ACUTE CARE KIT GUIDE
Your Acute Care Kit Guide
16 remedies for coughs, colds, flu & first aid
Gifted with care · Calgary, Alberta · Winter 2026
How to use this kit: Match the remedy to your specific symptoms — mood, personality, and physical picture together. Give one remedy at a time. Dissolve 2–3 pellets under the tongue, away from food and strong smells (especially mint). Repeat every 2–4 hours for acute illness, spacing doses out as you improve. Stop when clearly better. If no improvement after 3 doses, try the next closest match.
⭐ First Aid Anchors — Always Reach for These First
Aconite
30C
Use at the very first sign of illness — especially after exposure to cold, dry, windy Calgary weather. Sudden fever, restlessness, and anxiety. Works best in the first few hours only.
sudden · cold wind · restless · first hours only
Arnica
30C
For bumps, bruises, falls, and overexertion. Also helpful in flu when the whole body aches and feels beaten up. Child says they're fine but refuses to be touched.
bruising · trauma · body aches · "don't touch me"
🤒 Fever Remedies
Belladonna
30C
High fever with flushed red face, hot skin, and throbbing headache. Comes on suddenly. Little or no thirst despite the heat. May be restless or delirious.
red · hot · throbbing · no thirst · sudden
Ferrum Phosphoricum
30C
Early, mild or vague fever with rosy cheeks and fatigue. Not dramatic enough for Belladonna, not sudden enough for Aconite. A gentle first-stage remedy when symptoms are unclear.
mild · early · vague · rosy cheeks · fatigue
🤧 Cold & Flu Remedies
Arsenicum Album
30C
Anxious, restless, and exhausted — worn out but can't keep still. Burning discharges that paradoxically feel better from warmth. Chilly, thirsty for small sips. Worse after midnight. Great for anxious, fastidious types.
restless · anxious · burning · thirsty sips · worse midnight
Gelsemium
30C
Classic flu remedy. Heavy, droopy, exhausted — can barely get off the couch. Dull headache at the back of the neck. No thirst. Just wants to be left alone.
heavy · droopy · exhausted · no thirst
Bryonia
30C
Slow-onset illness where any movement makes everything worse. Very thirsty for large cold drinks. Dry, painful cough. Irritable — wants to rest undisturbed.
worse movement · very thirsty · dry cough · slow onset
Eupatorium Perfoliatum
30C
Flu with intense deep bone pain — "feels like my bones are breaking." Sore eyeballs, shivering, and bursting headache. More severe aching than Bryonia.
bone-breaking pain · sore eyeballs · shivering
Nux Vomica
30C
Cold with extreme chilliness — can't get warm. Nose stuffed indoors, runny outside. Very irritable and oversensitive. Also great for flu with nausea and stomach upset.
can't get warm · stuffed nose · irritable · nausea
Pulsatilla
30C
Cold with thick yellow-green discharge. No thirst. Better in fresh air. Clingy, weepy child wanting comfort and cuddles. Symptoms shift and change. Great for lingering colds.
thick discharge · clingy · no thirst · better fresh air
Mercurius Solubilis
30C
Sore throat and swollen glands with profuse sweating that brings no relief. Bad breath, lots of saliva, coated tongue. Worse at night. Classic tonsillitis or throat infection picture.
sore throat · sweating · worse at night · bad breath
Oscillococcinum
—
A gentle, broad-spectrum flu remedy. Use at the very first sign of flu symptoms. Safe and easy to use for the whole family. Follow package directions.
early flu · whole family · broad spectrum · easy
😮💨 Cough Remedies
Hepar Sulphuris
30C
Late-stage cold with rattling or croupy cough. Extremely sensitive to cold air — even a slight draught makes it worse. Splinter-like pain in the throat. Very chilly and irritable.
sensitive to cold air · late-stage · splinter throat · chilly
Spongia Tosta
30C
Croup — barking, dry, hollow cough like a seal. Comes on before midnight. Anxiety accompanies the cough. Often follows Aconite well when croup develops after a sudden cold.
barking croup · hollow · before midnight · anxious
Antimonium Tartaricum
30C
Chest full of rattling mucus that won't come up. Too weak and drowsy to cough it out effectively. Pale, wants to be left alone. Late-stage chest involvement.
rattling chest · too weak · pale · drowsy
Drosera
30C
Violent, spasmodic coughing fits with barely any time to catch breath. Worse after midnight. Holds the chest when coughing. Whooping cough-like in its intensity.
spasmodic fits · after midnight · holds chest · whooping
💡 Quick Tips for Best Results
- Give pellets at least 15 minutes away from food, drinks, or strong smells (especially mint toothpaste)
- Let pellets dissolve under the tongue — do not chew or swallow with water
- Match the remedy to the whole picture: mood + personality + physical symptoms together
- Repeat every 2–4 hours for acute illness; space doses further apart as symptoms improve
- Stop the remedy when clearly better — steady improvement is the sign it's working
- If unsure between two remedies, try the closest match for 3 doses, then reassess
⚠️ When to seek medical care: Always see a doctor for high fever in babies under 3 months, any difficulty breathing, symptoms lasting more than 5–7 days without improvement, or anything that feels serious or beyond a typical cold or flu.