What should I put in a travel first aid kit?

The point of a travel kit is not comprehensiveness. It is to avoid a two-hour search for a pharmacy in an unfamiliar town at an unhelpful hour, for a problem that would take thirty seconds to deal with if you had the thing with you.

Safety

What you'll need

• A small hard-sided or padded case that will not burst in a bag
• Original packaging for anything prescribed
• A copy of any prescription or prescriber letter

Step by step

1. Start with what is hard to buy at the destination.In a European city, almost everything is available and a pharmacy is close. In a rural area, on a boat, on a long hike or in a country where pharmacy hours are limited, the kit does more work. Scale it to the trip rather than carrying the same box everywhere.
2. Cover the four common problems properly.Stomach upset, minor wound care, pain and fever, and skin problems — bites, sunburn, blisters — account for the overwhelming majority of holiday medical incidents. Being well set up for those four is worth more than a large kit that covers everything thinly.
3. Add destination-specific items.Tick removers for forests and moorland, oral rehydration for hot climates, water purification for remote travel, a bite-proof approach for malaria areas, altitude considerations for high destinations. TravelHealthPro tells you which apply.
4. Check what security will allow.Liquids and creams in hand luggage are subject to the airline and airport rules in force, which change and differ by airport. Scissors and tweezers have blade-length limits. Prescription liquids above the limit are usually permitted with documentation — check the airline guidance before packing.
5. Keep prescription items separate and labelled.Original boxes with the dispensing label, kept with the prescription copy or prescriber letter. Do not mix them into the general kit.
6. Put it in hand luggage.A first aid kit in a delayed hold bag is no kit at all, and the flight itself is when motion sickness, headaches and dehydration turn up.
7. Check the kit before every trip.Things expire, tubes leak and someone used the last plaster. Ten minutes before packing prevents the discovery on a hillside.

Tips

• Oral rehydration sachets are the item people leave out and need most. Dehydration from a stomach upset in a hot country is what turns an unpleasant day into a hospital visit, particularly for children and older travellers.
• Buy a proper insect repellent at home rather than at the destination airport. The concentration and the active ingredient matter and the airport selection is poor and expensive.
• If anyone in the party carries an adrenaline auto-injector, carry two, keep them in the cabin, and make sure a travelling companion knows where they are and how to use them.

Keeping on top of it

• Check expiry dates and replace anything out of date (Before each trip)
• Replace what was used and top up plasters (On return from each trip)
• Review the contents against the next destination (When booking)

Checklist

• Oral rehydration sachets — the single most useful item in the kit
• An anti-diarrhoeal for travel days only, not for general use
• Paracetamol and ibuprofen, in the forms your household actually takes
• Antihistamine tablets, non-drowsy, plus a drowsy one for a bad night
• Antiseptic wipes and a small tube of antiseptic cream
• Assorted plasters including blister plasters, plus a few larger dressings
• A crepe or elastic bandage and a triangular bandage
• Micropore tape and small scissors within the airline blade limit, or safety scissors
• Tweezers for splinters and ticks, and a tick remover if going anywhere with ticks
• A digital thermometer
• High-factor sun cream and after-sun, and lip balm with sun protection
• Insect repellent appropriate to the destination, and bite cream
• Rehydration for hangovers is the same as rehydration for anything else — do not buy a separate product
• Anything you personally rely on: an inhaler, an adrenaline auto-injector, an antacid, motion sickness tablets
• A small card with blood group, allergies, conditions, regular medication and an emergency contact

Questions people ask