5 Medicines You’ll Be Glad You Have!

Winter is coming… and with it comes getting sick, which makes it an excellent time to take a look at your medicine cabinet and see what is missing. Since colds, flu bugs, and COVID-19 are all viruses – you can best prepare by securing some winter preps to treat viral symptoms when exposed.

If you happen to get sick, common symptoms include inflammation in the body (body aches), sneezing, sore throat, runny nose, chest congestion, and sometimes nausea and fever. Viral infections can make us feel run-down and fatigued, compromising the immune system. Sometimes viruses can turn into bacterial infections, and when they do, it’s helpful to know how to treat a bacterial infection.

Medical supply shortages happened throughout 2019 – 2020 with the coronavirus. This has taught many of us that it’s important to have key medicinal preps on hand. Here’s a list of five types of medicine to consider stocking your medicine cabinets with:

5 Medicines You’ll Be Glad To Have 

1.  Anti-inflammatory – Motrin can help ease inflammation in your body and nasal passages, making it easier to breathe and fall asleep. Over-the-counter medicine such as Ibuprofen includes a pain reliever and a fever reducer.  

2. Decongestant –  It’s common for nasal passages to clog from dilated blood vessels during a virus infection, which causes congestion. A decongestant shrinks the blood vessels making it easier to breathe and allowing mucus to drain. Pseudoephedrine is a common decongestant found in over-the-counter medicines such as Sudafed.

3. Expectorant – Congestion is a common problem during the winter. An expectorant is great at loosening mucus which can help clear airways. Guaifenesin is a common expectorant found in over-the-counter medicines such as Mucinex.

4. Stomach Soother – A hallmark of the influenza virus is nausea and vomiting. Unfortunately, it can be challenging to recover from a viral illness if your body isn’t getting the nutrition it needs to repair and fight off the effects of the infection. Soothing your stomach is an essential tactic in recovery from these seasonal and novel viruses. Bismuth subsalicylate is a common stomach soother found in Pepto or Kaopectate.

5. Antibiotics – “One hundred years ago, the top 5 causes of death in America were gastrointestinal infections, tuberculosis, pneumonia, heart disease, and kidney failure (usually related to untreated bacterial infections or poisoning). Since then, advances in medical knowledge, including therapeutics such as antibiotics, have transformed life as we know it, and infections are no longer a top cause of death. However, bacterial infections are still a significant killer in many developing nations, with pneumonia and diarrheal illnesses near the top.”

Sometimes a virus can turn into pneumonia. Pneumonia is typically caused by a bacterial infection. When this happens, an antibiotic like Azithromycin is prescribed. If you are interested in getting an emergency supply of antibiotics, you can get them through a company called Jase Medical. 


Consider – Eating food rich in antioxidants can strengthen one’s immune system. Antioxidants are found in berries, dark green leafy vegetables, and legumes, to name a few. Frozen or freeze-dried berries or green vegetables maintain high levels of antioxidants. If you don’t have these items in your prepper pantry…you can buy antioxidant vitamins to add to your medicine cabinet.

I am NOT a medical professional! This article includes ideas that come from personal research to satisfy my own needs. Please do your own research! If you are pregnant, nursing, or have a medical condition talk to medical professional before taking any herb or over-the-counter medication. Thank you for visiting Preppers Survive and using the affiliate links to make purchases at no extra cost to you. Your support makes this site possible. See full disclaimer.

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