Medications can be a bit of a nuisance for users in the United States. In addition to the frequency of having to source them via the pharmacy, there is the bigger issue of the cost. With many medicines and pharmaceuticals not fully covered by health insurance, the drain on your wallet can become quite substantial––especially during the current economic climate that has been hampered by Covid-19. If you compare prescription drug prices between here and Canada, you’ll see how the Canadian ones are close to 80% cheaper than their US counterparts.
Nevertheless, having the right medications to take care of your medical condition is a key part of anyone's quality of life, and there are ways that you can reduce the cost of your medications, pharmaceuticals and supplements. Here are a few ideas to score big savings on your meds.
Coupons and Vouchers
Ordinarily, using vouchers and tokens for purchases is associated with the culture of couponing, which itself normally corresponds with retail and fashions. There are even people who are able to do their entire grocery shopping with their accumulated coupons for the month. Yet, what if you could do the same thing with coupons for medications that you can with grocery items?
The truth is that there are a number of companies in the United States that work to reduce the costs of medication through a coupon based transaction. Recognizing that health insurance doesn't always help, they provide coupons that can cover some of the original cost of the medicine whilst you source the funding for the rest. This can have a huge impact on the overall expenditure on health-based items, particularly for more cosmetic (but still vital) products such as Retin-A cream.
Retin-A cream is a vitamin A (Tretinoin) based skincare cream that has been prescribed by doctors for treating dermatological issues, such as acne or redness, although it is available as an over the counter product, too. By purchasing Retin-A through a company such as Cheap-o-Meds, who source their healthcare items from international markets (thus lowering the price) and then sell for cheaper in the U.S., you can get more for less. If you've seen a dermatologist about acne or any type of skin irritation, you should know that you can get Retin-A for a lower cost.
Over-the-Counter Meds
As mentioned before, there are medications that are available to purchase over-the-counter. All this means is that they do not require a prescription from the doctor in order to source them. They tend to apply to more moderate creams, pills and lotions as they are not considered to be as dangerous should an overdose take place. Although it is never recommended to go over the limit stated on the box, they shouldn't cause as much damage and products of this type are meant more for the improvement of health, rather than the treatment of ill health and conditions.
For an example of this, let's look at Swell No More. This is a supplement that acts as a "Natural Diuretic, Water Pill and Anti-Inflammatory Supplement that reduces Water Retention, Inflammation and Swelling (Edema) throughout the entire body," according to their website. As a supplement, it is not likely to be prescribed by a doctor although it would probably be recommended instead. Users of this product can simply purchase the supplement if they feel that swelling has been caused by poor diet, and want to improve their overall gut health.
Beyond the supplements and health promoting products, you can also save money when purchasing non-branded alternative medications if you have been prescribed them in the past. All of the ingredients that go into the brand-name medications are exactly the same as the generic medications. The only difference is in the price, so save yourself some cash and choose the alternative, generic, options.
Non-medication Based Therapies
For those who are dealing with hearing loss, it is evident that healthcare and treatment does not always revolve around pharmaceuticals. In fact, regarding tinnitus as a condition, there is no real cure for it and, although supplements do exist for the relief of symptoms of tinnitus, there aren't any lotions or ointments that a pharmacist can recommend.
In order to look past conditions such as these, you have to look to a more therapeutic approach. Sound therapy for tinnitus relief involves using other, less loud noises to distract the patient from the buzzing, ringing or rushing background ambience that they would normally hear. The same effect can be achieved with a household fan, or headphones that are not set to a high volume.
There are holistic alternatives for almost any condition that don't cost any money, however. For example, those with high blood pressure can introduce gentle exercise through walking, or alter their diet. Sometimes the best way to save big is to not spend in the first place, and when it comes to medications, this with also improve one's health.
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