Sunburn, stomach or headaches, diarrhea – these complaints can quickly ruin your vacation. With the right first-aid kit, however, holidaymakers are prepared for many dangers. But what should definitely be in the suitcase besides medicines that chronically ill people shouldn’t forget anyway?
The Federal Union of German Pharmacists’ Associations (ABDA) advises that whatever is in the medicine cabinet should also be taken with you on holiday. The selection should therefore also be supplemented with typical medication for conventional travel complaints.
These include medication for diarrhea, cold symptoms such as a cough or sore throat and digestive problems such as heartburn. In addition to the clinical thermometer, fever and painkillers should not be missing. Disinfectants and dressing materials such as plasters, wound compresses, fixing bandages or adhesive bandages are useful for treating smaller wounds. First aid scissors or conventional scissors and disposable gloves are also available, as are face masks.
In addition, sun and insect protection helps to prevent sunburn and pests. Remedies for sunburn and insect bites can also expand the first-aid kit and be just as helpful as wound and healing ointments, eye and ear drops or nasal spray and handkerchiefs.
Medications to treat strains, sprains, or bruises may also be useful. If necessary, holidaymakers could also think about remedies for travel sickness and allergies, for example. If you are planning a trip to nature, you should pack tick tweezers or tweezers. For outdoor adventures or active holidays, it is also a good idea to take blister plasters with you.
Physicians can help create a personalized checklist for travelers, tailored to the individual’s needs. The Techniker Krankenkasse advises discussing the composition of the travel first-aid kit, for example, if drugs with interactions are being taken or if the trip takes travelers to the tropics. Daily medicines and malaria tablets should be carried in hand luggage accordingly.
The AOK also offers a comprehensive overview on its website, which, in addition to general tips, also contains links to checklists for diabetics and travel with babies and children.
In the run-up to the trip, holidaymakers should not forget the most important vaccinations, especially when traveling abroad. Here, too, doctors can provide information and, depending on the travel destination, provide information about the most important vaccination recommendations. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) recommends taking travel medicine advice.
The Federal Foreign Office also provides information on travel medicine vaccinations on its website. “We recommend the most sustainable design of the first-aid kit. Get advice from your family doctor/travel medicine doctor,” advises the authority. For adequate care, travelers should therefore carry copies of doctor’s letters or certificates and copies of prescriptions for medicines they are carrying with them. In addition, before a trip, you should find out from the authorities, for example, whether it is even possible to import the medicines into the destination country.
