What a Pharmacist Keeps in Her Family Medicine Cabinet (and the One Tool I Never Let Run Out)

Last Reviewed: October 5, 2026

As a pharmacist and a mom of three, I get asked what is actually worth keeping at home. Here is the short list for a Canadian family, what to leave on the pharmacy shelf until you need it, and where to keep it all so the only person who can reach it is you.

Years ago, when I was a new immigrant to Canada and not yet practising here, my first child, barely two, woke up hot and crying in the middle of the night. I did what I had told hundreds of parents to do at the pharmacy counter back home in Nigeria: I went to the medicine cabinet for the infant Tylenol drops and the oral syringe.

The drops were there. The syringe was not.

So there I was, a pharmacist, standing at my own medicine cabinet, trying to judge 1.5 mL of 80 mg/mL drops in a dosing cup made for 5 mL. Since that night, I have always made sure we have oral syringes at home, so I never end up in that spot again.

A medicine cabinet is not a collection of products. It works only if the right thing is where you can reach it at the moment you need it, and nowhere a small child can reach it at all. Here is how to build one for a Canadian family.

Before You Stock Anything: Where Your Medicine Cabinet Should Live

Why the bathroom is the wrong room

The bathroom cabinet has the name, but showers bring repeated bursts of heat and humidity, and moisture breaks down many medicines faster. My guide to how heat and humidity damage medications covers which products are most fragile and why the expiry date stops meaning much once storage goes wrong.

When heat and little hands disagree, reach wins

The ideal spot is cool, dry, and dark. In a home with young children, it also has to be somewhere they cannot get into. Quebec’s public health guide for parents of babies and toddlers puts it plainly: keep medicines and natural health products in their child-resistant containers, in a cabinet with a lock or safety catch, or somewhere children cannot get into.

In practice, that usually means a high kitchen cabinet away from the stove, sink, and dishwasher, or a lockable box on a shelf in a cool room. A dresser drawer is cool and dark, but a toddler can open it.

This matters because children get into medicine. In 2020, Canada’s poison centres handled more than 215,000 cases, and over a third involved a child aged 5 or under. In fact, pain relievers were among the most common substances involved.

The exception: medicines that must stay within reach

Some medicines do their job only if you can get to them in seconds. Instead, epinephrine auto-injectors and rescue inhalers belong wherever your child’s action plan from their doctor says, not locked in a box in the kitchen. They still need sensible storage: EpiPen’s Canadian directions call for room temperature, 15 to 30°C, and say not to leave it in a vehicle in very hot or cold weather.

The Core List Every Canadian Family Cabinet Needs

Fever and pain relief in the right forms for your kids’ ages

Acetaminophen (Tylenol, Tempra, and store brands) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, and store brands) are the two fever and pain medicines most families need. The Canadian Paediatric Society is clear on one limit: do not give ibuprofen to a baby under 6 months without talking to your doctor or health care provider first.

So buy the form that matches each child’s age and weight: infant drops for babies, children’s liquid or chewables as they grow. If you are still deciding which one your child needs tonight, my comparison of acetaminophen and ibuprofen for kids walks through it, and my guide to dosing children’s medicine by weight shows you how to read the chart on the box.

The concentration trap: infant drops vs children’s liquid

This is the single most important Canadian detail in this post.

In Canada, Infants’ Tylenol drops contain 80 mg of acetaminophen in every millilitre, and the box is labelled for babies from birth to 23 months. Children’s Tylenol liquid contains 160 mg in every 5 mL, which works out to 32 mg per millilitre. Millilitre for millilitre, the infant drops are two and a half times stronger.

In other words, the same number of millilitres is not the same dose. If you switch from one product to the other, the dose in millilitres has to change too.

Now the part American websites will not tell you. In the United States, infant and children’s acetaminophen liquids have been one strength since 2011: 160 mg per 5 mL. So American dosing charts, and American articles telling parents that infant and children’s Tylenol are “the same,” are describing a product that is not on Canadian shelves. Read the milligrams per millilitre on your own box, and dose from your own box’s chart.

Similarly, Ibuprofen has the same split. Infants’ Motrin drops are 40 mg per mL, and Children’s Motrin liquid is 100 mg per 5 mL.

Oral syringes, not kitchen spoons

This is the one item I never let run out, for the reason in my story above. Infants’ Tylenol in Canada comes with its own syringe, and the manufacturer’s directions say to use that syringe and no other dosing device. Keep a spare oral syringe in the cabinet anyway, because the one in the box has a way of disappearing into a diaper bag. Kitchen spoons are the classic mistake, and my list of common children’s medication mistakes explains why they can deliver far more or far less than you think.

Please do not take the wrong lesson from my story. Infant drops are concentrated, so a small misjudgment in a cup is a bigger dosing error than it looks. If the syringe is missing and nothing you have is clearly marked for your child’s dose, do not estimate. Instead call Health Link 811 or a 24-hour pharmacy and ask what to do. You can say something like this:

My two-year-old has a fever. I have Infants’ Tylenol drops, 80 mg per mL, but I’ve lost the syringe. What should I do for tonight’s dose?

Clinical Mama Tip: When you buy a new box of children’s medicine, check that the dosing device is inside before you leave the store, and ask your pharmacist for a spare.

A digital thermometer

A fever number is not a diagnosis, but you need an accurate one before you call anyone. The Canadian Paediatric Society says taking the temperature in the rectum is the most accurate method for children up to age 5, with the armpit as an alternative, and the mouth becomes the most accurate option after age 5. My guide to fever in kids covers what the number means and when it matters.

Oral rehydration solution

Keep a box of oral rehydration solution (ORS) on hand before the first stomach bug of the season, not after. It is on Quebec’s public health list of medicine cabinet basics for young children. My quick guide to dehydration in kids explains how to use it and the signs that mean home care is no longer enough.

Skin and first aid basics

For young children, Quebec’s public health list includes zinc oxide ointment, an over-the-counter antibiotic ointment, petroleum jelly, an unscented moisturizing cream, and adhesive bandages and dressings. Finally, add a pair of tweezers for slivers.

For older children and adults, add a 1% hydrocortisone cream for itchy rashes and bug bites. Canadian labels say not to use it on children under 2, and Alberta’s MyHealth guidance says to keep it off the diaper area unless a doctor tells you to.

You do not have to work that out alone at the shelf. In fact, any pharmacist can look at a rash with you and tell you whether hydrocortisone is the right choice or the wrong one. In Alberta, many of us also hold additional prescribing authorization, which means we can assess you and prescribe something stronger when that is what the rash needs.

Saline for stuffy noses

Saline drops or spray for the nose are on the same public health list. They are one of the few things you can use for a congested baby or toddler, since cough and cold medicines are off the table under 6.

Add These Based on Who Lives in Your House

Babies under 6 months

Acetaminophen is the fever and pain option at this age. Ibuprofen needs a conversation with your doctor or health care provider first. More important than anything in the cabinet: the Canadian Paediatric Society says babies under 6 months with a fever should see a doctor, and babies under 3 months should be seen urgently. In Alberta, parents of babies younger than two months can also get 24/7 newborn advice through Health Link 811.

Toddlers and preschoolers

This is the age of the concentration trap. Infants’ Tylenol drops are labelled up to 23 months, so at some point you will switch to a children’s product, and the dose in millilitres will change. At the same time, keep oral rehydration solution and saline stocked, and skip cough and cold products entirely.

If your family has allergies, non-drowsy children’s allergy medicines such as loratadine (Claritin Kids) and cetirizine (Reactine) are approved in Canada from age 2. For a child under 2, ask your pharmacist before you give anything. The labels say these products are not for that age without a doctor’s direction, and your pharmacist can tell you whether that is the conversation you need or whether something simpler will do.

School-age kids, 6 and up

Chewables and junior-strength tablets start to make sense once your child can take them safely. Cough and cold products are allowed from age 6, but Health Canada advises giving only one kind at a time unless a health care practitioner says otherwise, because two products can share an ingredient.

The adults

Above all, keep adult medicines on a separate shelf or in a separate box from children’s products, so nobody grabs the wrong bottle in the dark. Health Canada’s advice is short: do not give children medicines labelled only for adults.

What to Leave on the Pharmacy Shelf (and Why American Lists Get This Wrong)

Cough and cold products for children under 6

Health Canada has advised since 2008 that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines should not be given to children under 6. A review found little evidence they work at that age, along with a risk of misuse, overdose, and side effects.

The American line sits two years lower. Children’s cough products there, such as Mucinex Children’s Cough, carry dosing from age 4 and tell parents not to use them under 4, and Mayo Clinic gives the same age cutoff. So a Canadian parent following an American chart could give a four-year-old something that is not for children under 6 here.

Oral phenylephrine decongestants

In 2023, an advisory panel to the United States Food and Drug Administration concluded unanimously that phenylephrine taken by mouth does not work as a decongestant, and the agency later proposed removing it from over-the-counter products. The proposal was about whether it works, not whether it is safe.

Health Canada said it would review the evidence and take any action needed. No Canadian decision has been published, so you will still find oral phenylephrine on the shelf here, in combination cold and allergy products. That is worth knowing before you stock up on something that may do very little. It has no place in a cabinet with young children in any case, and for adults it is a buy-when-needed product at most. Ask your pharmacist what will actually help the symptom you have.

Activated charcoal and other at-home poison remedies

You may still see activated charcoal or syrup of ipecac suggested as something to keep at home for poisonings. Either way, leave both out. HealthLink BC’s guidance is not to make a child vomit, not to use syrup of ipecac, which is no longer used to treat poisonings, and that activated charcoal is not used at home either. If you have ipecac in the house, then ask your pharmacist how to get rid of it safely.

If you think your child has swallowed something, call the Poison Centre first and let them tell you what to do. Poison centres manage the majority of their cases by phone without anyone needing to go to a hospital, so a call is often the whole answer.

Leftover antibiotics and other people’s prescriptions

Never give a child medicine prescribed for someone else, and never restart an old antibiotic without a new prescription. Return them for disposal instead.

ASA for children and teens

Do not give acetylsalicylic acid (ASA, sold as Aspirin and other brands) to children for fever. If you keep ASA for an adult in the house, store it apart from the children’s products.

Duplicate combination products

Two multi-symptom products can hide the same ingredient, often acetaminophen. As a rule, keep only single-ingredient products for the children and read every label before you combine anything.

How to Choose: What to Look for on the Label

You do not need a particular brand. Store brands with the same ingredient and strength work the same way. What you do need is the right information on the box.

1. A Drug Identification Number (DIN) or Natural Product Number (NPN). This tells you Health Canada has authorized the product for sale here.
2. The strength in milligrams per millilitre, clearly printed. This is how you avoid the concentration trap.
3. A dosing device in the box, marked in millilitres. For liquid children’s cough and cold products, Health Canada’s labelling standard requires one.
4. Child-resistant packaging.
5. A dosing chart by weight as well as age.
6. A single active ingredient for children’s products, unless your pharmacist recommends otherwise.

Keeping It Current: Expiry Dates, Weight Checks, and Safe Disposal

Check expiry dates when you restock, and replace anything past its date. A child’s dose changes as their weight changes, so every growth spurt is a good moment to recheck the chart on the box against their current weight.

Even so, keep enough, not a stockpile. During the 2022 shortage of children’s pain and fever medicines, pharmacists urged parents not to panic-buy, and pharmacists helped families find alternatives when shelves were empty.

Returning old medicines

Above all, do not put medicines in the trash or flush them. Return them to a pharmacy.

• Alberta: Participating community pharmacies take back expired and unused medicines through the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association’s ENVIRx program. Put tablets and capsules in a sealed plastic bag, leave liquids and powders in their original containers, and remove labels with your personal information.
• British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island: The Health Products Stewardship Association runs free take-back programs through participating pharmacies.
• Everywhere else: Ask your pharmacy whether it accepts returns.

When the Cabinet Isn’t Enough

Call 911 in an emergency.

If you think your child has swallowed medicine or a household product, call the Poison Centre right away, even if your child seems fine:

• Everywhere in Canada except Quebec and Nunavut: 1-844-POISON-X (1-844-764-7669)
• Quebec: Centre antipoison du Québec, 1-800-463-5060
• Nunavut: your local health centre

For a baby under 3 months with a fever, get your baby seen urgently. For a baby under 6 months with a fever, see a doctor.

In Alberta, call Health Link at 811 any time, day or night, to speak with a registered nurse about a symptom or a medicine question, including what to do if a dosing device is missing. Other provinces have their own health lines, many also at 811.

If you are trying to decide where to take a sick child, my guide to choosing between the ER, urgent care, or waiting it out walks through the options in Canada.

Quick Reference

• Store medicines cool, dry, and out of children’s reach. Reach wins over temperature.
• Epinephrine auto-injectors and rescue inhalers go where your child’s action plan says, not locked away.
• Core list: digital thermometer, acetaminophen, ibuprofen (6 months and up), oral syringes, oral rehydration solution, saline, skin and first aid basics.
• Canadian Infants’ Tylenol drops are 80 mg per mL. Children’s liquid is 160 mg per 5 mL. Same millilitres, different dose.
• Never dose from an American chart.
• No cough and cold products under 6.
• Keep a spare oral syringe. If the syringe is missing, call 811 or a pharmacist. Do not estimate.
• Poison Centre: 1-844-POISON-X (1-844-764-7669). Quebec: 1-800-463-5060.
• Return old medicines to a pharmacy.

Clinical Mama Takeaway

I had the right medicine that night, the right training, and years of explaining this exact thing to other parents. What I did not have was a syringe. That is the whole lesson of a family medicine cabinet: knowledge does not help you in the middle of the night unless the tool is in reach.

Since that night, oral syringes are the one thing our home never runs out of. Build your cabinet the same way. Start with the short list, know the strength on every box, keep it locked away from small hands, and put the phone numbers where you will see them.

❓Frequently Asked Questions

📚References

1. Health Canada. (2025). Infants’ Tylenol, DIN 02046059. Drug and Health Products Portal. Accessed from https://dhpp.hpfb-dgpsa.ca/dhpp/resource/42341
2. Kenvue Canada. (n.d.). How to give infants a safe dose of medicine. Tylenol Canada. Accessed from https://www.tylenol.ca/children/safety-dosing/how-to-give-infants-medicine
3. Kenvue Canada. (n.d.). Pain relief dosing directions for children and infants. Tylenol Canada. Accessed from https://www.tylenol.ca/children/safety-dosing/dosing-chart-infants-children
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