March 2019
    What's Happening this month:

March 10th - Daylight Savings time begins
(Spring your clocks ahead 1 hour)
March 16th - Double Loyalty Points
March 20th - First day of Spring
Center Drug cares for your whole family, including your pet too!

We have supplements, Minties, pill pockets, dog bone shaped biscuit pans and baking mix, bowls, travel kits, bandannas, toys, cleaning supplies, and more.

Lulu, Jingles and Jasper--paw's down--recommend the biscuit baking supplies! They tell us the biscuits taste dog-gone great!

Come in soon to pick up your biscuit pan and mix--they are going fast! The biscuit pans and mix are made locally by Nordic Ware.  
Here is also a recipe for Peanut Butter Doggie Biscuits provided on Nordic Ware's website:
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup corn meal
Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 
  2. Prepare the pan with baking spray.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and peanut butter together. 
  4. Add oats and corn meal. 
  5. Press dough into biscuit pan with fingers, filling each bone 3/4 full. 
  6. Bake for 18-22 minutes. 
  7. Cool in pan for 8-10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack. 
  8. Repeat until all of the dough is used. 
  9. Makes about 30-32 bones. 
Time for Sunscreen

Winter, we hope, is almost over and our thoughts are turning to Spring Break! 

Buy your sunscreen before you leave on your trip, you will definitely save money by doing this as the vacation hot spots will charge you a premium for buying your sunscreen once you arrive at your destination.

If you have sunscreen left over from last year, check the expiration date on the bottle or tube. Suncreen's do expire, and you want to make sure that yours is in date and to offer you the best protection.

Remember to pick up a lip balm with sunscreen also. A couple of popular lip balms that contain a sunscreen are Neutrogena and Cotz.

Don't forget to pack pain relievers too, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, and an anti-diarrheal such as Imodium--you can't beat the price at home and you will be prepared when you need them!  
Poison Prevention Week is March 17-22.

Poison Control Hotline Number:  1-800-222-1222

Take time this month and clean out your medicine cabinets and get rid of expired medications.  

In conjunction with the Hopkins Police Department, Center Drug offers free drug disposal bags at the Pharmacy. Please stop by and pick up a few to use during your cleaning adventures.  You can also dispose of medications by mixing them with water and then disposing of them in coffee grounds, wet garbage, or kitty litter. 

When cleaning out your medicine cabinets, dispose of any pain medications that you may have received after surgery, dental procedures, or an injury that you no longer are taking. Disposing of these medications prevents your teenage children or grandchildren from getting their hands on them. Going through medicine cabinets is the number one way that teenagers become addicted to opioids, and it is totally preventable by keeping unwanted/unused medications out of your home. So please, clean out your cabinets, closets and cupboards and safely dispose of expired/unused medications. 

If you have a lot of medications that need to be disposed of, set the medications aside for the next national Drug Take Back Day that is Saturday, April 27th this spring. We will have more information on drop-off sites for this event in our April newsletter.  
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Colorectal cancer is the 3rd most commonly diagnosed cancer, and the 2nd leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States. 

By finding polyps and cancer in early stages, this cancer is the easiest to treat.  Screening is the key to detection.  

Who should get screened?
* All men and women beginning at age 50.
* Anyone with a family history of colorectal cancer, or people with a personal or family history of inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, or if you are experiencing any symptoms.
* Symptoms include: pain, a change in bowel habits such as diarrhea, constipation, a change in stool consistency, rectal bleeding, or blood in your stool. Persistent abdominal discomfort such as cramps, gas, pain and/or a full/bloated feeling, or a feeling that your bowel doesn't empty completely. Other symptoms are any weakness or fatigue, especially with accompanying weight loss for no reason, and nausea or vomiting

Early detection can save your life. There are many different ways to screen for colon cancer. Speak with your Doctor to find the right screening test for you. The Colorectal Cancer Alliance's slogan for their campaign this year is "Don't Assume". Don't assume you're too young to get colorectal cancer, don't assume you're alone, and don't assume that colorectal cancer can't be beat!

For more information or resources, visit https://www.ccalliance.org/
Upcoming Double Point Days:
(Be sure to mark your calendars)

Saturday, March 16th

Monday, April 22nd

Join us on social media

Have you seen the new LovePop greeting cards yet? Well, if we were friends on facebook you'd already have seen a demo of one of these pop-up greeting cards in action! That's just one example of all the great new stuff you'll get to see first by being our friend on facebook and following us on Twitter. You'll also get helpful health tips and fun trivia so let's be friends.

If you're also able to spare the time we would appreciate you rating us on facebook as well. More and more we're hearing from people new to the Hopkins community about how they found us through social media so this is a great way to support local business without any cost to you.
                         
Thank you and we'll see you soon on facebook and twitter!

Check out our app! If you use a smartphone or tablet and would like another way to refill your prescriptions, then please download it today.
Gift Gab

It may not feel like spring outside, but inside Center Drug it sure does!

I have been busy putting out all the wonderful new spring lines I purchased at the January gift shows!

New items are coming in weekly (almost daily). Come see the adorable new spring gnomes, or the new beautiful cards from LovePop, they are more like a gift than a card! 

New spring apparel and jewelry has arrived too. There is so much to see. Winter clearance is also going on with deep discounts on winter apparel, jewelry, hats, mittens, and scarves. Come in soon for the best selections!

-- Kelsey