Oct-2016
How to pack a Travel First Aid Kit
travel first aid kit for Health care on the road
To have a travel first aid kit is important whether you’re planning on going on a holiday for a week of backpacking for several months. A travel first aid kit can save you from inconvenient trips to a local doctor or hospital.
Here’s a list with what you should take abroad with you in your travel first aid kit.
Buy the essentials
- O.R.S. (Oral Rehydration Solution)
In case of dehydration. - Tweezers
For pulling out splinters or little bits of dirt when cleaning a wound. - Scissors
For cutting the gauze or bandage to the necessary size. Do make sure to pack this in your check-in luggage as it won’t be allowed as carry-on. - Imodium / loperamide
Useful for stopping diarrhea for short periods. Just for emergency moments while traveling. - Big and small plasters – preferably waterproof
From blister plasters to simple plasters for minor injuries. It goes without saying that these are essential. - Painkillers
Such as Aspirin or Ibuprofen. - Thermometer
For when you’re not sure if you’ve got a fever. You can check it yourself by putting the thermometer under your tongue or in your armpit. - Desinfective
This can be alcohol or Betadine, because nobody want to get a cut or wound infected. - Gauze or bandage roll
To pressure a wound and stop it from bleeding and you can cover it with a plaster 🙂 - Antihistamine
These little pills are against (sudden) allergies. - Insect repellent with DEET
For the tropical regions. Perhaps also bring after bite spray.
Don’t bring what you can’t use properly. Rather than buying the most fancy devices for a fracture or anything similar will not be in any use to you if you don’t know how to use it and you’re off traveling into the wild. Learn how to use it, if you decide on bring items or devices you’ve never hold in your hands before. This doesn’t mean that you need to become a doctor to be able to do first aid, but you should get familiar with your first aid kit and learn how to use it. The best way is to learn is to do an Emergency First Responder course.
The key is to understand your needs
It’s good to know your first aid abilities in the field, but also what it is you personally need. If you’re a diabetic obviously you’ll know how to work with that. If you are not and during an activity you end up with a low blood sugar then you should know what it is you need.
Depending on where you’re traveling to you might need altitude sickness pills (e.g. Bolivia) or even malaria pills (e.g. Kenya). Maybe even anti-motion sickness pills are something necessary for you if you get sick easily on board a boat or during a bus-ride.
Don’t forget proper clothing, such as a scarf to prevent you from getting a cold in air-conditioned places like on an airplane. Also, traveler vaccinations! Very, very important. As already mentioned in the list, bring insect repellent. It is probably one of the number one items you should have when traveling to a tropical country. You don’t want to end up like me having Dengue Fever in Latin America.
Which are your tips and advice for travelers? What do you put in your travel first aid kit?
About Renate Rigters
Ever since I left my home country I felt at home at any other place I went to. I enjoy getting to know more cultures by talking to strangers and hearing their philosophy about life. Speaking with gestures when you can not find a shared language, finding places only the locals go to and learn about their customs and values. Hanging out with local people makes me happy. The experience of every new place is a step out of your comfort zone where I like to wander around until it feels like a second home.
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