Holiday Medical Kit - What You Need

W

WarrenBuffet

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Last year my other half and I were on holidays in South America and we both got food poisoning. We are both experienced travellers but despite this we forgot to bring a medical kit!! Oh god did we regret it!

I'm going on holidays again soon so I thought it might be good to put together a post here on a medical kit for travelling abroad, particularly to the more far-flung destinations (South America, Asia, Africa etc). Depending on the number of replies perhaps this might be made a sticky for this forum....... Presumably they would not be needed for a package holiday to Spain.

I tried to come up with an exhaustive list so people can then pick and choose what they feel the need......

  1. Bandages and plasters
  2. Diarrohea tablets (E.g. Arrete)
  3. Constipation tablets (E.g. Allez.....only joking!)
  4. Painkillers
  5. Thermometer
  6. Plastic spoons for measuring doses
  7. Sun cream
  8. After sun cream
  9. Seasickness tablets
  10. Antihistamine cream
  11. Antihistamine tablets
  12. Pointed tweezers
  13. Oral rehydration powders
  14. Insect repellent (the stronger the better as you will appreciate it when the mozzies come)
  15. Antiseptic and disinfectant wipes
  16. Arnica or an anti bruising cream
  17. Scissors and safety pins
  18. Antimalarials
  19. Anti-sickness tablets
  20. Adult cold remedies
  21. Sleeping tablets
  22. Camomile lotion
  23. Blister treatments (e.g. compeed)
  24. Vaseline
  25. Sudocream
  26. Dose of antibiotics if in a very far flung destination
  27. E111 form if holiday in EU
  28. Details of travel insurance
  29. Contact details of VHI nurse (or equivalent for other health insurance providers should you need advice)
Does anyone know of a simple handbook which would be useful should you fall sick abroad? E.g. What to do if you get diarrohea? It would be ideal if this was tailored for Irish / Brits abroad........

WB
 
You'd need to check in an extra suitcase if you were to bring all that stuff, do they not have pharmacy's in any of these places?
 
I assume you are traveling without kids. Are you going to the sun or the slopes? This will determine whether you need flu remedy or sunscreen.

Here is what i would bring on a sun holiday from your list....


  1. Painkillers
  2. Sun cream
  3. After sun cream
  4. Insect repellent
  5. E111 form if holiday in EU
  6. Details of travel insurance
  7. Contact details of VHI.
Anything else can be got in a pharmacy if required.
 
I tend to bring:

1. plasters
2. aspirin
3. health insurance card
4. prescription antibiotics
5. Mom's phone number (she happens to be a GP :)

Plasters are essential for small cuts; aspirin is two-in-one, pain killer and anti-inflammatory; health insurance plus pharmacies will cover any more serious illnesses.

I tend to take a few doses of antibiotics with me as those cannot just be bought over the counter. If I need antibiotics quickly, I prefer to have my own than to have to search for a doctor who speaks my language. Of course, you should never take antibiotics without consulting with your doctor. Luckily for me, see point 5 :).

Sun cream makes sense if you are going to a sunny destination. But if you are not checking in a bag, you can only take up to 100ml. It is very difficult to find bottles that small and also, they will not last very long. I tend to buy sun cream at the destination.
 
The reason the list is so exhaustive is that they may not speak English in the country where you are travelling. This list isnt really aimed at the family holiday in Europe or the US - in developing countries you cannot rely on finding a doctor or pharmacist who speaks English. Believe me, I know.

If you are going on a holiday for a month to South America, Asia, Africa etc you need to be prepared and thats what the list is aimed at.
 
Folks

While we do not allow discussion of medical issues, this is a useful thread.

I am not sure how we handle the recommendation for bringing your own supply of antibiotics with you. I really don't want a discussion of antibiotics on askaboutmoney, yet at the same time I don't want people recommending them without challenge.
 
While Wrren's list is rather extensive and should cover famine, war or drought, s/he does have a point. We were skiing in Italy and one of the party broke their arm. Trip to the hospital and cast sorted (amaziningly quickly - 45 mins all in). All that was needed was a basic painkiller -had a small packet with us & assumed we could pick some up locally so headed back to the village.. But in Italy you can only buy painkillers (basic paracetemol or ibrobphen) from a chemist. There was only a "visiting" chemist once a week and a taxi would have cost about €100 round trip. Luckily we managed to beg, borrow and steal enough to get us by.

So I definately make sure I bring plenty of "basics" with me. Even in Europe
 
I believe the E11 Form is replaced with the European Health Insurance Card

[broken link removed]
 
Brendan said:
I really don't want a discussion of antibiotics on askaboutmoney, yet at the same time I don't want people recommending them without challenge.
Click to expand...
I mentioned antibiotics mostly to point out that some rather basic things may be hard to come by in a remote location. I did not recommend other people take antibiotics with them. I just said what is on my list. Many others have since given different examples of what basic things might be hard to find. If you feel uneasy about me having antibiotics on the list, I am happy to go back and remove them. The point I had has been made.

I also had difficulty sourcing some other basic things before due to language differences. When looking for something for a sore throat, I once accidentally translated the German word and ended up saying "sore neck" which gave the pharmacist the completely wrong impression. But we sorted it out somehow. In Hungary last year, I had a really bad flu. The pharmacist spoke only Hungarian. Still, she understood and gave me something. It can be challenging but people will try to help you as best as possible.
 
Antibiotics shouldnt be taken without any consult from a doctor.....And antibiotics arent for everyone....It isnt a child's play.....There are so many situations in which u cant take antibiotics....it's different from person to person......As brendan said she wont a discussion about antibiotics otherwise i would explain everything....
 
Thread gone off topic.

The decision to take antibiotics with you or not should be after a discussion with your doctor. End of.

Anything else that could be added to the list? Again this list is aimed at someone heading on a long holiday (1 month plus) to the developing world (South America, Asia etc).
 
Water treatment tablets.
A lighter or matches
Tiger Balm, (great as a mossie repellent, for a vicks replacement and as deep heat)
Canestan Cream it can be used on all fungal infections including athletes foot

And agreed, I was given a 1st aid kit before traveling around Asia, and I think I used everything in it and wanted more.

For women also at Feminine Hygiene products, Laos had none, and Cambodia only in the bigger cities, though that was a few years ago.

And A tip I learnt in Laos, put tobacco on open cuts and grazes to keep the insects and ants away, until you can treat it properly, they don't like it, and its normally easier to get a cigarrete of someone in these places than plasters and clean water.
 
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