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They’re Peddling 8 Prescription Drugs in a Home Emergency Kit

MrConsumer was taken aback when he saw a nationally televised commercial by The Wellness Company selling an emergency kit containing eight prescription drugs that you keep at home just in case you need them at 2 a.m. when pharmacies and doctors’ offices are closed.

You get bottles of these eight prescription drugs to self-treat conditions such as parasites, strep, pneumonia, lyme disease, bacterial infections, GI and urinary tract infections, and more.

Wellness Company drug list

To get the kit, you have to fill out a health form, and have a brief consultation with a health professional at the company who can write the prescription.

Once you get the kit, how exactly do you diagnose yourself with these conditions? They give you a handy booklet about what to use each drug for, or you can speak to a health-care professional at their company during regular business hours for an extra fee, presumably.

And how much does this kit cost? $299.

*MOUSE PRINT:

In their FAQ section they reveal a key fact:

No insurance accepted

To the best of our knowledge, no state pharmacy boards or consumer authorities have taken legal action against the company because what they are doing may not be outside current medical, legal, and ethical guidelines. One state pharmacy board reportedly denied a drugstore’s request to carry a similar kit in their store.

Some things are very unsettling about this whole proposition:

  • Shouldn’t new conditions be diagnosed first by a doctor, rather than having patients read a booklet to self-diagnose and self-medicate, perhaps incorrectly, in the middle of the night?

  • Should doctors and pharmacies be allowed to prescribe and dispense packages of drugs on the speculation that someday they might come in handy, particularly knowing that some patients may self-medicate without proper diagnosis or medical follow-up?

  • Can’t purchasers of these kits wait until 8 a.m. the next day to call their doctor to get a real diagnosis or prescription?

  • How many of these drugs will expire before use and wind up being a big waste of money?

  • Why haven’t state or federal medical authorities stepped in to regulate sales of kits like these?

    Please offer your thoughts in the comments.

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    Here We Shrink Again – Spring 2026 – Part 2

    We continue this week spotlighting some of the various products that were reduced in size recently.

    Dawn Platinum

    Dawn Platinum claims to be “new and improved” yet their claim for cleaning efficiency remains the same — “Removes 99% of grease and food residue.” One thing for sure is, the new bottle will clean fewer dishes because it went from 32 ounces to just 30.

    *MOUSE PRINT:

    Dawn Platinum

    Febreze Air Freshener

    Carolina M. didn’t want to make a stink about it but she tipped us off to some shrinking Febreze spray cans going from 8.8 ounces to 8.1 ounces.

    *MOUSE PRINT:

    Febreze

    Smucker’s Strawberry Jam

    Richard G. discovered reports that Smucker’s strawberry jam recently lost two ounces from each jar going down to 30 ounces. Maybe they need to change their slogan — “with a name like Smucker’s it is sure to be good smaller.”

    *MOUSE PRINT:

    Smucker's strawberry jam

    Kellogg’s Corn Pops

    Cereal is another category where shrinkflation is very common. This time the shrink ray hit Kellogg’s Corn Pops, going from 18.1 ounces down to 16.4. That’s about two fewer cups of cereal per box. The new boxes hide the drop in net weight by becoming more narrow, but look about the same size head-on in the supermarket aisle. Sneaky.

    *MOUSE PRINT:

    Kellogg's Corn Pops

    Swiffer Dusters

    Glenn S. found that there are now fewer Swiffer dusters in a box than previously. The old box of 28 has gone down to 24.

    *MOUSE PRINT:

    Swiffer

    Kirkland Fabric Softener

    Store brands are not immune from shrinkflation. Here, Costco’s Kirkland brand of fabric softener dramatically downsized from 187 ounces yielding 276 loads to 150 ounces and 257 loads. Presumably the cap has changed too. Thanks to Nora F. for this submission.

    *MOUSE PRINT:

    Kirkland Ultra fabric softener

    If you spot a product that has been recently downsized, please take a picture of the old and the new one and send them to: Edgar(at symbol)MousePrint.org . Thanks.

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    Updated every Monday!   Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

    Here We Shrink Again – Spring 2026 – Part 1

    We continue our never-ending series of stories spotlighting some of the various products that were reduced in size recently, otherwise known as shrinkflation.

    Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Assortment

    Keri M. who works in a retail store discovered that Hershey’s removed over five ounces of candy from the party size bag of dark chocolate snacks. The bags went from 29 ounces to just 23.9 ounces, but they both were priced at $19.99.

    *MOUSE PRINT:

    Hershey's Dark assortment

    Quilted Northern Toilet Paper

    Toilet paper is one of the most frequently downsized product categories. Tom G. discovered that Quilted Northern lopped off 40 sheets from each mega roll, going from 295 to just 255 sheets. In a six-pack, that removes almost a full roll of the newly downsized product.

    *MOUSE PRINT:

    Quilted Northern

    Three years ago, the mega size went from 328 sheets on a roll to 295.

    Quilted Northern strong

    Iams Dog Food

    Dry dog food is another category where the bags keep getting smaller and smaller. Brendan B. recently brought to our attention that Iams reduced their XL bags from 44 pounds to 38.5 — a five-and-a-half-pound reduction. (Some stores have a 40 oz. version.)

    *MOUSE PRINT:

    Iams dog food

    Thomas’ Bagels

    Bagels keep getting smaller. Factory-produced ones were once 24 ounces in a six-pack. Then they went to 22 ounces, and some reduced to 20 ounces, like Thomas’. Now those are down to 18 ounces with 30 fewer calories. Thanks to Richard G. for this submission.

    *MOUSE PRINT:

    Thomas' bagels

    Oscar Mayer Beef Franks

    It seems like frankfurters are getting smaller and smaller too. The latest brand to do that is Oscar Mayer which went from being a pound to 15 ounces.

    *MOUSE PRINT:

    Oscar Mayer beef franks

    Great Value Ground Coffee

    Even Walmart gets into the downsizing act on their store brands. Here, the old 11.3 ounce cans of ground coffee became just 9.6 ounces. You probably lost about five cups of coffee in the process. Remember when ground coffee used to come in one-pound cans?

    Great Value ground coffee

    If you find a popular product that has been downsized recently, please send a picture of the old and the new version to Edgar(at symbol)MousePrint.org . Thanks

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