First aid on the move

Mandatory contents for your travel first aid kit

Illness is the last thing you want when you’re on vacation. But it’s easy to pick up minor wounds such as a cut caused by a seashell on the beach or a graze you get when climbing. It’s better not to have to look for a pharmacy in a place you don’t know – assuming there is one.

Put together your travel first aid kit in good time. Remember first of all to take a sufficient amount of your personal medicaments – they may be hard to get hold of abroad. The basic components of a travel first aid kit are the same as for a home first aid kit – but they may have to be adapted to your destination:

Tweezers
Disinfectant
Dressings:
- Gauze compresses
- Bandage scissors
- Plasters and bandages
- Elastic roll plaster for securing
- Triangular bandage
A breakable thermometer made of glass is unsuitable
In regions where yellow fever and dengue fever occur, blood-thinning painkillers are unsuitable – acetaminophen is better.
Medicine to treat travel sickness
Medicine to treat diarrhea, such as loperamide
Sun cream
Insect repellent – especially important in risk areas. The active ingredient DEET is recommended.
Malaria tablets
In remote areas you may need syringes, cannulas, and infusion sets