How to pack a travel first aid kit?

Choosing dresses and sunglasses for your vacation is fun, but before you pack your suitcase, also consider the necessary medications. In this article, we'll tell you how to pack a travel first aid kit and list the medicines you'll need if you suddenly fall ill with a virus or get a rash from a suspicious insect bite during your trip.

Important: always consult your doctor before using any medications.

Essential Minimum

These remedies will be relevant for both adults and children. Later, we'll explain in detail why you should take so many medications with you and how they will help during your trip.

• For indigestion: Smecta, Enterosgel, Imodium.
• For allergies: Cetrin, Tavegil, Claritin.
• For sore throat: Strepsils, Grammidin, Tantum Verde.
• For runny nose: Otrivin, Tizin.

First Aid Kit for the Sea

First, save this basic checklist of what medicines to take with you to the sea:

• sunscreen creams and sprays;
• after-sun care products;
• antipyretics and pain relievers;
• anti-allergy medications;
• cold remedies;
• medications for the gastrointestinal tract;
• remedies for treating injuries and bruises.

What else to put in your travel first aid kit

If you have a huge suitcase or are particularly attentive to your health, here's what else you need to take care of.

• Planning to walk a lot or hike in the mountains? Add foot gels that help with varicose veins and swelling, such as Heparin or Lioton, to your list.

• If you've chafed your feet until they bleed, you should have a regular bactericidal plaster with you.
• Do you like to taste unfamiliar dishes? Take more remedies for indigestion. For example, you can buy something gastroprotective to avoid heartburn from spicy soup: Nolpaza or Omez. And electrolyte preparations would pair well with antidiarrheal agents to help restore the body after severe poisoning.
• Sometimes, strong anxiety grips you before a trip. There are also reasons to be nervous while traveling: an unfamiliar language, transfers, fear of getting lost. It's better to calm yourself with plant-based preparations, such as Novopassit or Persen.

What definitely not to take

• Anti-must-have — antibiotics. They should only be taken as prescribed and under the supervision of a doctor. Each antibiotic is selected individually depending on the pathogen causing the disease. If you have a common cold with a slight runny nose, an antibiotic will not help: it kills bacteria, not viruses that cause a cold. In addition, taking antibiotics negatively affects the gastrointestinal tract, so diarrhea or stomach pain may be added to cold symptoms.

• Potent drugs that contain narcotic substances. They are prescribed only by a doctor, and if you do not take them regularly, you are unlikely to need them.

Remedies for all occasions

Cold remedies

As the saying goes, a cold is treated in a week, but it goes away on its own in seven days. It's useless to fight the virus directly, but you can put remedies in your vacation first aid kit that will alleviate symptoms like an uncontrollable runny nose or sore throat.

What will help: nasal spray, soothing and pain-relieving throat lozenges (Dorithricin, Strepsils), cough medicine (if dry, then Panatus or Omnitus; if wet, then ACC). The list is impressive, but if you tend to get sick often, it's better to take medicines with you than to spend money in an unfamiliar country and explain yourself to pharmacists. And yes, the golden rule: if you get sick, try to stay home and rest. It's a shame to lose a few days you paid for, but bed rest will help avoid complications.

What else you'll need:

• plaster — to cover small wounds on your feet if your shoes rub;
• sanitizer — to wipe your hands before eating or after touching a street animal;
• wet wipes — useful if you're traveling with a child;
• bandage.

Painkillers and Antipyretics

Painkillers

You never know when your head or back will hurt, especially when traveling: you can strain your lower back carrying a suitcase, or get a migraine after a long stay on the beach. Not to mention aching feet from long city tours. Ibuprofen, Naproxen effectively relieve pain, inflammation, and swelling. They will also help if you feel unwell and have a fever. Be careful: if you take too much painkiller, the medicine can negatively affect your liver and stomach.

Fever Reducer

This is something you can never be completely safe from. On vacation, it's easy to catch some nasty virus or simply overheat in the sun and get a fever. Toss a pack of Paracetamol or Ibuprofen into your first aid kit. This is especially relevant if you are traveling with children.

Motion Sickness Remedies

You can get motion sickness anywhere on vacation — from a bus to a ferry. So if you have long journeys or guided tours ahead, take Dramina with you. The only nuance is that it causes drowsiness. Do not take the drug before driving.

In addition, simple remedies like a lemon slice, chewing gum, or a sour citrus candy can help with motion sickness. Keep lozenges handy if there's no medicine nearby.

For easy acclimatization

If you had a long night flight and then went to bed to rest, your body might rebel, and your routine could be completely disrupted. Wide awake at four in the morning? Take Melatonin. It's a natural biological supplement that is not addictive, and you can take it for several nights in a row. Take it half an hour before bed: this will save your vacation from the unpleasant effects of jet lag.

For allergies

Anything can be an allergen in an unfamiliar country — from an unusual ingredient in a dish to some exotic plant you smelled or touched out of curiosity. While nasal drops can be left at the hotel, antihistamine pills can save your life (throat swelling is no joke!). Therefore, always carry them with you as a first aid, for example, Claritin or Cetrin. The nuance is that they cause drowsiness.

If the allergic reaction does not subside and antihistamines do not help, be sure to seek medical attention.

For the digestive tract

Antidiarrheal agents

Traveler's stomach upset due to unfamiliar food or water is a common problem on vacation. In addition, intestinal infections are often found in tourist resorts in summer. This is especially relevant for children who swim a lot in the sea and may swallow contaminated water. To avoid spoiling your trip, take a sorbent (e.g., Enterosgel) or Imodium with you.

Antispasmodics

They will help with abdominal pain from overeating or poisoning. What you can take with you: Meteospasmyl, Duspatalin.

Heartburn remedies

If you overdid it with Sichuan noodles or Tom Yum at lunch, Phosphalugel or Omez will save you from burning and stomach pain.

Insect protection

The best insect protection is not to encounter them. If you are planning a summer vacation, just in case, take a fumigator with mosquito repellent plates: in this case, you can solve the problem before it even arises. If you are traveling to tropical countries with a lot of unfamiliar fauna, stock up on hydrocortisone cream. It reduces itching from insect bites and burns caused by some plants. And, of course, the tick-borne encephalitis vaccine is still relevant.

For a beautiful and safe tan and glowing skin

If you like to doze on the beach to your favorite music, you are definitely at risk: it's often difficult to track the moment you start to burn, so the problem is only discovered upon returning to the hotel.

What you'll need in your travel first aid kit to avoid sunburn:

• sunscreen with SPF >50 for the whole body. It is recommended to apply it 15–20 minutes before you go out into the sun;
• lip balm with SPF filter;
• thermal water;
• moisturizing lotion based on panthenol.

Treatment of wounds and burns

Let's start with burns and basics. To prevent sunburn, you need to purchase an SPF product with an index of 30+. The higher the number, the greater the protection factor. If the sun has already left its marks on you, use Panthenol or Bepanthen.

Chlorhexidine or Miramistin are best for treating wounds. And of course, you can take iodine or brilliant green, which are familiar to many. The main thing is that nothing spills along the way, but now you can find these products in convenient spray packaging.

How to transport a tourist's first aid kit

You can freely transport solid form medications in both checked baggage and hand luggage. Solid form medications include tablets, powders, capsules, and lozenges.

If you are carrying liquid medications (solutions, ointments, tinctures, syrups), the same rules apply to them as to other liquids. Liquids can be transported in checked baggage without problems, but hand luggage has restrictions. Therefore, we advise you to find out in advance how to pack your suitcase and put your valuable first aid kit there.

Liquid medications should only be transported in containers with a volume not exceeding 100 ml. You can take several such containers, but their total volume should not exceed 1 liter. We wrote in detail about whether medicines can be carried in hand luggage in another article.

• Important rule: take medicines in their original packaging. This way, customs will not have additional questions about the origin of your pills.
• If a doctor prescribed the medicine for you, it's best to take the prescription with you. Especially if the drug is liquid and you are taking it in your hand luggage. Then it will not be confiscated.
• A prescription will be needed if your medications contain prohibited substances (narcotic or psychotropic). It is desirable that the prescription is also in English.

We wish you wonderful, illness-free vacations, dear travelers!