Newswise — Planning a vacation? Make a little room in your luggage for a travel first aid kit. It won’t cost much, and it won’t take up much space. Once you reach your destination, you won’t need to reach any further than your suitcase to relieve those minor aches and pains that can put a major damper on your plans.
A basic travel first aid kit should include prescription medicines in the original bottles, as well as a handful of over-the-counter remedies you can buy just about anywhere, says Caroline Sullivan, DNP, assistant professor at Columbia University School of Nursing. Generics can work just as well as brand-name products, and may also save you some money.
“A good first aid kit should help you cope with many of the situations that can make your vacation less than perfect – like a headache or a stomach ache,” says Sullivan, also an adult nurse practitioner at the Primary and Immediate Care practice at Columbia Doctors. “Once you set up the kit, just check the contents before every trip to make sure you have enough supplies and nothing has expired.”
Here’s what should go in the kit:
1. Pepto-Bismol tablets to relieve diarrhea, upset stomach, heartburn, indigestion, and nausea after too much food and drink2. Tylenol or Advil to ease a headache or fever3. Cortizone 10 cream to soothe an itchy, swollen insect bite4. Antibiotic ointment like Neosporin or Bacitracin to prevent infection from minor cuts, scrapes, and burns.5. Band-Aids to cover up blisters, or those minor cuts and scrapes6. Benadryl to relieve allergies, and also to help you sleep7. Hand sanitizer to kill germs before they make you sick8. Tissues to sneeze, dab cuts, and clean hands in a pinch
Columbia University School of Nursing is part of the Columbia University Medical Center, which also includes the College of Physicians & Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, and the College of Dental Medicine. With close to 100 full-time faculty and 600 students, the School of Nursing is dedicated to educating the next generation of nurse leaders in education, research, and clinical care. The School has pioneered advanced practice nursing curricula and continues to define the role of nursing and nursing research through its PhD program which prepares nurse scientists, and its Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), the first clinical practice doctorate in the nation. Among the clinical practice areas shaped by the School’s research are the reduction of infectious disease and the use of health care informatics to improve health and health care. For more information, please visit: www.nursing.columbia.edu.
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