Medicines to bring when traveling
The Blog,  Travel & Science

MEDICINES TO BRING WHEN TRAVELING ANYWHERE

September 24, 2019 / 25 Comments

Every time I ask myself, what are the medicines to bring when traveling? Then I Google and browse many websites to end with a long list of drugs and creams. Guess what? 99% of these drugs I don’t need and I never used, not even a once. So I decided to write about the medicines to bring when traveling. So I started to prepare my own list.

 

Medicines to bring when traveling

It is tough to find a universal list. As you know, the environment and climate differ. It is not the same in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Antarctica. Eventually, the health hazards and the drugs needed also varies. So I decided to start a series of articles, including the medicines to bring when traveling to different areas, the required drugs for various activities and medications for different age groups.

So here is the first article about medicines to bring when traveling anywhere. This is the essential checklist which later on we can add other drugs depending on the area we are going to. I cut the essential list into five medicines only.

 

Traveler78 Recommends

These five medicines to bring when traveling, in my opinion, are crucial, and you should not travel anywhere without it. Bring at least four tablets of each drug.

 

1) Your prescriptions

Your prescription is the number 1 priority. If you suffer from a chronic disease such as hypertension, diabetes, or heart disease, don’t forget to pack your prescribed medicines. Also, bring enough amount to cover you during your stay. For many reasons, it is better to bring your medicine and not to buy when you are traveling. Even if you are purchasing the new prescription from a developed country, the concentration or packaging divers from one country to another. So it is not wise to risk your health during traveling. Anyhow don’t forget to bring a copy of your prescription.

Also, don’t forget the medications that you might need, such as a mild sedative or sleep aid, antihistamine (for allergies), motion sickness medicine, decongestant, and mild laxative.

 

2) Pain and fever medicine

These drugs are universal, useful for many symptoms, and generally save. For headache, trauma, unexpected fever, or sunstroke. Acetaminophen and aspirin are well known. But my recommendation is Ibuprofen. Because it is efficient for both high temperature and as a pain reliever.

 

Drug: Ibuprofen (Actiprofen, Addaprin, Calprofen, Advil, NeoProfen)
Dose: 200-1200 mg per day
Precautions: Always take with meals to avoid gastric acidity. Ask your doctor if you are allergic to Aspirin or have any kidney or liver disease or pregnant

 

3) Diarrhea medicine

Traveler’s Diarrhea could be dangerous and may be fatal in some endemic and rural areas. The dangers mainly come from dehydration and loss of minerals such as Sodium, Potassium, and Glucose. That’s why medications to diarrhea include both loperamide to stop lose motions beside excessive fluid intake to compensate for loses. Besides, always follow healthy hygiene habits.

 

Drug: Loperamide (Imodium, Imodium, Kaopectate II, Maalox pepto-bismol)
Dose: 4 mg after first loose stool, then 2 mg after each subsequent stool (Maximum 8 mg/day)
Precautions: May cause allergy. Must be avoided in bloody diarrhea, high fever, and if constipation must be avoided. Avoid in children under two years.

 

4) Antiseptics

Logically, antiseptics Such as Betadine, Savlon, or Dettol are essential and mandatory when traveling anywhere in the world. Always follow the international guidelines for drinking healthy water. The risk is higher, especially when you go to rural and overcrowded areas. The risk includes diarrhea, food poisoning.

 

5) Sun protection

The travelers usually underestimate sunburn risks. Even if you travel to Europe or areas with modest temperature, the ultraviolet rays could harm your skin deleteriously. It is advised to use a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) 30 and higher and if visiting tropical areas or beaches should be minimally SPF 50. Read our guide for the best sunscreen.

 

The most valuable advice here is that don’t forget your travel insurance. You don’t know what you may face out there. After all, you are an expert traveler, and you are the one to estimate the expected health hazards in your destination. But don’t ever underestimate the risks. If you bring only four tablets of the drugs as mentioned earlier, the total will be 20 tablets only. Twenty tablets will not take much space in your bag, but it could solve a major problem and save some of your precious time.

Preview(opens in a new tab)

Get Travel Insurance
Easy from Here

Hello, My name is Yahya. I am 39 years old and soon will be 40. I was born and lived in the historic city of Cairo, Egypt. I Work as a doctor; cardiologist. Traveling is my passion. I am proud to be the owner and creator of Traveler78 website. If you like the material on my website, please subscribe to my website and share it with your friends. Also, you can follow me on your favorite social network. For further information, please contact me either in the comments or via E-mail.

You May Also Like

JUMPING OVER THE CHINESE LANGUAGE

JUMPING OVER THE CHINESE LANGUAGE BARRIERS

January 7, 2019
MEDICINES TO BRING WHEN TRAVELING TO ASIA

MEDICINES TO BRING WHEN TRAVELING TO ASIA

June 1, 2020
drinking water during traveling

DRINKING WATER DURING TRAVELING IS CHALLENGING

August 12, 2019

25 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *