BootsnAll Travel Community

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I will definitely try this in the future, but just one question, how exactly does it keep you from sweating and, does it make a mess? like does the powder fall all over the place and get on your clothes? Or turn into mush when you do start sweating, or?

As I think someone said earlier, it doesn't really stop you from sweating. Baby powder/talc soaks up moisture really well and the main thing it achieves is to make sure you're properly dry after you shower or whatever. I tend to find I get it all over my carpet at home (but it's a light colour, so you can't see it anyway) but unless you put a huge amount on (which is difficult, since it does fall off) you won't get mush. I use it (and sorry for the graphic details) every day to prevent my bra from rubbing my damp skin raw.

If you want something that will actually stop you from sweating you need a sweat rash cream. The one I use is from a New Zealand company and it's magical. it's basically a really hard-core antiperspirant (Aluminium Chlorohydrate-based) but works well for sensitive skin. I never leave home without it.

The other thing about reducing sweating is to use an antiperspirant not a deodorant. Antiperspirants contain ingredients that block the pores so you can't sweat (which is why some people say they're unnatural and nasty) whereas deodorants just smell nice and attempt to cover up the smell.

To curb sweat I use a spray called Odaban. You just spray 2 times a week right before bed and you don't sweat at all.

Have you ever had vitamins disintegrate into a chalky paste while on the road in tropical climates? Cod liver pills turn into sticky, smelly, ambiguous masses that cling to the other pills?

Store your meds and pills:

* in air-tight containers, and
* save those little packets that come with electronics that absorb moisture and oxygen and put them in with your pills. Be sure to save them pre-trip in air-tight containers, too.

As a soon-to-be first time world traveller, I'm very curious about this whole baby powder/talcum/gold bond stuff I keep hearing about.

Can somebody explain to me exactly why and how this stuff is used?

Talcum powder has many uses..it helps preventing chaffing when you are walking or hiking, use it on your toes, under arms and you know where else.

Also after a shower a little talc helps..it makes you feel refreshed. I think it works better than deodrant.

Coming back from the beach if you have sand all over you can put a little talc on your band and brush it off.

Also if you have bad foot odor put some in your socks and waer it overnite.

Blisters:

For blisters which keep swelling with pus take a needle and thread and run it through the blister. leave a little bit of the thread in...it will keep draining the blister and help heal.

I keep my talc in a chafing dish.

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I keep my talc in a chafing dish.

The rare combination of a horrible pun and half-decent advice. Well played, my friend.

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Originally posted by Manchu:
As a soon-to-be first time world traveller, I'm very curious about this whole baby powder/talcum/gold bond stuff I keep hearing about.

Can somebody explain to me exactly why and how this stuff is used?

I think the videos on this site (they're "clean", okay for work, etc.) explain the Gold Bond issues quite well ...AND, the site lets you order a free sample that comes with a $1.00-off coupon.

Free Gold Bond

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Originally posted by Walkabout:
travel tip/trick:

Get acquainted with a smell on your trip. For me, it was this really cool deoderant. Now, whenever I smell it at home (its hard to find), I have this memory orgasm of my traveling and experiences.

Yes! I've experienced this with a shower gel and a face cream. Then it's terribly sad when the companies stop making the products. I have one last bottle of the gel that I'm making last...

My tip:
Tuck a couple dryer sheets in with your clothes. Then when you pull out a clean shirt it'll smell deliciously fresh. This is particularly effective if you pack your clothes into ziplock bags, as I do when sailing.

Thanks for the powder advice. Sounds like fun.

On this trip I have been traveling with a small Rubbermaid wastebasket, and that has been amazing! It is a table, a washing machine, it gives my pack some structure and makes it sit up, it protects things that ought not be crushed... fantastic! Especially for laundry. It also doesn't take up much extra space inside the pack since I pack it full of stuff. I discovered its benefits accidentally, but I'll never travel without it again!

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Originally posted by Bideshi:
On this trip I have been traveling with a small Rubbermaid wastebasket, and that has been amazing! It is a table, a washing machine, it gives my pack some structure and makes it sit up, it protects things that ought not be crushed... fantastic! Especially for laundry. It also doesn't take up much extra space inside the pack since I pack it full of stuff. I discovered its benefits accidentally, but I'll never travel without it again!

hey, can you tell me which rubbermaid wastebasket this is? which model? This sounds like a great and practical idea!

sew pockets into the inside of your pants, following the seam. Great to avoid the actual money belt when it feels too hot out or is just uncomfortable. No one is getting at your money or passport in there!

Also, as far as blister, yes it's the double socks that provide the greatest protection. i ran a marathon w/ TNT and we had an amazing trainer who was a world renowned runner. He went on and on about the joys of double socks. I spent a little extra $$ and got an awesome pair that are double layered yet very thin. I didn't get a single blister the whole 26.2 miles!! However one guy i saw, w/ just one set of socks on, had a giant blister that covered the entire bottom of his feet and ones on each toe. Ouch! He was in a wheelchair when I saw him wheeled into the nurse's room. I honestly don't know how he could've walked. Double layered socks are most def. the way to go! I love mine so much I only wear them for special occasions - don't want to wear them out.

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Originally posted by Miamc:

quote:

Originally posted by Walkabout:
travel tip/trick:

Get acquainted with a smell on your trip. For me, it was this really cool deoderant. Now, whenever I smell it at home (its hard to find), I have this memory orgasm of my traveling and experiences.

Yes! I've experienced this with a shower gel and a face cream. Then it's terribly sad when the companies stop making the products. I have one last bottle of the gel that I'm making last...

My tip:
Tuck a couple dryer sheets in with your clothes. Then when you pull out a clean shirt it'll smell deliciously fresh. This is particularly effective if you pack your clothes into ziplock bags, as I do when sailing.

Dryer sheets may not be considered too cool if you're staying in a hostel or anyplace else with people around who have allergies or chemical sensitivities! When I was in grad school, our dorm instructions/questionaire made a point of bringing that up -- and now decades later I've noticed that a lot of eco-tourism sites or retreat centres specifically tell you to NOT pack anything fragranced. None of this may apply to you if you are airing things out in the fresh sea air though! (grin!)

And about that original comment about reliving a place or experience with a smell? I too can still summon up memories of living in a seaside flat in Norfolk, England just by smelling Nivea handcream. And Norsca shower gel reminds me of eurailing around western Europe years ago.

Gotta love the brain's power to make associations!

and speaking of "memorable smells", I have a few of my own:

1. The smell of the air conditioning and vinyl seats inside a Hong Kong taxi cab.

2. The stuffy smell inside the cabin of an airplane (its a combination of stale cracker/bread, the upholstery, and of course, the air conditioning)

I always bring some Velcro tape with me when traveling. When renting an apartment or Hotel, with a safe in the room or not, I always take some Velcro tape and an envelope and stick my money and passport to the bottom of a table or chair in the room. In all the years I have traveled, I have never had anyone find it.

The best thing every is Paw Paw cream. I'm pretty sure you can only get it in Australia but you can probley order it online. It fills the role of vasoline, aloe vera, talc, lip balm, antiseptic cream and every other thing you can think of. It's fabulous you can use it on burns, bites, splinters, blisters, bruises, cuts, chafing, heat or sweat rash, cracked skin and a thousand other things and almost overnight these things are healed. I absolutely never go anywhere without it.

One other thing I like to do to pass the time when stuck in Airports or on plains, trains or automobiles is to have a couple (a lot in my case) of movies or TV shows compressed and put on my iPod so that I can have some entertainment and completely tune out and destress in these often boring situations. It's great to have something you know will entertain you when that book just isn't doing it for you or you've finished it and have nothing to go on to.

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Originally posted by kj115:

One other thing I like to do to pass the time when stuck in Airports or on plains, trains or automobiles is to have a couple (a lot in my case) of movies or TV shows compressed and put on my iPod so that I can have some entertainment and completely tune out and destress in these often boring situations. It's great to have something you know will entertain you when that book just isn't doing it for you or you've finished it and have nothing to go on to.

Two years ago I was in a tent in the middle of the Serengeti and I found myself watching a movie on my Ipod. The thought of being so isolated from the world yet still have such advanced, portable technology is quite amazing.

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Originally posted by kj115:
The best thing every is Paw Paw cream.

For those of us on this side of the world, according to various on-line resources, a papaw is, in fact, a papaya. Not that just any old papaya ointment is necessarily as good as Lucas's, of course...

That blew my mind. Here in the "Colonies", a paw paw is a native tree otherwise known as Asimina triloba. One does, in fact, learn something new every day.