What’s Behind the Price Surge on These Medicine Cabinet Must-Haves?
You may not realize it at first, but your medicine cabinet is one of the most important things in your entire house. What else do you reach for when you cut yourself or have a bad headache? But unfortunately, the prices of things in the medicine cabinet are going up thanks to tariffs and increased production costs. Here’s a list of 28 vital health-saving items that cost more than they used to when you were growing up.
Ibuprofen
When you have a headache, you reach for the ibuprofen… but now the ibuprofen might be the thing giving you the headache in the first place. The price of these drugs increased during the pandemic and unfortunately they never really went down.
Antihistimines
Drugs like Benadryl now put you back far more than they did in the past. Allergy seasons are getting longer and more intense due to climate change, so demand for antihistamines has surged, and the producers of the drug can’t keep up.
Hydrocortisone Cream
This is the cream you use when your skin is itchy, but the price has gone up so much that some people just prefer to let their skin itch now. The price of everything to do with hydrocortisone, even the packaging, has gone up and that cost gets passed along to you.
Antacids
More and more people these days are reporting digestive issues – some think it’s linked to chronic stress, and there’s a lot of that about right now – and so antacids are increasing in price to an alarming rate. Unfortunately, they’re just so expensive to make and transport. Some people are simply using natural remedies instead, like apple cider vinegar.
Imodium
The FDA has imposed packaging restrictions to prevent misuse of Imodium, and that’s sent the cost skyrocketing. Add to that the cost of making the stuff in the first place and it all has a big impact on your wallet. If you have diarrhea, why not try treating it with ginger tea? Some people think it really helps.
Hydrogen Peroxide
This is another one where prices surged during the pandemic and then never went back to normal, and then increased tariffs made it even more expensive. Hydrogen peroxide costs a lot to make, to package, to ship… and it’s you who’s paying for all of that. It’s a shame.
Tylenol
Tylenol is a vital thing to keep around, yet some people are finding the cost more than they can handle. Increased global demand for the drug has caused the price to go up. Tylenol is especially expensive during cold and flu season, some people have found.
Band-Aids
Need some band-aids to cover up a small wound? Then you might be in trouble. The cost of adhesive bandages has shot up over the years due to increased prices for medical-grade adhesives and simple cotton. Band-aids can also be affected by tariffs, depending on their classification.
Antiseptic Wipes
Demand for antiseptic wipes skyrocketed during the pandemic, as no doubt you remember well, and remains high to this day. Manufacturers have struggled to keep up with the demand, especially with rising costs for alcohol. And yep, there are tariffs on this product as well.
Thermometers
You can’t use a mercury thermometer any more, they’re dangerous. So you have to go with a digital one… trouble is, though, they cost more. The prices for things like sensors and batteries have risen, and so up goes the price of the average thermometer.
Eye Drops
It’s thought that eye drop prices have increased due to higher demand, thanks to worsening seasonal allergies and aging populations. But the ingredients in your eye drops cost money too, and so does the packaging. Plastic costs a lot of money these days.
Nasal Sprays
Nasal sprays are another one where it’s thought the cost of the packaging, rather than the drug itself, is what gives it such a high price. But that doesn’t mean the drug is cheap either. Making a nasal spray costs a lot of money, especially since it has to be done in a sterile environment, and all that cost gets passed down to you.
Neosporin
Neosporin is an antibiotic ointment that’s especially beloved among families with kids. But bad news if that’s you, because the cost is rising all the time. The ingredients used to make it just cost too much now, and the demand for it is high. Some people are looking into natural remedies instead.
Cough Syrup
This is an interesting one – cough syrup is expensive because some people were abusing it, leading to tighter regulations. Basically, a small minority of people ruined it for everyone. Outside of that, though, high demand and the cost of the ingredients caused prices to skyrocket, and they’re not coming down anytime soon.
Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol has many uses, but the main one is in medicine. Unfortunately, that’s made it a highly in demand item, especially since people started to use it during the pandemic and never stopped. One of the major reasons behind its price is that transporting flammable items is especially expensive.
Multivitamins
Multivitamins are very popular now that more people are seeking to take control of their health. Unfortunately, they’re also very expensive. The ingredients used to make them are usually imported, and thus the price goes up and up.
Melatonin Supplements
Increased stress and sleep disorders have led to higher demand for melatonin. Unfortunately, most melatonin is sourced and manufactured overseas, where supply chain issues and serious shortages have sent the prices climbing high. And yep, melatonin products have been hit hard by tariffs as well.
Probiotics
Probiotics are not easy to store and transport, and the cost of all that gets passed down to you, the consumer. It doesn’t help that taking probiotics has become a huge trend now thanks to social media, and whenever there’s a trend, a price rise is not far behind.
Aloe Vera Gel
Demand for aloe vera gel has grown as more and more people get interested in natural remedies, some of them spurred on by online health influencers. But aloe vera gel is surprisingly hard to get into stores, especially after poor harvests or supply chain delays, and that raises the price.
Epsom Salt
Getting Epsom salt requires mining, and mining is a difficult job that needs to be paid well. So when you pay for Epsom salt, you’re paying for the labor first and foremost… but also for things like transportation and packaging.
Heat Patches
Heat patches cost more now due to increased prices for ingredients like iron powder and activated charcoal, which is what’s used to generate heat. The cost is so high that some people don’t bother with them at all now, they just run the tap to get hot water and press a hot compress to their ache.
Lidocaine
Lidocaine is used to treat things like minor burns and insect bites. It’s very useful indeed to have around, but the cost is rising. This is thought to be due to stricter regulations on over-the-counter anesthetics and higher costs for all the ingredients.
Disposable Gloves
Remember during the pandemic when everyone was wearing disposable gloves all the time? They’re still a very popular item to have in the medicine cabinet, but they’ll set you back. Latex is expensive and companies are struggling to keep up with demand.
Orajel
Orajel is another one that’s fallen victim to regulations – it contains benzocaine, and there’s rules about it now. But that’s not all – just making the stuff costs a lot of money, and that’s not even getting into the packaging and transportation costs.
Face Masks
People don’t wear face masks now as much as they did during the pandemic, but they’re still popular, and they’re a product affected by tariffs. If you want a new face mask now, it’ll cost you a lot more than it did before 2020. Of course, you could try and make your own… but the price of fabric has risen, too. If you really need face masks because of a lowered immune system, you’re unfortunately in a very difficult position.
Wart Removers
Prices for wart removal products have increased due to higher ingredient costs and the sterile environment needed to make them. So if you’re prone to warts, that’s bad news, especially since having them surgically removed will cost a lot of money too.
Cold Sore Creams
If you’re prone to cold sores, you might swear by products such as Abreva. But bad news – the cost of cold sore creams is drastically increasing thanks to high cost of the ingredients mixed with the difficulties of transporting the stuff. People are still paying for it, but it’s unknown how much longer they’ll be able to.
Witch Hazel
The awesomely named product witch hazel is a beloved item in many people’s medicine cabinet. For some, it even harks back to a simpler time. But now it’s expensive, and that’s because usually alcohol is used in the making of it and there’s high tariffs on alcohol. It’s very disappointing for those of us who swear by the stuff.
