10 Essential First Aid Meds for Your Next Trip —

Best advice from a former travel agent, is just as the boy scouts say, Be Prepared.

Not every over the counter medication is available worldwide. Many countries offer similar items to ours but the strength may not be the same and you probably won’t find the same brand.

Also, some of the items we buy at our local drug store or even the grocery store may only be available in the pharmacy in that particular country which may not be open when you need it.

In London recently, one of my co-travelers wanted to purchase eye drops. There was nothing in the pharmacy that resembled anything here we have in the states, so it took a lot of reading to figure out which one might work.

These are my top 10 advised meds to take with you on a trip and are all sold over the counter in the U.S.

1) Hydrocortisone — itchy skin from a bug bite or rash that flares

2) Acetaminophen — pain relief, also to help lower fevers. Unlike Ibuprofen, this can be taken on an empty stomach, where as Ibuprofen can upset the stomach lining and according to bottles, should be taken with food.

3) Ibuprofen — for inflammation/pain

4) Band-aids — possibly get some waterproof ones if you plan to swim a lot. You never know when you might get a blister on your foot or a cut.

5) Antibiotic ointment — such as Bacitracin

6) cough medicine— there are liquid caplets so you don’t have to carry any liquids or buy mucus relief tablets

7) antacid tablets — great for heartburn which some international spicy foods could cause or stomach issues. Pepto Bismol is one that is definitely not sold worldwide and is sold in caplets here in the U.S. and although we try to avoid travelers diarrhea, it can happen.

8) motion sickness — boat rides, car, airplane, theme park rides, cruise ships (cruise ships often run out of this!). I rarely get motion sickness but we hit hurricane force winds on an Alaska cruise in the middle of August after leaving Vancouver, Canada in 84 degree weather. So, you never know what can happen!

9) allergy medicine such as loratadine if you need it

10) sunscreen

bonus options;

hand sanitizer — should be an obvious choice for any outing

insect repellant — depending on where you are traveling

This is a great checklist for your future journeys to keep handy, but most of all where ever you go…safe travels!

Hope you will follow me for more adventures and check out my other articles. Thank you for your valuable time in reading them!