Indigestion in India? A headache in Hong Kong? No matter your ailment, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll have some sort of health issue when travelling. Most of these are easy to treat but sometimes (just sometimes), you’ll need a bit more in your travel first aid kit than paracetamol to get you through. Read on to find out more about our perfect travel medicine kit…
Read next: How to stay heathly while backpacking.
Having a properly packed first aid kit is critically important. Particularly when you’re travelling for more than a few days. Yes, there are pharmacies in every major city. But often they won’t stock the specific brand you know, might not even cater for the same medication or you might have a breakdown in communication due to language differences, leaving you with the wrong pills for your particular complaint.
We’ve gone ahead and put together our own list of ‘must-pack’ items for your first aid kit, including a handy printable list. As with any advice you find on the internet, take our list with a pinch of salt – it’s customised to us. Make sure to keep your own health in mind. If you often suffer from headaches, pack paracetamol. If you’re prone to a cough, keep your pastilles handy.
Also, we recommend taking two kits. As part of our backpacking essentials we pack a ‘core kit’ in our carry-on backpack with painkillers, digestion aids and antiseptic wipes in case of emergencies!
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Key Items
- Plasters/band aids
- Thermometer
- Tweezers, nail scissors
- Cotton wool
- Mosquito repellent
- Antiseptic hand wipes and lotion
- Cold and flu tablets
- Cough and sore throat medication (Tyrozets etc)
- Painkillers like paracetamol or ibuprofen (if you prefer codeine, make sure you check the entry requirements of your destinations, since it is banned in some countries)
- Antihistamines
- Rehydration sachets
- Digestion aids – anti-diarrhoea (Imodium), anti-spasmodic (Buscopan), anti-nausea
- Water purification tablets (or we suggest a water filter bottle)
- Anti-malaria tablets (if travelling to countries where needed)
- Vitamins (incl. probiotics!)
- Blister plasters (Compeed)
- Iodine spray
- Eye drops
- Motion sickness tablets / patches (we recommend Scopaderm on prescription)
- After sun lotion
Want to print out this handy list? Download our printable travel medicine kit packing list here.
Make sure you check out the latest information for where you’re travelling to, and seek out the right medical advice before you travel. We found the Travel Health Pro website a great starting point.
Read next: Alongside a travel kit, what are the other best gifts you can get for a backpacker?
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