1. Prescription medicines and special medical supplies such as glucose monitoring equipment. KEEP AT LEAST A 2-WEEK SUPPLY OF YOUR PRESCRIPTION MEDS ON HAND!
2. Over-the-counter medicines such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen for pain relief.
3. Children’s medicines.
4. Several bottles of hand sanitizing gel.
5. Allergy medications.
6. Personal hygiene supplies.
7. First aid kit, including sterile gloves, sterile dressings and antibiotic wipes to disinfect, adhesive bandages in several sizes and antibiotic cream.
8. Several packs of travel tissues.
9. Copy of health insurance card and a copy of prescriptions*, phone numbers of health care providers, and health information concerning chronic health problems.

• Canned Foods
• Snacks
• Water & Beverages
• Flashlights & Batteries
• Paper goods
• Ice Melt
• Fire Logs
• Energizer Lantern
• Lamp Oil
• Ice Scrapers

We will be featuring the following wines from Cantina Villa Gianna provided by Wines D'Italia:

• C'annata White
• Nobilvite White
• Bludigaia Chardonnay
• Bludigaia Rose
• C'annata Red
• Nobilvite Red

We hope to see you there!

To make it fun for everyone, the card department will treat you to exciting displays and creepy new card collections. You’ll find friendly frights and fun activities for kids and grandkids, plus playful humor, the latest design trends and all your favorite spooky characters. Whether it’s eye-popping innovation for someone special or something cute and funny to share between friends, you’ll find eerily perfect cards. So go ahead, make some Halloween magic today!

Don't forget to check out our Halloween YouTube video & get a 50% off coupon for an American Greeting's card you can send to your ghoulish friends!

Kerr Drug, a nationally recognized provider of pharmacy, offers these tips to safely ward off the summer pests:

1. Apply insect repellents with DEET wisely.  Most people choose repellents with low concentrations of DEET, especially for use by their children, believing high percentages of DEET are dangerous. However, toxicity issues with DEET are related to the number of times you apply the product, not the concentration.  So it is safer to choose the product that matches the amount of time you’ll be outside.  The CDC cites a study showing repellents with 23.8% DEET provide about five hours of protection while products with 4.75% DEET protect for about one hour.  “It’s better to use a product with a higher DEET concentration once than with a lower concentration multiple times,” says Anthony “Tony” Civello, president and CEO of Kerr Drug.
2. Be careful using repellents with DEET on children.  The American Academy of Pediatrics (APP) recommends products containing DEET should not be applied to children under two months of age.  The AAP also suggests not using products with a higher DEET concentration than 30% on children.
3. Other repellents:  Picardin is a pepper-based compound that is as effective as DEET with lower toxicity.
4. Other repelentsl: Lemon Eucalyptus is also used as an insect repellent and seems as effective as a low concentration of DEET.
5. General safety advice for all repellents: When applying repellent on a small child, apply it to your own hands and run them on the child.  Also, do not apply repellent to children’s hands because children tend to put their hands in their mouth and eyes.

“While mosquitos will bite anytime during daylight hours, they are most aggressive at dawn and dusk, so people should take special precautions during those times,” adds Civello. “It’s also advisable to look around where you live and remove standing water, clean birdbaths, and get rid of the places where mosquitos breed.”

The study will investigate and evaluate the implementation of a pharmacogenetic program in a community pharmacy.   “Because pharmacists have unique expertise in medication use and are point-of-care service providers, they can play an important role in facilitating pharmacogenetic testing and more personalized health care,” says Rebecca Chater, Executive Vice-President of Kerr Health. “This study will examine just how that role can be implemented.”

Significant inter-individual variability has been observed in the therapeutic response to clopidogrel (Plavix).  Recent studies have identified genetic variations in the cytochrome P450 2C19 gene as key factors associated with differing clinical response to clopidogrel therapy.  Drug labeling for many pharmaceutical therapies, including PLAVIX, has been updated to include warnings of decreased response in individuals with certain genetic profiles.  “Pharmacogenetic testing is increasingly paving the way for more personalized drug management,” commented Dr. Howard McLeod, Director for Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy, adding “increased utilization of pharmacogenetic testing should help improve drug response rates and reduce adverse events.” 

The study involves a protocol jointly developed by Kerr Drug and UNC in which eligible individuals taking PLAVIX are offered an opportunity to participate in a pharmacogenetic study administered at the local community pharmacy.  Participants are screened and receive counseling at the pharmacy.  Test results are reviewed and interpreted by both the prescribing physician and the pharmacist.   Recommendations for therapeutic adjustments to the participant’s regimen are discussed and implemented as needed.  Test results and physician/prescriber recommendations are communicated to the participant and satisfaction with the program is assessed.   
 
Over the planned six (6) month study, the feasibility of a community pharmacy based pharmacogenetic program and its acceptance by physicians and patients will be evaluated.  The study will also explore barriers to implementation including physician and patient acceptance, reimbursement challenges, and regulatory requirements.  The findings of the personalized drug therapy study are expected to be presented and published, which the collaborators hope will be used to facilitate introduction and expansion of pharmacogenetic testing and personalized drug therapies in a broader network of community pharmacies.

Trees and flowers are blooming earlier. In addition, dead plant material is decaying faster than usual (mold) which is adding to the problem. And because it has been a fairly dry winter, some fall allergens such as ragweed may still be blowing around. The bad news for allergy sufferers is that most allergy specialists say it appears this is just the start of what will be one long spring allergy season.

Abby Reynolds, a Kerr Drug pharmacist and Manager of Clinical Programs for Kerr Drug, offers these tips to help allergy sufferers enjoy the mild temperatures despite the itchy nose and eyes.

1. Ask your pharmacist about over-the-counter antihistamines such as Zyrtec, Allegra and Claritin. These medicines will work well with patients with mild allergies.

2. Use a saline nasal spray if you’re looking for a quick fix to temporarily stop the sneezing without any kind of oral medication. It will wash away all the dust and allergens and can be used several times a day without any problem.

3. If you spend a lot of time outside, especially if you are working in the yard, pollen can end up on your skin and in your hair. Take a shower after you come inside to rinse away the pollen.

4. Take off your shoes when you come in the house to avoid tracking pollen into every room. The same goes for your clothes. These steps aren’t necessary for everyone, but if seasonal allergies are a real problem, they will help keep the pollen outside.

5. Keep the window closed. While it is nice to open the windows and let a warm spring breeze into the house, allowing the breeze to blow through invites pollen inside. It’s better to use the air conditioner during the height of seasonal allergy season.

6. Watch the perfume and cologne. Strong perfumes can irritate the nasal airways and lungs and make you cough.

As you are sniffing and sneezing earlier than usual, you can blame La Nina, which is a cooling of the waters off the coast of South America, for this unseasonably warm weather. Ironically, it’s the same weather pattern that brought last year’s bitterly cold winter and snow. The difference this year is something called the arctic oscillation, which can either be positive or negative. Last year it was negative; this year it's positive — and that's what's making all the difference.

“I know from working  as a pharmacist there are many reasons people don’t ask about their medicines, including confusion, embarrassment, or the patient just not wanting  to bother the pharmacist,” says Anthony “Tony” Civello, president and CEO of Kerr Drug. “The “Just Ask” campaign will encourage conversations and a sharing of information because it’s the best way to avoid poor health outcomes.”

Pharmacists will “Just Ask” to be a partner in a patient’s health care, asking questions related to a specific condition or medication.

In return, patients will be encouraged to ask Kerr Drug’s pharmacists questions about how best to take their medicines, possible side-effects and reactions with other medications and supplements.

The campaign will focus on 11 conditions including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes and the specific questions patients might ask including: 

• The medications name and what it is supposed to do
• When and how to take the medicine
• Ways patients can save money on medicines by taking generic brands or by making other changes
• Potential side effects
• What other medicines/supplements to take or avoid that would increase or decrease a medicine’s effectiveness
• Whether or not any foods/alcohol will change the medicine’s effectiveness
• What happens if a dose is missed
• How long does the patient take the medicine

“Medicines don’t help us if we don’t understand why we need them as well as how and why to take them,” adds Civello. “There is no bad question, so please, just ask!”