What OTC drugs are in your travel kit?

In My Humble Opinion
21

Ibuprofen, Aleve, Tylenol, Imodium, Tums, Benadryl, QuikClot, a bottle of normal saline, Milk of Magnesia (for treating pepper spray victims or for upset stomachs), Betadine swabs, Chlorhexidine swabs, Triple antibiotic ointment, a tube of cake icing (for low blood sugars), a couple of ziploc bags with the dry powder part of Oral Rehydration Solution, ready to be mixed with water.

Tinctures: blend of skullcap, motherwort, St. John’s Wort and california poppy (for pain), blackberry and cinnamon (for diarrhea), nettles (for allergies).

Dried herbs: Throat Coat Tea, Mother’s Milk Tea (for upset stomachs), yarrow (for bleeding), eyebright (for irritated eyes) and black tea (for soothing bug bites, sunburns and eyes or, in a last ditch effort, for easing asthma if an inhaler can’t be located)

All purpose herbal skin salve, for lots of things.

Essential oils of clove (for toothaches), eucalyptus (for breathing/sinus issues), rosemary (for headaches), peppermint (for headaches and stomachaches) and lavender (for almost everything else, including for those who can’t/won’t use triple antibiotic)

Rescue Remedy (mostly for me, but I’ll share if you ask)

Also an assortment of bandages and wound dressings, ABD pads, a large bandana for a sling, Coban, roll gauze, paper tape, butterfly bandages. And nitrile gloves, size medium.

Blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, glucometer and test strips, pulse oximeter, hemostats and tweezers, paramedic shears and an enema bag (for rehydration). A couple of insulin syringes, not for injection, but because they make good pokey things to take out splinters with. Oh, and a tick key.

Maps with directions and phone numbers to local hospitals, urgent care centers and pharmacies.

Things I hope I don’t ever need: Suture kit, CPR face shield and I have an AED in the trunk of my car or with me in First Aid if there’s a First Aid shack at my disposal. (Got the AED for $200 at an auction, spent another $150 for a new battery and pads. It’s an older model, but it works.)
I do a lot of First Aid at camping festivals and protests. I’m willing and prepared to use alternative or mainstream remedies, as the person I’m treating wishes.

22

Advil, Perservision, Vitamins, Vicks Vap-O-Rub

23

In my daily pack, including “just in case”:
Ibuprofen (Advil)
Famotidine (Pepcid) or Ranitidine (Zantac) - for when stomach is unhappy
Loperamide (Immodium) - for when stomach is really unhappy
Contact eyedrops
Diphenhydramine or Doxylamine succinate (antihistamines for sleep as travel messes that up)
Guaifenesin (Mucinex) - rare use
Clonazepam (Klonopin) or other benzo but that’s what I have
Prescription meds if applicable (none now)
Maybe NyQuil/DayQuil or similar in pill form, but I don’t always remember that
Vitamins and such if travelling for awhile, but I don’t carry them daily

24

How do you ever clear customs? :wink:

25

Here is what I carried, in addition to my prescription meds, on a two-month long train trip across the entirety of Australia:
*Tylenol
*Pepto tablets, Tums, Dramamine, and Immodium
*Benadryl, Sudefed
*Melatonin
*Nail clipper, tweezers, strapping tape, a couple adhesive bandaids, safe-for-contacts eyedrops, a Vicks’ inhaler, feminine hygiene products.

Obviously I’d bring more if I were going to be more than a day or so away from a reputable pharmacy. The selection of GI meds may seem excessive but I’ve never regretted having it available and sometimes been awfully glad.

26

It packs down smaller than you would think. :wink: The only things I would have to ditch to carry my First Aid bag on a plane would be the saline and scissors, I think.

27

Melatonin or the equivalent sleeping pills
Gravol
Ibuprofen
Anti-anxiety drugs sometimes (if flying), that I do have a prescription for, but only take occasionally. (Plus my regular prescription meds, though maybe I shouldn’t count that.)

28

When travelling on vacation:

Ibuprofen (in case of headaches, or any muscular pain or injury)
Paracetamol (in case the Ibuprofen isn’t quite enough)
Loratadine (antihistamine to combat allergic reaction to insect bites)
Loperamide (because you just don’t want that kind of emergency when travelling)
Omeprazole (they don’t market it as such, but the best hangover prevention ever)
Aciclovir cream (exposure to excessive bright sunshine usually results in a cold sore/Fever blisters)

Always, always the cheap own brand generics.

29

Excedrin XS
Dramamine
Tums
Ibuprofen

30

Omeprazole (it’s OTC, but I get it through prescription for reflux)
Naproxin, just in case of unforeseen back issues or other pain
Low dose aspirin
Eye drops
Breathe Right strips, so I can sleep well

Glad to see nobody falls for that Airborne bullshit.

31

Interesting. I see people seem to think so on Google, but this is all new to me. Do you take it before drinking, before bed, or what? Any studies?

32

Generic diphenhydramine: allergies, bug bites, sleep aid.

Generic ibuprofen: headaches, got a fever, pulled a muscle, sunburn, etc.

Imodium AD: I don’t travel anywhere without this one!

Neosporin (or the equivalent single serving packets that look like ketchup packets) and assorted bandaids.

33

Ibuprofen
Vicoden
Melatonin
Arnica cream
Ear plugs (do those count?)

Hmm, three for pain and two for sleep. Can you tell what kind of problems I have? I never even think about carrying Pepto-Bismal or something for digestive issues.

34

Something for headaches - Tylenol or Aspirin. For long car travel usually Ibuprofen and sometimes a roll-on Icy-hot for neck pain and such. Always an anti-acid. And If I think of it, eye-drops. That’s about it.

35

Ibuprophen, acetylcysteine (an anticongestant that’s good for when I have a Cold From Hell) and carbocysteine (another anticongestant, for my asthma).

36

:confused:
How heavy are a couple of blister packs?

37

I kind of take it to extremes- for example, I tend to throw out pages from my guidebook as I go along. It all adds up.

But I rarely use OTC medicine. If something is mild, I’ll wait it out, and if something is bad, I probably need a doctor or a at least a knowledgable pharmacist. Anti-malarials are the real exceptions, as speed of treatment is critical and local doctors aren’t usually great at diagnosing and treating malaria-naive adults.

38

bonine for motion sickness and ibuprofen.

39

Imodium
Uristat
Advil

Those are critical to have. Claritin and Pepto if I remember.

40

Migraine pills.
Cold pills
Pankillers.