This guide to building a natural medicine cabinet will give you all the tools you need to stock your own natural medicine cabinet!
I’ve never been one to load up on medicine–never.
Even in my super conventional days, I would only take medicine as a last resort.
I only took one antibiotic in childhood–for strep throat, as a teenager. And the only other antibiotic (besides during labor) I’ve had since was for a sinus infection when I was 25.
My husband and I laugh at how, in a state of delirium, I accused him of trying to poison me for “forcing” me to take an ibuprofen when I had fever with mono. We were engaged, and he comes from a family of doctors who thought nothing of taking painkillers.
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Part of the reason I disdained conventional meds–even long before my healthy living journey began–was because I didn’t like how they made me feel. Sure, tylenol would relieve a headache, but allergy meds always made me feel loopy. Taking them almost made me feel worse than the allergies themselves.
When I became a mom, I learned about some of the negative side effects of children’s medications. I decided to begin researching more natural alternatives to healing.
And so my natural medicine cabinet was born.
I’m happy to say that my family still only uses conventional medications as a last resort–but we don’t just grin and bear illnesses anymore. We conquer them head-on with these more natural alternatives.
Building a Natural Medicine Cabinet
When I began preparing for this post, I was shocked to find just how full my natural medicine cabinet has become! It was not always like this. It has taken years to build up my natural medicine cabinet.
It would be very expensive to stock a full natural medicine cabinet all at once. If you have the resources, then go for it! But if you are a on tight budget, you can still begin replacing conventional medications with more natural alternatives–little by little.
When I first began, we were living on a low income. I would visit our local health store frequently and check out the clearance shelves. Besides this, at first, I mostly just purchased items I needed as needed. Sure, it most definitely helps to already have things on hand, but that isn’t always possible for some families.
Some of these items you can also make for yourself–like elderberry syrup or some essential oil blends. This is an even more cost effective way to build a natural medicine cabinet.
Places to Shop
I now purchase most of what’s in my natural medicine cabinet from Amazon. I have found the best prices at these two places. Plus, I never have to leave my home to shop! When placing an order, I will often price compare between the two.
Here are some great places to get you started in building a natural medicine cabinet:
- Amazon.com
- The Bulk Herb Store
- Trilight Health
- Your Local Health Store
About Brands
You might notice in the pictures and links that I use a wide variety of brands. I usually look at reviews, but some of these brands are simply the most cost effective ones I found when I ordered them.
There are a few linked-to brands that I haven’t used yet. If you read my essential oils post yesterday, you will know that I am not brand loyal. I purposely linked to some neutral essential oils brands for this reason–although I do name some blends we use from the bigger companies.
My Natural Medicine Cabinet
I really store our natural medicines in two locations–a kitchen cabinet for supplements we use often and in a bathroom closet for those remedies we only use as needed.
For this post, I’ve broken my natural medicine cabinet into categories, according to ailment. This is mostly how I keep things organized in my actual cabinet/closet.
This list is not exhaustive. It’s just some of the things we use most often, and we are also continually adding to our stash.
Respiratory
My middle daughter and husband both have asthma, so respiratory health is something we take seriously. In an emergency or extreme case (like this past week when my little girl has pneumonia!) we will use conventional breathing treatments. But we like to keep it to:
- eucalyptus essential oil : I will dilute this with coconut oil and rub it on my girls’ chests. I will also use it in baths and dab it on their pajamas.
- elderberry syrup: I like for us to take this to build up our immune systems all winter long, but it’s also great for respiratory health! I haven’t yet, but I’ve recently purchased dried elderberries to try making my own.
- cool mist humidifier : Not technically medicine, but we use these in our bedrooms to help with clear breathing.
- essential oil diffuser: This is different than a humidifier. It helps to diffuse respiratory-buidling oils into the air.
- Lympha Rub from Trilight Health: This is great, especially if you don’t want to mess with mixing your own oils.
- Plant Therapy Respiratory blends
- Breathe by Doterra
Ear
Thankfully, we have not had to deal with ear infections for several years, but my middle daughter had several when she was a baby. This is what worked for us:
- colloidal silver: I put drops of this in my daughter’s ears, and it really helped! It’s almost like a natural alternative to antibiotics!
- garlic drops: I would rotate garlic and colloidal silver.
(Taking our daughter off of dairy and getting her chiropractic adjustments also helped with ear infections.)
First Aid
- bentonite clay: This is a MUST have! We love the Redmond Clay brand that is already hydrated. We use this on cuts, scrapes, burns, bug bites–you name it!
- lavender essential oil : Also great on scrapes, cuts, burns.
- frankincense essential oil : I recently used this to remove an ingrown hair/boil-like bump. It’s also great for just about any area that needs healing.
- DIY Coconut Oil Stick : I honestly haven’t made this yet myself, but we use plain coconut oil for soothing cuts, etc. all the time.
- Homemade Antibacterial Soap–with tea tree oil
- arnica pellets for pain
- Ouchie by Rocky Mountain Essential Oils
Stomach
- activated charcoal: I swear this kept me from getting the stomach virus even when the rest of my family fell ill!
- peppermint essential oil–diluted with coconut oil and rubbed on the abdomen
- ginger tea: Ginger is great for calming nausea.
- probiotics : These are also great for daily health!
- bentonite clay: This is great to dissolve in water. It absorbs any toxins causing the discomfort.
- DigestZen by DoTerra
- DiGiZen by Plant Therapy
Cold/Cough/Flu
- elderberry syrup: I like for us to take this to build up our immune systems all winter long, but it’s also great for respiratory health! I haven’t yet, but I’ve recently purchased dried elderberries to try making my own.
- neti pot: LOVE using this to clear out my nasal passages! It is very important to use clean water with this. We usually boil ours and then let it cool.
- Vitamin C: We up our vitamin C when we feel sick, but we also take it daily during the winter months.
- Vitamin D3: Vitamin D3 is vital to immune health! Like Vitamin C, we take it daily during the winter months, but I make sure we are getting good Vitamin D3 if one of us is ill.
- Echinacea: We give these echinacea drops to our kids, while hubby and I take echinacea capsules.
- I also really love this Echinacea Elder Tea and have also used this echinacea and goldenseal blend.
- oregano essential oil : diluted with coconut oil and rubbed on the feet
- zinc–for extra immune health
- garlic: Garlic capsules are easy to swallow (and my girls actually love them!), but raw garlic is always best.
- air purifier: We keep one of these in our living room year round.
- bath salts or bentonite clay to take a detox bath
- Echinacea and Thyme with Elderberries Immune System Booster from Trilight Health
- Immune Boom by Plant Therapy
I also use an immune-boosting essential oil blend–called Thieves by Young Living or On Guard by DoTerra. You can also google recipes to make a version yourself.
In this post, I wrote about 10 natural ways to prevent colds and the flu.
Sore Throat
- Throat Coat tea: LOVE this!
- raw, local honey mixed with cinnamon
- lemon water
Aches and Pains
- arnica cream
- bath salts or bentonite clay to take a detox bath
- Muscle Aloe Gel
- Deep Blue rub essential oil blend or cream–or a blend of spearmint essential oil and peppermint essential oil
Insomnia
- lavender essential oil: rub on the bottom of your feet for a good night’s sleep!
- bath salts or bentonite clay to take a detox bath before bed
- Cal/Mag: This is a relaxing drink great for before bed. I began drinking it during pregnancy. It can also help with leg pain during pregnancy.
- magnesium: This really helps to get a good night’s sleep.
- melatonin: This helps regulate your sleep.
I also love an essential oil blend called Serenity.
Headache
- peppermint essential oil
- bath salts or bentonite clay to take a detox bath
Seasonal Allergies
- saline solution
- neti pot
- raw, local honey
- lemon essential oil
- lavender essential oil
- eucalyptus essential oil
Read more of my tips for natural allergy relief here.
PMS
- Trilight Health’s Female Formula
- Clary Sage Essential Oil
- heating pad
Heather H
How do you use DigestZen? I have some but I don’t like the idea of taking it internally for daily use.
Kathy
Dilute in a carrier oil and rub on your stomach – about 2 drops to a teaspoon (you don’t need to use the whole teaspoon, though). Your best method would be to buy some roller bottles (you can find them pretty cheap on Amazon) and put in about 6 drops of your EO blend and then fill the roller bottle with your carrier oil. Then you can just rub on as needed.
Diana
Love this post! You sold me on the Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle yesterday with the announcement of the Essential Oil & Natural Health course from Vintage Remedies being included. THIS course alone being the only resource at this price would have sold me!
I love this post full of natural prevention and treatment choices aside from EOs though. I am going to print this post so I can begin marking off things as I replace items I have with the natural choice. Thanks for such an abundance of information!!
Mae
There isn’t a link for the Breathe and Clary Calm blends, where can I find these?
Debbie Melton
Hello, I am very new to essential oils. I was introduced to them by a friend through YLEO. I LOVE the oils but am finding that some are way to expensive for me. My local Herb Mart carries Now Essential Oils. I have tried to search for info on the Now Oils but can not find any info. Can you give me your personal opinion on them. Please send me any info you have to my email address.
Thank you Very Much, Debbie
Shonni
Hello, this information is so helpful. My husband is uncertain about how herbs can help and if the cost is worth the money. But right now he is pretty sick with with a cold/cough that has turned into a sinus infection and he said he would like to try herbs instead of the dr/antibiotic route. I am uncertain what to try for him. Would you have some suggestions?
Thanks you so much
Kristi Dalberg
Hi! I came across this post through social media a few days ago and pinned it for later. I’m glad I did because later came today. We stopped in at Whole Foods to pick some of these items up after my little girl said she wasn’t feeling well. I don’t have the same brand (couldn’t find them there) of echinacea drops but our bottle says 40-60 drops per adult. The clerk assured me they were for both kids and adults but I didn’t think to ask for a dosage. Any idea how it may compare to yours and if you know what I’d give a 3 and a 5 year old?
Thanks so much for posting this! I’ll be revisiting frequently as we fill our cabinet over time. We got a vitamin d3 spray (so my kids and I could both take it) and elderberry syrup, too! Hopefully, these will help keep us healthy this winter…and help her to start feeling better!
Mike Burke
How can I get a printer friendly copy of yer Med Cabinet. I don’t have access to a lot of printer paper here at the apts.
Respectfully,
Mike Burke
Brenda
Our liked the guai of natural remedies, I did not know how to use, I saved here in my favorites, thank you for sharing.
Johnny
This was so fun to read! I actually have a sore throat today and I would love to try the honey and cinnamon mix that you mentioned. This is a great list of natural medicines. Thank you for sharing.
Elle Salazar
So basically this is a natural alternative for the basic medicine cabinet? Where people get their aspirins and cough syrups!? Damn, now I’m excited to do this! It’s like real life RPG potion making. This is so cool!
Thank you Erin for this wonderful post :))) I know, I’m a girl but I like gaming a lot.
Kayla Rogers
I like the idea of implementing things like essential oils and different natural remedies into your diet. This treats the body more as a whole rather than just symptoms. I will definitely have to show this article to my husband, because you cover the different natural holistic treatments very thoroughly!
Erin
It does!
Michael R. Wadkins
Hello Dear!
You shared a very informative information with us. I really like your blog. Actually, I don’t trust too much on the conventional medicines. I like the idea of implementing natural things for different health problems. Thanks for sharing this post with us.