It is that time of year again, the sniffles have begun, the festive spirit is only dampened by the indigestion and hangover of the next day. It is time to air out the medicine cabinet in preparation for the winter season ahead. The Consumer Health Information Centre advises some key medicines to keep at hand to get you through the winter months and some handy tips to ensure you are using them safely and getting the most out of your medicine.

Winter Medicine Cabinet

Symptom	What you need
Pain, fever & headaches	The three most common remedies for pain, fever & headaches are paracetamol, aspirin* or ibuprofen. Aspirin (Note: aspirin should not be used in children or teenagers under 16 years old) & ibuprofen also have anti-inflammatory properties.
Cough	There are a wide range of cough medicines available. Ensure you get the right variant for your type of cough. A common ingredient for chesty coughs is guaifenesin and for a dry cough is dextromethorphan hydrobromide
Sore throat	Sore throat relief comes in the form of lozenges, pastilles & sprays (sometimes containing local anaesthetics such as benzocaine) as well as traditional pain relief remedies.
Runny Nose	The most common therapies for runny nose can be taken orally as a tablet or as a liquid. Ingredients include antihistamines doxylamine succinate, diphenhydramine HCl, chlorphenyramine maleate.
Blocked Nose	There are several decongestants available beyond the traditional aromatic oil based products. Decongestants are generally taken orally as a tablet and include ingredients such as pseudoephedrine hydrochoride, OR topically by spraying or inhaling the remedy into the nose where common active ingredients include xylometazoline or oxymetazoline HCL
Indigestion	If suffering from heartburn or excess acid: antacids will neutralise any excess acid in the stomach giving fast relief, alginates lie on top of the contents of the stomach, stopping acid from rising up into the oesophagus and acid reducers actually stop the stomach from producing too much acid. A bloated, full feeling can be combated with motility restorers, that help the stomach to start moving normally again, allowing food to pass out of the stomach and into the intestine at the right speed. The best approach for trapped wind is the use of antiflatulents which release trapped wind in the stomach by combining small air bubbles to make larger ones that the body can get rid of more easily.
Dry, cracked skin or lips	There are a wide range of emollient creams and skin protectants, such as paraffin or petroleum jelly based products available, which will give quick relief and prevent soreness due to skin or lips being dried out.

If you have children, there are children's variants for most of these medicines, just ask you pharmacist.

Cleaning out your medicine cabinet

• It's easy to stock up on medicines and remain faithful to that bottle or tub at the back of your medicine cabinet for years, after all they have always served you well, but have you checked the expiry date, it could be out-of-date. Why does it matter?
• In order to sell a medicine, the manufacturer has to prove to the regulatory authorities that the medicine is still of high quality and safe at the end of its expiry date through lots of stability tests. After this date you have no guarantees.
• Many of your medicines may no longer work as well after the expiry date. For example, the aromatic oils in rubs can escape into the air over time or the active ingredient, which is the ingredient that provides symptom relief, can slowly degrade rendering it ineffective. This will mean you aren't getting the best symptom relief from your product any more.
• Bacterial growth. Many products have chemicals added to prevent bacterial growth over the shelf-life of the product. However, if you use the product beyond its shelf-life this system may no longer be providing this protection.
• Some product ingredients can separate over time. Some you have to shake well before use every time and they seem to re-mix well. However, after a number of years, past the expiry date, this re-mixing may no longer work and it means your body might not absorb the medicine so well making it less effective.
• Finally, it is important you read your label every time you use your medicine. Your condition (e.g. if you are suffering from high blood pressure, during pregnancy) and other medicines you are taking, even herbal medicines you are taking can impact if you can use the medicine safely and effectively (e.g. did you know St. John's Wort reduces the effectiveness of emergency hormonal contraception). As we learn more about medicines, labels and information leaflets are updated, so by keeping a medicine beyond its expiry date you are risking not having the most up-to-date information.
  

Notes for editors

• The Consumer Health Information Centre (CHIC) provides a wealth of un-branded and un-biased patient information on everyday healthcare problems and how to treat them. Topics covered to date include pain, colds and flu, hayfever, stress, indigestion and men's health. Well over two million leaflets have been distributed so far. For more information, read CHIC campaigns.
• For product specific information on remedies visit Medicine Chest Online, the online version of the OTC directory produced by The Proprietary Association of Great Britain.

For further information please contact:

Diane MacArthur by telephone on 0207 421 9314 or e-mail diane.macarthur@pagb.co.uk.