It’s all too easy to reach for a pain pill, whether over-the-counter or prescription, when you are faced with a headache, toothache, or back pain. This can be a natural reaction because, of course, these medications can provide relief. But they can also have unwanted side effects with usage over extended periods. Recent studies also indicate that oral medications for pain relief are not as effective as you are often led to believe.

If you suffer from post-exercise muscle aches, headaches, or even a chronic pain condition, there are alternative sources of effective relief available. One such alternative is topical analgesics. These topical pain relievers come in many different forms – including creams, lotions, patches, and gels – that our compounding pharmacists at Kress Specialty Apothecary can tailor to your individual needs. This process takes your personal patient profile into consideration by factoring in your size, health, allergies, and personal preferences.

Why Use Topical Medications

There are several good reasons to try a topical alternative to your oral pain medications. The most important factor is the fact that topical medications often have fewer physical side effects than oral pain medications. Anti-inflammatories and other over-the-counter medicines have specific negative effects associated with them, including:

• Nausea;
• Sudden bleeding;
• Increased risk of stroke;
• Increased risk of heart attack;
• And liver problems (acetaminophen).

On the other hand, topical medications, when used appropriately and as directed, generally have very few side effects associated with them. In addition, topical pain relievers can be faster acting and you will usually know right away if the topical is working for you. Topical medications can also be applied directly on the source of your pain and some current research even suggests that topical pain medications provide longer lasting relief than oral medications do.

Your doctor can also prescribe a prescription topical pain reliever if it better suits your health needs.

Contact Kress Specialty Apothecary for a Topical Pain Medication Consultation

Topical pain medications can be a safe and effective alternative to oral pain medication. These topical solutions can further be personalized to your needs through compounding. Contact one of our specialty pharmacy professionals today by either stopping in our store location in Barrington, New Jersey or by giving us a call at 856-323-8723. If you’ve never tried a topical pain reliever or if you’d like to explore finding safer and more effective pain relief, we are here to guide you.

With the New Year in full swing, you may be in the process of planning a spring break getaway or even your annual summer family vacation. If you are like most people, when you think about planning a trip, you think about choosing a destination, making travel arrangements, choosing activities, and setting a budget. It is important to remember, however, that if you regularly take medications, you may need to plan for that as well. Here are some of the issues to consider.

Storage

Some medications, particularly those in liquid form, need to be stored at a certain temperature to ensure their effectiveness. Whether you are traveling by plane, car, train, or boat, you need to make sure that your medications are stored at an appropriate temperature. It is a good idea to invest in a high-quality cooler if there is any risk that your medications will be exposed to temperature extremes at some point in your trip.

Legal Issues

If you are crossing state or international lines, it is important to make sure that you are not breaking any laws. For example, if you use marijuana for medical purposes legally in a state that allows it you should make sure that the state into which you are traveling also permits the use of medical marijuana. Failing to do so could result in significant legal trouble. Generally speaking, you can travel throughout the United States with prescription drugs that you validly possess, but you should always research taking these drugs into foreign countries or returning to the United States with medications that you purchased overseas.

Planning Ahead for Long Trips

If you are traveling for weeks or months, it is a good idea to make sure you travel with a quantity of your essential medications that keep you from having to fill a prescription away from home. In many cases, you can get an early refill from your pharmacy (and covered by your insurance) if you are going to be traveling for an extended period of time.

Call 856-323-8723 or Stop by Today for More Information.

Kress Specialty Apothecary is a compounding pharmacy located in Barrington, New Jersey that provides a variety of services and products that cannot be found at “big-box” retail pharmacies. We can compound medications into various easy-to-take forms including liquids, gels, chewables, sublingual drops, and even lollipops. In addition, we offer a full line of pharmaceutical grade vitamins and supplements. To learn more, stop by our store or call us today at 856-323-8723.

Athletes of all ages can be injured during practice or competition – it is simply a risk of playing sports. However, sports also provide many benefits for a healthy and well-rounded lifestyle, so many athletes continue to take the risk of getting injured. When an injury occurs, it is critical to provide the most effective course of treatment so they can return to playing sports as soon as possible. Many treatment plans involve medication and compounded medication should be considered over commercial medication in many situations.

Every athlete is different with regard to weight, muscle mass, allergies or reactions to certain medications, and severity of injuries. Compounding allows a pharmacist to specifically tailor the combination of medicines, the dosage, and the best method of administration for the particular athlete and injury. What works quickly for one athlete will not necessarily work for another and compounding provides the opportunity to find personalized solutions for sports injuries.

Some examples of sports injuries that can be treated by compounding include:

• Joint injuries
• Pain relief
• Dehydration
• Athlete’s foot
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Hemorrhoids
• Malnutrition
• Electrolyte imbalances
• Muscle cramps
• Wounds
• Inflammation
• Tendinitis

Athletes commonly suffer from soreness and pain from overuse of their muscles and joints and working closely with a compounding pharmacist can help you recover faster after a practice or game so that you can continue to perform to the best of your ability.

Professional or college athletes are not the only ones who can benefit from compounding. Even recreational or novice athletes will experience pain or injuries after participating in a sport. Commercial medication may simply mask the pain and may not address the underlying problem. Our compounding pharmacists look for solutions to all of your health needs to provide the best possible overall treatment. We can also make suggestions for health products or weight loss supplements if losing weight and getting healthy is your overall goal for playing sports. For this reason, athletes do not have to wait until they are injured to explore how compounding can help them.

Call 856-323-8723 or stop by today for more information.

At Kress Specialty Apothecary, compounding gives us the ability to help you and your family in many aspects of your life. Whether we can compound a medication for your sports injury, skin condition, or advise you on supplements for your overall health, we are certain we can find solutions for you to live your best life. Please stop by our store or call us today.

It is difficult enough when you have a sick child to worry about, but when you cannot get your child to take the medicine they need, the situation becomes even more stressful. Whether it is a problem with the bitter taste, with swallowing a large pill, or with allergic reactions, many children have aversions to taking medicine. The stress of having a sick child is only compounded by the common problems associated with kids and medicine.

Kress Specialty Apothecary is here to help make caring for your child’s health easier. Pharmacy compounding combines the science of modern medicine with the art of customizing medications for the individual patient – your child. Because children’s taste preferences are as individual as they are, our compounding pharmacists are at your service with a host of agreeable flavoring options. They will work with your child’s preferences to create a flavor that helps the medicine go down. After all, it is far easier for children to tolerate medications with pleasant flavors like bubblegum and tasty berry than it is for them to handle the generic bitter flavor of most children’s medications.

Our compounding pharmacists, working closely with a pediatrician, can flavor-customize medications for your child’s conditions, including:

• Pain relief;
• Respiratory disorders;
• Strep throat; and
• Many other childhood illnesses.

Compounding can also help with your child’s medications in a variety of other ways. Many children have difficulty swallowing pills but a compounding pharmacist can render the medication in many different forms, including liquid, lollipops, topical gels, gummy treats, fizzy drinks, and many others that all provide the appropriate dosage in a palatable form. Additionally, commercially manufactured children’s medications often contain ingredients like gluten, soy, sugar, and dyes to which many kids are allergic or sensitive. Our pharmacists can sidestep those ingredients that adversely affect your child and personalize a formula that is right for your child’s treatment needs.

Contact Kress Specialty Apothecary about Your Child’s Medications Today

It is a fact of life that kids get sick. But when they do, you want to do everything you can to ease their discomfort and stress as easily and quickly as possible. Providing your kids with the medicine they need in a flavor they love is a great place to start. If you need help with your child’s medications, please visit Kress Specialty Apothecary in Barrington, New Jersey or give us a call today at 856-323-8723.

If you’ve ever had influenza, or the “flu,” you understand that it’s much more serious than your average cold. The flu can cause extreme fatigue, fever, chills, and keep you from feeling like yourself for weeks on end. In severe cases, it can even land you in the hospital.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the flu spreads by droplets that occur when a person sneezes, coughs, or speaks or when a person touches an object that has the flu virus on it and then touches their nose or mouth. Flu season varies each year, but begins to peak between December and February, and has the potential to last through May.

With flu season firmly here, it is important to take steps to protect yourself from getting sick. You should always get a flu shot, but there is a chance that a different virus could still make you sick. Other steps to take include always washing your hands and staying away from people who seem sick.

Probiotics May Help

In the unfortunate event that you get the flu this year, there are certain steps you can take to reduce the severity and duration of your symptoms, including adding probiotics that act as immune boosters to your daily health regimen. According to the results of a study published in 2009, children who received Lactobacillus acidophilus or L acidophilus NCFM in combination with Bifidobacterium animalis subsp lactis Bi-07 had the following reductions in symptom incidence, respectively:

• Fever – 53% and 72.7%
• Coughing –4% and 58.8%
• Rhinorrhea – 32% and 84.2%

Notably, test subjects who received probiotics had significantly fewer days absent form child care (31.8%, 27.7%) than those receiving placebo treatment.

At Kress Specialty Apothecary, we offer a variety of probiotic supplements that may help people who are suffering from colds, influenza, or other issues. Of course, you should always discuss your treatment options with your physician and consider the risks and benefits associated with any action concerning your heath.

Call 856-323-8723 or Stop by Today for More Information.

Kress Specialty Apothecary is a New Jersey compounding pharmacy located in Barrington, New Jersey. We offer our own line of pharmaceutical grade supplements and vitamins as well as all of the other medications that would you expect to see at any retail pharmacy. We also compound medications into creams, gels, liquids, even lollipops and are able to provide dosages that are not available on the mass market. To learn more, stop by today or give us a call at 856-323-8723.