Opinion: Janet Christie's Mum's the Word: Keeping the medicine cabinet stocked avoids the slippery slope to A&E
After a family birthday Zoom call on a weekend afternoon, looking at the exhausted front-line medics on display among us, some of them not so bright eyed after night shifts on Covid wards, I vow to do my best to support them – and I’m not talking about standing on the doorstep banging a pan lid waiting for the neighbourhood piper to finally run out of puff.
Since several good nights’ sleep and a pay rise, especially for those at the bottom end of the scale, are beyond my gift, I reckon the best thing I can do to help is make sure my household stays healthy and out of their way so they can do their jobs.
So when Youngest heads out of the house armed with her sledge (a bin bag - I must have dumped the actual sledges in the Covid house move), I warn her: “Remember to watch where you’re going! We don’t want you clogging up A&E again after coming off the sledge.”
“Yes, I’ll be very careful, mother,” she says. “I’m Just going to the same place as yesterday. Bye!”
The door slams.
Wait a minute, didn’t she show me footage of her sliding around on Arthur’s Seat, the city’s extinct volcano and highest peak, when she returned last night, delighted by my over-reaction at her antics.
What could possibly go wrong?
I repeat my mantra to myself. “It’ll be OK. Probably.” There are plenty of safe, flat bits on Arthur’s Seat, far away from the precipices and crags. I’m sure that’ll where she’s headed. Plus she’s taken Middle Child with her. Oh.
Still, locating a tube of arnica for bruising is probably a good idea and I go in search of the family medicine box. I’m sure I’ve still got some arnica from when I last gave birth 18 years ago, stashed away next to the Sudocrem which has been invaluable for nappy rash bums right through to pizza face plooks and beyond.
But it seems the medicine box has also been Marie Kondo’ed in the move along with the sledges - guess it just didn’t ‘spark enough joy’.
Just as well I’ve been sent some essentials by Perrigo, the people behind Bio-oil, Tiger Balm, TCP and host of other household medical musthaves, and just in time for National Sickie Day too (Monday 1st Feb if you missed it. Stick that in your Self-Care Calendar for next year.)
Best of all is the Jungle Formula, a reminder that like everything else, the covid winter will pass and spring is officially but a month away. Midge bites, jelly fish, nettle rash, bring it on.
