What your travel first aid kit is missing
While it might not be the first item that comes to mind when you’re planning your trip, your travel first aid kit may very well be the most important one in your bag.
But there are a lot of misconceptions regarding this ever-important part of your travel packing checklist. As Toni Riley, a community pharmacist and manager of the Return Unwanted Medicines (RUM) project points out, neglecting to bring important items in your travel first aid kit has the potential to make or break your holiday.
“Preparing the little boxes of first aid gear we take with us when we’re on holidays is one of the first things I do when I’m getting ready. You need to make sure it’s appropriate and you need to make sure you’ve got everything for where you’re going.” says Toni.
And, as Toni importantly points out, packing a proper first aid kit for your trip isn’t just a matter of having bandages, gauze and little bit of antiseptic cream.
“Travellers need to consider the regular medicine they take every day as a part of that first aid kit. I’d recommend people making sure they’ve got enough for at least the length of the trip, plus a little bit more just in case,” Toni adds.
But, there is such a thing as packing too much. You want a travel first aid kit to be portable and easy to carry around, rather than having the contents of half an emergency room stuff in there. So what’s the litmus test that should be used when you’re figuring our which items you should take and which items you should leave behind?
“Don’t have anything in there that you don’t know what it is,” Toni says.
“If you don’t know how to use it get rid of it. If you don’t know what they are just don’t take them, put something in there that you know how to use.”
Another mistake people make is failing to check their travel first aid kit before a new trip. Your kit might have been packed to the brim and ready to go for your trip to Bali five years ago, but there are probably a few items that have passed their best before date.
“Check that you’ve got everything you need,” Toni says.
“And check that everything you do have in there is in date. If it is not in date you have to think about replacing it with things that are no longer in use. Don’t just throw them in the rubbish bin but take them back to the pharmacy where they have a RUM bin where these items can be disposed of appropriately.”
So, what should you pack in your travel first aid kit? Toni broke it down to two lists, the non-negotiables and the added extras you can also consider bringing.
Non-negotiables
- Medications
- Dressings of some kind
- Painkillers
- Diarrhea medication
- Sunscreen
- Insect repelling
- Scissors
- Tweezers
Extras worth bringing along
- Blister treatment
- Antihistamines
- Eye drops
The Return Unwanted Medicines project is a federal government funded initiative that provides all Australians with a free and convenient way to dispose of unwanted and expired household medicines by returning them to their local pharmacy. To find out more, visit http://www.returnmed.com.au/