spcfa

Early on in my traveling life I bought a wonderful book called The Travelers' Self-Care Manual (by Wm. Forgey, MD) which included a list of things to bring in a travelers medical kit. I diligently put together a pre-packed (always packed) separate nylon kit with most of the items listed therein, and it has come in handy on more than a few occasions. Over the years I've added things to it for less serious maladies not addressed in the book (constipation, heartburn, dehydration, urinary tract infections, yeast infections)..

Of course in most places we travel, you can get to pharmacy, but for me it is mostly a convenience thing. A lot of what goes wrong usually goes wrong in the middle of the night in the middle of a three day weekend (which, come to think of it, is just like at home).

So I have a few questions to pose to my fellow Fodorites:
1)Do you travel with a kit like this?
2)Do you have a traveler's medical book you take with you?
3)What is the most often used remedy in your luggage?
4)What first aid item would you not travel without?

Thanks. This is such a unique forum, to have access to so many experienced travelers, I couldn't resist fishing for a few new ideas!

suze

I pack just a sandwich-sized ziplock bag with:
bandaids
a couple packets each of Neosporin, Immodium, Advil
tweezers, nail clippers, safety pins
prescription meds (for anxiety, pain, sleep aid)

I don't have a formal first aid kit, I don't travel with a medical book. I guess bandaids are probably the most used and what I wouldn't travel without.

I am traveling only to places where I could get to a pharmacy without much difficulty. If I was doing jungle treking or going to more remote and isolated destinations, I'd probably think about this differently and perhaps pack a more complete kit.

sassy_cat

We always take the 'basics' (except when travelling to Europe where we wing it!) which for us are bandaids, mosquito repellent, neosporin, after bite gel, sunscreen and pain killers. When our kids were very young we also took some powdered electrolytes for treatment of dehydration.

I don't take a book but I so far I've been able to come up with a diagnosis for our ails while travelling even when the doctors weren't sure or got it wrong (including appendicitis for me, kidney stones for DH ).
I have a degree in Pharmacology which is helpful at foreign pharmacies.

Most often used item would be the after bite gel for mosquito bites and we always travel with it to tropical climes.

I think my basic kit works because we avoid the worst health hazards by limiting our travel to relatively safe places. We can't travel to malarial zones for example because my DH has no spleen.

Lynnaustin

In addition to what has been noted, I always take a tube of cortizone cream. We have used it every time, seems there is always a plant that one of us is not used to in the gardens and a rash develops. Sudafed is also a must.
The other item I always take is a small prepackaged dental kit (it's like 2.99 at Target or Walmart). It has the basics in case you lose a filling. I also take a pair of "Ear Planes" (those special ear plugs in a box; in case you have a bad cold or sinus infection these help with ears while flying).

LSky

1)Do you travel with a kit like this?
Yes

2)Do you have a traveler's medical book you take with you?
No book.

3)What is the most often used remedy in your luggage?
I was happy to have aspirin once. My FIL was happy that I packed imodium another time. And my husband used everything in the bag for a head cold.

4)What first aid item would you not travel without?
I don't travel without my earplanes but they aren't in my first aid kit; they're in my airplane kit.

That's difficult to say which I wouldn't travel without because when I get home I refill the little pouch. I like knowing it's there. If I'm sick, I don't want to have to learn the word for diarrehea in another languange. Heck! If I'm traveling in the States, I don't want to bother finding a drugstore.

djkbooks

I pack a very limited supply of pharmaceuticals "just in case". I don't pack anything I never need at home or for conditions I'm not that likely to get, but it's handy to have a few days supply of things like cold/cough/heartburn/headache/bandaids, etc., remedies should you need them in the middle of the night or when you're on the go.

Otherwise, it's easy and convenient enough to find a pharmacy for anything you might need.

sassy_cat

It sounds from the responses here that we tend to travel with a basic first aid kit containing the items we'd normally have on hand at home. I too do not want to visit a pharmacy on vacation if possible.

suze

oh I don't mind a run to the pharmacy, when I'm in places like Waikiki or Puerto Vallarta (my usual vacation haunts). It's about the same as doing so at home. But there's a couple things that you need when you NEED them... like a bandaid!

thursdaysd

1)Do you travel with a kit like this?
Yes

2)Do you have a traveler's medical book you take with you?
No book.

3)What is the most often used remedy in your luggage?
Ace bandage/ankle "brace" (preformed heavy duty bandage I bought in Bangkok).

4)What first aid item would you not travel without?
Make that items, plural - ankle brace + imodium + Malarone if I'm headed to a malarial area + Cortisone for insect bites. I usually take an antibiotic as well, but you can often buy an equivalent cheaper outside the US. I don't have a problem visiting a pharmacy, provided there's one nearby and it isn't the middle of the night....

Full list of what I take is here, under Pharmaceuticals: http://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com/...take-part-two/

ellenem

Aside from the items already mentioned, I bring a small pair of folding scissors and some Dr Scholl's Moleskin, which is much better for blisters than a regular band-aid.

The one item I don't travel without: ibuprofen. I get the occasional migraine and taking ibuprofen as soon as I get my headache "signals" can avoid the headache in most cases. (In fact, I carry ibuprofen every day in my purse.)

jacobhosen

I purchased a small first aid travel kit at a traveler's shop, and add to it with items that I have personally found to be useful. I think Moleskin is possibly my most-used item - for blisters. We also go through quite a bit of ibuprofen, so I always pack extra. I have traveled with antibiotics in the past, but don't anymore (as prior poster said, they can often be found cheaper outside the US). Benedryl is a must - it seems one of us we quite often find ourselves in hives or stuffed up from exposure to allergens we don't have at home.

tenthumbs

1)yes
2)no
3)ibuprofen
4)the whole thing!

Basic meds: ibuprofen, sudafed, benadryl, immodium, antacids
Basic other stuff: bandaids in all sizes, neosporin, hydrocortisone cream, A&D ointment

Nutella

Good topic. I need to compile a list of what I should bring for my India trip. I'm usually not the pharmaceutical type, preferring natural remedies. But this time I might make an exception, fearing the dreaded Delhi Belly!

dutyfree

Since I travel overseas everyweek for work I always keep in my suitcase the following: I think that its because my mom was an RN and I was a Girl Scout?
I Always take a bandaid first aid kit along with cortisone cream and small container of proxide;Cipro,PepcidAC,allergy pills;cold/sinus pills;vitamins;Visine eye drops;immodium and Pepto bismol pills along with Tylenol,aspirin and ibuprofen.Getting sick overseas and not being able to get to a pharmacy is miserable.

Nutella-FYI,when we went to India we took Pepto Bismol(many people had suggested it to us) before each meal to coat our stomachs.Watch anything liquid you put in your mouth including shower water,no salads or fruit unless its peeled. We never came down with Delhi belly.My son who lived over there for two years thought we were nuts but it worked. He unfortunately came home with a stomach parasite which took awhile to leave with various medicines?

Nutella

Thanks dutyfree, PB is now on my shopping list!

thursdaysd

I think PB is overkill if you take reasonable precautions - no water, no ice, no ice cream, no fruit or veg unless cooked or you wash and peel, eat in busy places. I spent 10 weeks in India, and the only time I came close to getting sick was when I chose to put politeness before prudence (Cipro averted complete disaster). I certainly wouldn't have wanted to carry, or ingest, that much PB!

dutyfree

Thursdaysd-my internist was the one who suggested taking pepto bismol it as he is an avid traveler and had read several medical articles about pepto coating the stomach prior to meals which cuts down on the ability to pick up "things". Considering that several of my friends have come down with norovirus from working the Mumbai flights in the past year-I am open to anything.

hetismij

I pack paracetamol and Ibuprofen. They do different things, and can be taken together - which I do if I have an attack of sciatica for example.
I also take plasters, blister plasters, an antiseptic liquid, Rennies, and insect bite stuff.

The last few trips my first aid kit has come back bigger than it went due to having to buy specialist stuff whilst travelling - my husband had a cyst burst, which needed special dressings on it on time.

I don't have a book. If we need more help than we can cope with between us we'll find a doctor or pharmacist.

Prescription drugs aren't in the first aid pack as that is in our checked luggage. Prescription drugs go in the hand luggage.

sheri_lp

I bought the little pre-packaged kit from REI and thankfully never had to use it.

Iowa_Redhead

1)Do you travel with a kit like this?
Yes, but it's very minimal

2)Do you have a traveler's medical book you take with you?
No

3)What is the most often used remedy in your luggage?
Ibuprofen, bandaids or imodium

4)What first aid item would you not travel without?
Bandaids


My little travel kit includes ibuprofen, bandaids, neosporin, imodium, rolaids, benadryl pills, a couple doses of dayquil or a similar multi-symptom cold med.

Tweezers, nail clippers, a couple safety pins (in a mini sewing kit), and any prescription meds are all in my bathroom bag as well. Any extra meds (Cipro when I went to Egypt) or a bug stick are added as appropriate for the destination.