I’m very excited to have a new guest here for our A to Z Packing Tips series sharing her best tips about first aid kits for traveling! Gretta is a British travel writer and she lives in the South of England with her husband, their two children and their dog and cat. Gretta and her family love travelling, especially to Italy where her husband’s family are from. Gretta is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers and she writes about family travel at her award-winning website Mums do travel. These are Gretta’s tips for packing a family First Aid kit.
‘I always pack a few medical supplies when we travel – in the hope that we won’t need them but just in case we do. These are the things which I pack.
For injuries
Sterile medical wipes – to clean and disinfect cuts and grazes.
Plasters/ Bandaids – for cuts and blisters. These can also work well as a placebo for small children when something hurts.
Tweezers – in case anyone has a splinter.
Arnica cream – this is a homeopathic remedy which helps to relieve bruising.
For insect bites
Insect repellent – to deter insects from coming near you.
Insect bite cream – to relieve the pain and itching caused by insect bites.
For sickness and diarrhoea
Plastic bags – to use either as sick bags or for soiled clothes. It’s always good to have quite a few plastic bags to hand when travelling.
Re-hydration solution – one which is suitable for both kids and adults.
Anti-travel sickness tablets – some which are suitable for both children and adults.
Arsenicum – this is a homeopathic remedy which can help with sickness and diarrhoea.
Pain relief
Paracetamol tablets – for adults and teenagers.
Sachets of both paracetamol solution (such as Calpol) and ibuprofen solution (such as Nurofen) for younger children. These sachets are great to help young children with ear pain on plane journeys.
For allergies
Antihistamine medicine (such as Piriton) just in case anyone has an allergic reaction to anything. This also helps with painful insect stings such as those from wasps and bees.
Prescribed medicines
Remember to pack any prescribed medicines which you or anyone else in the family needs. In our case this is my son’s asthma inhalers, including spares.
When you have all of your medical supplies ready, check that the expiry dates are all OK and replace anything which is out of date. Then pack it all into a bag with a zip (such as a wash bag) and show the adults who you’re traveling with what the bag looks like and whereabouts you’re packing it.
Before you travel make sure that you have comprehensive family travel insurance just in case any of you have an illness or injury which needs more than your First Aid kit while you’re away. (I’ve written a post with advice on how to find the right family travel insurance here.)
Happy travelling – and I hope that you never need to use your First Aid kit!’
Thank you so much Gretta for your tips! Be sure to visit Gretta at Mums do Travel and see all the great tips and trips she’s shared!
And for more from our A to Z Packing Tips series:
Great list. We’ve learned the hard way on a few trips regarding what to pack. Our daughter has had some severe reactions to bug bites while in Costa Rica and Florida. Luckily, we now have our doctors cell phone and can contact her in case anything arises. We also visit a travel doctor before visiting more remote locations just to make sure we are prepared ;)
Those are excellent tips Amber! I know my local travel pharmacy was a huge help when I traveled to Africa.
Thanks very much for sharing my article. Amber’s tip about having your doctor’s number to hand is a very good idea too.
Thanks for contributing to the series Gretta!