A travel medicine kit is more than the essential medicine box you need to carry with you while travelling for a holiday or business trip. It is basic safety and safeguards surety that you enjoy your trip. Any possible minor illness should not disturb your travel schedule. And you should be able to enjoy your trip while handling any health condition instantly. Prepare your customized travel medicine kit accordingly and enjoy your trip. Pick your empty box now, and let’s fill it up.
- Medicines For Minor Injuries
- An Analgesic Gel
- Some antihistamine tablets
- Loperamide Capsules
- Powder For Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS)
- Dimenhydrinate
- A Hot and Cold Pack
- Some Painkiller Tablet
- Medicine for fever and fatigue
- Some Common Cold Remedies
- Some Medicines For Your Stomach
- Treatment for Acidity and Gas
- Treatment For Constipation
- Your regular medicines
Medicines For Minor Injuries
Minor injuries like some wound cut, scratch or accidental twisting and wrenching of hand or foot leading to bruising and swelling are general injuries that you may face while on a trip. It would help if you kept some medicines for treating these injuries in your essential travel medicines kit.
An Antiseptic
You will need to use an antiseptic to clean any possible wound, cut or scratch. Common antiseptics are alcohol wipes and iodine tinctures. Travelers prefer alcohol wipes over iodine tinctures as these are easy to carry and occupy small space only.
An Antibiotic Ointment
You will have to apply the antibiotic ointment to your possible wound, cut or scratch. Put a triple antibiotic combination ointment like Polyfax or Neosporin in your essential travel medicine kit.
Some Bandages
You will need to put a bandage onto your possible wound and bind it. Cotton bandage 2-3 inch sizes will be enough.
Also, keep some sticky bandages, like saniplast, and crepe bandages, for giving warmth to any bruises in your essential medicines kit.
An Analgesic Gel
You will need an analgesic and anti-inflammatory gel for any possible bruising or swelling. Gels like Fastum, Moov and Voltaren are the most suitable. You can keep any one of these or any other one available to you in yours.
If you have bruising or swelling, rub on the gel and cover that body area with a crepe bandage.
Some antihistamine tablets
You might have some insect or bed bug bites on your journey. And due to any other reason, you might face skin allergy symptoms like irritation, swelling and redness. For treating that, you will require an antihistamine cetirizine 10mg tablet.
Keep cetirizine in your essential travel medicine kit. Use only one tablet of cetirizine in 24hrs preferably at night, as it can make you feel drowsy. Don’t use antihistamine if you are also using any cold remedy, as your common-cold remedy might already contain it.
Loperamide Capsules
Loperamide 2mg capsules are the most important to keep in your essential medicine travel kit. If you have watery diarrhea, you will need to use loperamide. Imodium is the most famous brand worldwide for loperamide.
Powder For Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS)
Already you will be travelling and having less water intake further with possible sweating, diarrhea and vomiting; you will lose more water and essential minerals required for the normal functionality of body systems. Drinking ORS will help you balance your dehydration and mineral loss. It would be best to keep powder for oral rehydration solution in your essential travel medicine kit.
Keep drinking ORS even if you don’t have diarrhoea. You will need to pour your powder for ORS into some water to make a solution to drink. Read your product label to know about the exact quantity of water required for making the solution.
Dimenhydrinate
Keep dimenhydrinate 50mg tablet into your travel medicine kit to counter vomiting. If you suffer from motion sickness in routine, you can take a tablet 30 minutes to 1 hour before your travel begins. You can use one tablet after every 4 to 6 hours as needed. Even if you don’t have a motion sickness issue, you can use dimenhydrinate tablets for vomiting in case. Dramamine is the most famous brand.
A Hot and Cold Pack
It will be beneficial to carry a hot and cold pack while travelling. A hot and cold pack contain a gel-like substance that can work as a heating material when heated in a microwave oven and as a cold substance when cooled in a refrigerator.
Application of heat and cold are rapid methods for treating bruises, muscle pains and swellings.
Some Painkiller Tablet
A painkiller tablet, e.g. ibuprofen, aspirin or diclofenac, will be required to help you quickly reduce your pains and swelling. I prefer ibuprofen as it has the quickest onset time of action it reduces pain and swelling more quickly than others. The stomach generally tolerates it better than other painkillers. Consider your safety first, do check if ibuprofen is safe for you to use?
Medicine for fever and fatigue
Fever and fatigue are must-have things when you are travelling. Keep some paracetamol tablets with you. Always make safe use of Paracetamol. About dosage and safety, consider my page about the safe use of Paracetamol.
Some Common Cold Remedies
Common cold remedies are also among the must-have medicines in your essential travel medicine kit, particularly for those travelling to cold areas.
Most over-the-counter common cold remedies contain combination medicines for treating fever, flu and cold. Panadol cold & flu is one famous brand for common-cold treatments. Check your local pharmacy for the one available in your area.
Some Medicines For Your Stomach
While travelling, due to some changes in weather conditions, particularly heat, reduced water intake, unhygienic conditions or just due to some journey stress, you might face stomach problems like diarrhea, gas, constipation or stomach acidity. You need to put some medicines into your travel medicine kit to manage them.
Treatment for Acidity and Gas
Keep some chewable tablets having antacid and simethicone combinations in your travel medicine kit. You will need these to relieve any possible gas or acidity you might feel on travel.
Treatment For Constipation
Must add lactulose syrup and some ispaghol husk into your medicine kit. You will need these if you feel constipation.
Your regular medicines
If you regularly take some medicines for any acute or chronic illness, do not forget to keep those regular medicines.
Close the filled up travel medicine box now and have an incredible, exciting and safe journey.
