The Ultimate Guide to Building a Natural Medicine Cabinet

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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.

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

What’s in your natural medicine cabinet?