Travel Bag: Health

Having been travelling for just under 2 months at the end of last year, we thought we'd share some words of advice on what we packed in terms of healthcare items. Health is the most important thing to keep on top of when your travelling. It means that you can better enjoy your holiday, especially when everyday counts and you want to make the most of it. I kept my health items in a simple clear ziplock bag. You can see everything you have and in terms of medication, I made sure to have it in at least 2 separate places - one in my big suitcase, one in my carry-on and some in my handbag. This is just in case anything gets stolen or lost and you have a backup. So here is what we brought along with us:

Nurofen (Ibuprofen) / Panadol (Paracetamol):

It's always good to have a packet of Nurofen around just in case a nasty headache comes along. Especially when you're travelling and you don't have the luxury of time to wait for the headache to pass. I know personally for me, headaches cause me to get really grumpy and unfocussed so I always have this handy. I honestly can't swallow tablets well at all, but Nurofen is really good as the outside is sweet - if any of you have tasted what Panadol actually tastes like you'll know what I mean! Nurofen is also an anti-pyretic which means you can take it when you have high temperatures and it also has anti-inflammatory properties. Because of this, I usually just take Nurofen with me rather than both Nurofen & Panadol. I learnt in my pharmacology lectures that paracetamol toxicity does occur if you take too much....so I've backed off on the Panadol lol. 

Antibiotics:

This is more of a cost thing. Getting it in Australia would be cheaper than getting it overseas because its on the PBS which subsidises the cost of medicines for us. Antibiotics could cost you a lot overseas, you might not be able to get a prescription for it and the whole language barrier could be an issue as well. Getting it in Australia means also that it's approved by the TGA so you know you're not getting some shotty, untested drugs that hasn't gone through rigorous testing.

Gastro Medicine:

Going overseas means getting to enjoy a full culinary experience of the country you're visiting. However eating out more, especially street food, and eating foods that you're not normally used to could cause digestive distress to put it nicely haha. You definitely don't want to be sitting on the toilet all day nor getting anxiety over the whole process nor feel like you have to constantly run back to the hotel. This will definitely relieve any symptoms that you're feeling.

Naprogesic:

Nurofen would probably do the same job, but I feel like naprogesic is my pill of choice when the time of the month comes. Maximum I would ever take would be 4 in a cycle so definitely be smart about how many you take to avoid carrying any excess. 

Voltaren Emulgel:
Generally speaking Voltaren's useful in reducing pain caused from muscle or joint injuries, e.g. for sprains or strains. A few weeks before flying out, I had pulled some sort of muscle on my back and I was worried that it would persist whilst overseas, so the chemist recommended this to me for pain relief if I needed it.

Metamucil:
Obviously when you travel, you ain't gonna be ordering vegetable dishes when there's tastier, more exotic foods out there for you to try.  Metamucil keeps the bowel movements in check while you munch on them street foods :)

Band Aids:

Always handy to have for any cuts, scratches and in my case blisters! I bought a pair of shoes that I hadn't worn in yet and it was giving me serious blisters. This can obviously be easily bought anyway but it's good to have with you.  

Antiseptic Spray/Cream:

For any cuts that you have. The last thing that you would want is an infection going rogue and causing you more problems.

Cotton Buds & Cotton Pads:

To clean & disinfect cuts/bruises as hands can get quite dirty. More of a convenience thing. If you don't use it you can always throw it out or even use it for skincare or clean up your makeup.

Hand Sanitiser:

This is a must! Especially in places where you just don't have access to a tap or where some public bathrooms are not in the best condition. Also good to use before eating and you don't have anywhere to wash your hands. 

Tissues:
When you're out and about, having tissues is always good to have- you never know when you'll cop a runny nose or a teary eye! Wet wipes come in really handy sometimes when hand sanitiser isn't heavy duty enough, and tissues are too dry to solve the problem.  Really useful to wipe off makeup swatching in stores or to clean up any mishaps, e.g. spilling a drink over yourself.

Liners/Pads:

Super handy to have when travelling and you're running low on fresh underwear haha.

Hydrolytes:
This is supposed to replace the electrolytes that you lose from heavy sweating/excess alcohol consumption/vomitting/diarrhoa. Clearly we just wanted to cover all bases with our health, although we didn't end up using this, it was just one of those things that's good to have.

Bion Tears//Rohto Eye Drops: 

As a contact lens wearer, it's generally safer to use eye drops that don't contain preservatives.  Bion Tears lubricate dry eyes, whether it be due to environment or just the long duration of contact lens wear.  When the contacts are out, I prefer to use the Rohto drops (much raved about by StyleSuzi) when my eyeballs feel dry or irritated.  Just a heads up, the Rohto drops have some serious minty fresh feels to them; we're talking post teeth brushing equivalent.

Contact lenses/case/solution:

You never know when you'd need to take out your contacts so having these on you is an absolute lifesaver, especially when you feel something is irritating your eyes, you can just wash them out with some solution and then pop them back in!

Did we miss anything? What's something you always take with you when you travel?