• My travel first-aid kit
  • First-aid Kit ExpediTom

My Travel First Aid Kit

posted in: General, Packing List, Travel | 3

To carry a medic kit during your travel is a big plus. Here’s why!

My travel first-aid kit
My travel first aid kit

Click her for the excel file of my travel first-aid kit.

A lot of travelers don’t carry a travel first aid kit with them, because you can get medical help all over the world thus it’s unnecessary or they just argue it is too heavy and bulky. I don’t agree with this and want to show you some key thoughts about a first-aid kit, it’s benefits and my packing list.

Of course you can get medical help all over the world. But that doesn’t mean everywhere and at all time. You may have an accident in Bangkok, Thailand during the rush hour (is there a time in BKK called rush hour? I’ve never seen less traffic in a whole week :-P). You’re unable to walk because of a sprained ankle and you’re bleeding. Even in a metropolis like BKK it will take time until you arrivewith a taxi at the next pharmacy and the risk of an inflammation rises. Do you really want to risk your further travel just to safe a few grams? This example shows next that even in a high populated place like BKK there is time to bridge between the incident and medical help. That’s exactly where your first-aid kit comes into play.

You’re not able to carry a medic kit for all circumstances, which replaces a hospital stay if necessary. That would be illusive. But with a few things you’re able treat and cover most of any incidents which can occur during your travel on site and especially instantly.

One thing I can’t stand is selfishness and a lot of travelers forget that you may help others who can’t afford medical help. This egocentric perspective to only vet her/himself is absolutely narrow-minded. As you can read in my post about the Elephant Conservation Center in Laos you see an example.

What kind of first-aid kit you need depends a lot on your travel habits. You book an all inclusive hotel for one week in Phuket? Then you require in my opinion just a few patches, germicide and personal medication as antihistamines. You’re planning to walk a jungle trail in Brazil for weeks? So my list will only be a first indication but further medication will probably be needed.

As I mentioned on the homepage my travel plans lead to big cities but I regularly leave the beaten path of tourists to explore the nature, the society or less popular historical sites. I call myself a more or less off the path traveler. :-)

My travel first aid kit (2015)

First-aid Kit ExpediTom
First-aid Kit ExpediTom
Malarone 1
Allergy medication/Antihistamin 1
Bandage small/big 2
Patch sortiment 1
Tweezers 1
Painkiller 4
Anti diarrhoea-pills 5
Spray for sprains 1
Antiseptic cream 1
Gauze squares 10
Alcohol hand sanitizer 1
Latex/vinyl gloves 1
Respiratory mask 1
Cleaning tissue 2
Heating pouch 1
Sore throat medication 3
Desinfection (Merfen) 1
Emergency blanket 1
Finger bone stabilisation 1
Insect bite medication 1
Dound dabber 1
Flu medicine 2
Expectorant 2
Safety pin 1
Container 1

With this first-aid package your equipped for this incidents:

  • small to middle bleeding
  • sprains
  • easy incineration
  • headache
  • flu
  • malaria (if you travel in risk areas)
  • common cold
  • allergic reaction
  • insect bite
  • to care for unconscious people
  • sore throat
  • diarrhoea
  • remove braces

Take aways

  • adjust your first-aid kit primary to you personal needs. (Allergy? Personal medication? What s your usual illness?)
  • adjust your first-aid kit secondary to your travel plans. (Malaria? Vaccinations? etc.)
  • With a few key medications your prepared for 95% of every occurring situation
  • It may safe your life or of another!
  • The best first-aid kit is the one you carry always* with you.
  • Reduce weight and volume by these 3 rules
    • Lessen the packaging to a minimum (name of the medication, expiry date, medication itself. Always make sure you know the main package instruction by heart. But if you pack primary to your needs this will be the case anyway. This leads to the second point)
    • Read the instruction of use of any unknown medication before your travel starts and don’t carry it with you. If you’re unsure to remember it then make a digital image.
    • Don’t carry full packets of any medication (unless it is something like Malarone, where you have to eat all pills). The use of your travel first-aid kit is to bridge the time until you’re able to get professional help. Thus you’ll barely need half a litre of germicide, a full package headache pills nor a hundred patches. Trust me.

I have to mention that I’m not a doctor nor a pharmacist. I assume no liability for wrong informations.

Pay attention prescription required medication and carry the prescription with you.

If you need indispensable prescription required medication make sure you have plenty of them and check availability in your destinations in prior.

Be sure the medication is packed waterproof.

 

Do you carry a first-aid kit on travel? What do you carry additionally to my list above?

 

3 Responses

  1. James O'Bryan

    Thank you very much for your really helpful website. I really liked it and I will share it on my website maybe it will help some others. Especially your report about the medical kit was great! I bought it last week and tried it on my two days fishing trip this weekend. (Great fan of fishing too.) I really enjoy fishing a lot in my freetime but I actually do not catch a lot. Do you have some useful advices as well? Maybe your next report will be about it?! I’m sure some others on my webpage will like it too and are looking forward to this post.

    Feel free to check my website
    http://www.stuffnobodycaresabout.com

    Kind regards

    James O’Bryan

    • Tom

      Thanks for your comment.
      It’s difficult to give you advice without knowing how, where and for what kind of fish you’re fishing for. But I think the best advice is to have pleasure in nature even if you don’t catch anything. Thus, you won’t give up and the success will come soon. Trust me.
      I’ll soon publish a post/movie about fishing the famous Tongariro River in New Zealand where I had some issues in the beginning before I finally caught my first rainbow trout in New Zealand. You see, even I have to be patient :)
      If you want to stay up to date feel free to like my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/expeditiontom
      I’ll definitely check your website as well.
      Kind regards
      Tom O’Connor

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