Travel Health - Medical Kit
Talk to your doctor about a medical kit for your travels. If it is likely that the medical kit will have to be replenished along the way, make sure that you write down active ingredients in addition to the brand names of the medications. Have two separate kits - one main medical kit which can be left in the backpack and one for first aid which is carried always in your daypack. Furthermore, consider bringing a steri-aid kit with syringes and needles which can be used by health care professionals in case of doubtful environmental conditions. The following lists give you a start for a medical kit for two persons for journeys longer than one year:
 
Main Medical Kit
for diarrhea, nausea, ...:
  • antibiotics in case traveler's diarrhea hits you extremely hard (e.g. 24x400g Norfloxacin)
  • something in case you feel nauseous (e.g. 6x50mg Gravol = dimenhydrinate USP)
  • something to slow down your uncontrollable bowel movements (e.g. 24x2mg Imodium = loperamide)
  • oral rehydration salts to quickly get back important minerals (e.g. 10x4.9g Gastrolyte)
  • water purification system (e.g. 2x30ml Pristine = 2% stabilized chlorine dioxide in part A and 5% food grade phosphoric acid in part B - chlorine dioxide is proven effective against bacteria, viruses, and protozoa including Giardia and Cryptosporidium); in general, be careful with water and uncooked food
    • for colds:
  • something to help you breathe again (e.g. 60x530mg Sinutab = 500mg acetaminophen, 30mg pseudophedrine hydrochloride; e.g. 10ml Coldargan = 250mg Silberproteinat, 200mg Ephedrinlävulinat, 71mg Natriumlävulinat, 22mg Calciumlävulinat (per 10ml))
  • something to soothe your aching throat (e.g. 72 Bradosol = 3.5mg hexylresorcinol (per lozenge))
  • something against your cough (e.g. 30ml Resyl with Codein = 100mg Guaifenesin, 10mg Codeinphosphat-Hemihydrat (=7.4mg Codein), 2.5mg Saccharin, 455.5mg Äthanol (=95%) (per 1ml = 30 drops))
    • for fever & pain relief:
  • acetaminophen (24x500mg Tylenol) or paracetamol
  • anti-inflammatory pills (e.g. 50x50mg Voltaren = Diclofenac-Natrium)
  • anti-inflammatory cream (e.g. 40g Voltaren Emulgel = 1.16g Diclofenac-Diäthylammoniumsalz (per 100g))
    • for sores, blisters, rashes, eczema, ...:
  • something to treat sores and blisters in your mouth (e.g. 13ml Tanac = 8% benzocaine, 6% tannic acid, 0.125% benzalkonium chloride)
  • something to treat external rashes ... (e.g. 20g hydrocortisone cream)
  • something to treat dry lips (e.g. 4g Lypsyl lip balm)
    • for malaria:
  • your malaria prophylaxis or treatment of choice
  • malaria info sheets
    • for allergies, insect bites, ...:
  • something to relieve itching (e.g. 30g Benadryl = 2% w/w diphenhydramine hydrochloride)
  • mosquito repellent containing 20-30% DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) (e.g. 240ml Watkins 28.5%, 30ml Muskol 28.5%)
    • for miscellaneous:
  • antibiotic ointmemt (e.g. 15g Bactroban = 2% mupirocin in water-soluble base)
  • vitamins (e.g. 100 Centrum Forte 29)
  • sun screen (e.g. 240g Ombrelle 30 SPF, 200ml Ambre Solaire 6 SPF)
  • spoon
  • medical authorization form for drugs in medical kit
    • Other things to consider are contraception, an antifungal cream for yeast infections (e.g. 15g Canesten = 1% clotrimazole), ear drops for ear infections, and acetazolamide for altitude sickness (e.g. 28x250mg).

    First Aid Kit
  • various band aids
  • 4 6mm x 75mm steri-strip skin closures
  • 24 antiseptic swabs
  • 5 disinfectant swabs for environment
  • iodine (e.g. 20g Betadine ointment = 10% povidine-iodine USP in water-soluble base)
  • 15g antibiotic ointment (10000 units polymyxin B (as sulfate), 500 units bacitracin (zinc) (per gram))
  • 5 6cm x 7cm transparent dressings
  • 4 5cm x 5cm sterile gauze pads
  • 2 10cm x 10cm gauze pads
  • 2 7.5cm x 4.5m gauze bandages
  • elastic bandage
    		•
  • triangular bandage
  • 2.5cm x 10m adhesive tape
  • cotton balls
  • 1 pair of vinyl gloves
  • acetaminophen (e.g. 10x500mg Tylenol) or paracetamol
  • loperamide (e.g. 12x2mg Imodium)
  • anti-nauseant (e.g. 4x50mg Gravol)
  • thermometer
  • tweezers
  • needle
  • scissors
  • emergency first aid card
  • traveler's diarrhea info sheet

    • Steri-Aid Kit (in sealed package)
  • 1 10cc disposable syringe
  • 2 5cc disposable syringe
  • 2 20g 1" disp. hypodermic needle
  • 2 25g 1½" disp. hypodermic needle
  • 1 19g ¾" butterfly infusion set
  • 1 21g ¾" butterfly infusion set
  • 2 3.0 suture silk and needle
  • 1 18g 1¼" intravenous catheter
    		•
  • 2 6mm x 75mm steri-strip skin closure
  • 2 blood lancet
  • 2 iodine antiseptic swabs
  • 4 alcohol antiseptic swabs
  • 4 7/8" x 3" adhesive bandages
  • 1 pair of latex gloves (medium)
  • medical authorization form

    • Keep copies of the malaria info sheets, the medical authorization forms, and the traveler's diarrhea info sheet both in backpack and at home.