Home > Managing minor illnesses at home: evidence on over-the-counter health products in extraordinary times.

, Chapman, Sarah Managing minor illnesses at home: evidence on over-the-counter health products in extraordinary times. (19 Mar 2020)

External website: https://www.evidentlycochrane.net/minor-illnesses/


In a blog for people with minor illnesses and other health concerns amid fears about coronavirus, Sarah Chapman blogs the evidence on over-the-counter medicines and other products. Could we let go of some of the worry about our empty medicine cabinets? Might there be alternatives to our usual purchases?

I’ve just reread a blog I wrote a few years ago, with a retrospective sense of “we ain’t seen nothing yet”, about evidence on the effectiveness of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines.  “With our A&E departments in crisis,” I wrote, “we’re hearing how we’ve lost sight of how to manage minor illnesses ourselves…”. This seems a good moment to revisit this, to take a look at the evidence on how we can manage ordinary illnesses at home in the extraordinary circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic, and bearing in mind that those of us who have been able to take for granted the availability of over-the-counter medicines and other products can no longer do so. However, if you’re wondering if your symptoms might be coronavirus, please follow the latest advice (see the links in the last section of this blog).......

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