BootsnAll Travel Community

What would you carry with you?
Assuming a year long stint, from South East Asia, through China, Mongolia, Russia and on to Europe/UK??

Obviously we'll be visiting our GP before we leave to get prescriptions for anything we need to take - I like to think befgore I get to the surgery though! And you guys who are on the road already will have a better idea than I do. When I last travelled we took some Band-Aids and that was all. Taking kids this time, we feel the need to grow up and be a bit more responsible!

so are none of you responsible travellers?

Well my kit generally only consists of a few bandages and some gloves. However, if I had a large family of 10+ I would:

1. Take a first responder, wilderness EMT, or equivalent course. Because the medical kit is really secondary.

2. Apart from a few basic bandages, antiseptics and antibiotic ointment, etc. I would add a SAM splint, two triangle bandages, thermometer, elastic bandage (2 or 3 inch), and a lot of duct tape. You might want 1 or 2 large trauma pads, but I'd just start ripping my clothes and using them at that point. At 2.5 lbs this kit is probably a good reference point. Probably wouldn't take everything on that list, but it would make a good basis to build a kit around.

Bye a travel first aid kit. There are different kinds and everything is useful. I'm lazy like that. I added throat lozenges, diahorrhea/constipations stuff and any prescriptions.

Here are some things not commonly thought of:

1. Antibiotics: as you know antibiotics are obtained by prescription only (such as penicillin, moxycillin, etc. sorry for the spelling). I'm fortunate that my brother is a dentist and can prescribe me meds. Obviously, if I went on a trip, got a fever, or whatever and started taking them, I'd basically be diagnosing myself, which of course is risky. I really only use them as an absolute last resort. For instance, if I was stuck somewhere and I had a "gut feeling" that my symptoms were indicative of a bacterial infection and that I was nowhere near a worthy doctor.

2. Tweezers, rubbing alcohol, antiseptic rubs or wipes.

3. Motion sickness pills

4. BOTH pepto bismol and Immodium.

These are just some of my standard meds.

I reckon its always helpful to take lots of gastrolyte, so you can rehydrate yourself quickly. Makes you feel a lot better!

If you're doing much walking/trekking, blister-repair bandaids are gold.

Sunscreen! I always forget and get very burnt.

Also paracetamol is an obvious one that comes in handy. Plus mozzie repellant and anti-malarials.

You might want to include a couple of syringes in case you end up in some back-country clinic where they re-use the things.