What to bring: The first aid kit

Its been a slow blog week. Sorry. Mainly because I have been affected by some sort of bug that has left me lethargic with tummy pains. Luckily I have turned the corner. But as I reached for some paracetamol out of the first aid kit, I got thinking…

What should you take in your travel first aid kit? (with kids)

Some of you may be curious.

Firstly, let me start by saying that I realise now that we are here that I was a bit OTT. We actually live on a street with a pharmacy downstairs. And across the road from a hospital. However, when I packed my travel kit I didn’t know this. And to give myself credit. I was also thinking about when we go away, especially to more remote places.

This list is not researched, and probably not comprehensive, but it gives you an idea of what I thought was important to take when I decided to head abroad to a developing country with a 2 year old.

Pain:

We brought infant paracetamol and ibuprofen with us. One of those went with us in out carry on bags, and on any trip away from home for weekends. You are unlikely to be able to find a 24 hour pharmacy anywhere, especially in a foreign country. And paracetamol always seems to be needed at 2am more often than during the day.

Tummy stuff:

I bought over soooo much oral rehydration solution/ hydralyte/ gastrolyte. If your child does get a case of gastro you will go through this stuff quickly. I went for the sachets you put into drinking water rather than the dissolvable tablets or actual liquid for weight purposes. Again this stuff comes with us on weekend trips away. It is also something that I envisage we will be using at some point in our stay as diarrhea is one of the more common things a 2 year old anywhere will get, especially in overseas countries.  FYI you can make your own oral rehydration solution and there are numerous websites that list alternatives

I also bought something for nausea and vomiting. Most children with gastro don’t need it. But I know that sometimes everything that goes in can come out again. And this makes rehydration difficult. The medicine of choice in children is ondansetron. Its expensive, and not easily accessible. But I think if you mention it to your travel doctor before you head overseas most would be happy to prescribe it if they know you are travelling with a child. (there are other options for adults) Personally, it was the one medicine that I thought was crucial to get before we came over here.

We also have some loperamide (anti diarrhea medication) with us. This is not for Bea, I would never give it to a kid, but most travellers probably have some in their travel kit. Its good to have up your sleeve if, for example, all three of you are sick simultaneously and someone needs to get on with the caring.

Coughs and colds:

I didn’t bother with cough syrups as these aren’t recommended for kids. The only thing I really give for colds is paracetamol for fever.  The only other thing that I threw in was some organic vapour rub that we had at home that I had used in previous colds and found really useful. (even if it was to make me feel that I was doing more for Bea when she was so miserable.)

Cuts and grazes:

Now this list is definitely not comprehensive but we came laden with different sized bandaids, bandages, and dressing for cuts and grazes of all sizes! I even snuck in some Mickey Mouse bandaids for real emergencies!

Other stuff:

Antihistamine for allergies

Hand sanitiser ( we came with lots because although I’m not a mum who uses this at home, there is a real shortage of taps and water for hand washing over here)

Creams – we came with a selection

-       Anti itch cream such as Stingoes

-       Antiseptic cream for grazes etc

-       Steroid cream- mainly because in Auckland I had terrible hand dermatitis that I thought would be an ongoing problem. Miraculously it has disappeared since we arrived. Yay!

-       That’s all I can think of

Antibiotics

I didn’t bring over any on this trip but that was because I knew we could get some here and that we would mostly be in the same place. However, I have previously travelled with antibiotics and would recommend that if you are going overseas you see a travel doctor and get their recommendation on which ones to take.

Antimalarials:

Again, we didn’t bring any over as thankfully there is no malaria in Vientiane. Again this would be something to consider with your doctor depending on where you are going.

That’s about it. I hope you find it useful. After inspiring you to head off on your next big trip with your kids in tow, I thought I better share some tips of the trade J