a friend of mine asked me the other day about first aid kits and if i travel with one. i answered, usually. sometimes, it’s just a few band-aids and some cold medicine, other times (depending on where i go) i have an ace bandage and some anti-bacterial cream. it really is smart to have one, no matter where you are going. so what’s best to carry in a travel first aid kit? read on…
my go-to tip for a travel first aid kit is that it doesn’t need to be huge, unless you’re going on a long back-country hike (and then, hopefully you and your compatriots can split a large first aid kit amongst you.) i use a small toiletry kit, one that can get tossed easily from bag to bag. again, if you’re hiking, you should have your own small kit, with a few additional items. and, if you’re road-tripping, having a full size first aid kit in the backseat or trunk isn’t a bad idea either (add a blanket to this kit.) i’ll touch on all of those in a checklist at the bottom of this post.
obviously it goes without saying (but i’m going to say it anyway) that if you have any medications, epi-pens, inhalers, etc, they will all go in your first aid kit. i don’t think any of that should ever get put into your checked luggage though, so if you do put your first aid kit in a checked bag, make sure the important meds are in your carry-on.
my go-to small kit contains some band-aids, usually in a few different sizes; some anti-bacterial cream; various medicines: day and nyquil, midol, ibuprofen, to name a few; an ace bandage; and cough drops. i also really like the little travel size q-tips that you can buy at any drugstore. they are perfect for applying neosporin/cortisone cream/blistex… and once you’re done with the q-tips, you can still use the box for meds, band-aids, etc.
it’s small, like i said, but it covers you until you can get to a local pharmacy or hospital.
for a long trip/hike, double the above and add antihistamines or a decongestant medicine (like sudafed;) antidiarrheal medications; laxatives; hydrocortisone cream; motion sickness meds, if you are prone to that (dramamine.) baby wipes or facial wipes are also a smart thing to carry; they don’t have anything that can harm a cut if you need to clean it before bandaging, and they also double as a face wipe for when you’re all gross and sweaty after hiking all day. sanitizing wipes are good too – they act the same as hand sanitizer gel, but are in wipe form. i love that they come in little packets for tossing into a first aid kit.
the cdc has a published list of a travel health kit, and while i think they make some good recommendations, you have to know what’s best for your kit. you can tailor your kit to the best medications for where you are going. if you’re spending two months backpacking through central and south america, you will want a lot of imodium and water purification tablets. on the flip side, if you’re going to do a grand tour of europe, you can buy a lot of the essentials if something hits you while you’re there. travelers to southeast asia, south america, africa, and india should definitely pack anti-malarial medicine and other insect repellents.
do your research beforehand and prepare. in the grand scheme of things, prepping a first aid kit for your travel is something that you can’t leave until the last minute. i googled “travel first aid kits” and got a wealth of information. some stores, like rei, sell pre-packaged “adventure” first aid kits. you can add to these.
something that i overlook a lot is sunscreen. i rarely wear it, which i know is terrible or something, but i just always forget to pack it. you can find small, travel size bottles of sunscreen at most drugstores. i also travel with sleeping pills; while not solely for use in a first aid kit, they might come in handy!
like i said above, it’s smart to carry a first aid kit – you literally never know when you, a travel companion or even a stranger might need your assistance.
you can download a first aid checklist here.