family member, so you don’t pass on germs.
  
  

The Experts:

• Betsy Ellis, school nurse in Memphis.
• Jenny Kuzjak, emergency-room nurse in Charlottesville, Virginia.
• Julie Kardos and Naline Lai, pediatricians in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and founders of the blog Two Peds in a Pod.