Ten Family Travel Med Kit Essentials

Do you like to pack? What do you always forget? Does everyone have enough underwear? Socks? Belts? Toothpaste?  When I start packing, I create a nice,  neat suitcase.  Then, at the last minute… I start throwing things.  I go through the “Did I remember…”

 

Keep a Family Medical Travel Kit ready to go so you have one less headache, or at least you don’t have to find a drug store to fix that headache.

 

After a little research and some personal experience, I have identified some products and preventatives that you might consider packing on the next trip.

 

1. Hand Sanitizer.  I need to have a dispenser surgically implanted in my hands.  I walked into the welcome center bathroom the other day with my six year old and on my way to find an empty stall, my kiddo touched everything!  I screamed, I cried and I was generally grossed out as his little hands were dragged down each door, over the garbage can, around the sinks and then he put his face on the mirror!  Help, I need MORE hand sanitizer.   There is a twist: “Alcohol does not remove organic material,” the CDC says, “so visibly soiled hands should be washed with soap and water.”  Of course previously mentioned six year old will use the soap and water to wash the sink, garbage can….

 

2. Butterfly Band-Aids.  My six year old seems to think it is a great idea to show off his latest invented move, the “flying backwards karate flip kick”  most often when we are on vacation and well away from padded surfaces.  Seemed fun at the time.  The butterflies are “helpful for minor cuts that need to come together,” says Dr. Christine Wood, a practicing pediatrician and spokesperson for USANA Health Services.

 

3. Topical Antibiotic Ointment.  I like mine with a little bit of a numbing property.  See the note above about the latest invented karate move then step into part 2, screaming kid.  Mederma is also nice to have around if you are worried about scarring.

 

4. Children’s Pain/Fever Medicine.  Remember that super cool move that resulted in an injury?  Or That mystery item that unknown consumed item? Or The mouth on the mirror?

 

5. Benedryl.  Don’t leave on a road trip without it!  Not only is it great when the kid gets hives because he ate something he found on the ground at the rest area, he will sleep peacefully in the car.

 

6. Insect Repellent.  Strange lands have strange bugs.  Be careful about applying repellent to kids hands.  The same hands that were all over the rest area will end up in the kids mouth every time.  DEET?  Parents debate this one in pharmacy aisles everywhere, and the CDC cites the American Academy of Pediatrics, which “recommends that repellents with DEET should not be used on infants younger than two months old. Also, the CDC reminds us that “products containing oil of lemon eucalyptus specify that they should not be used on children under the age of three.”  Another helpful tidbit is that “repellent products must state any age restriction. If there is none, EPA has not required a restriction on the use of the product,” according to the CDC.

 

7. Sun Block.  We all know about this and it is something to keep around all of the time.  Plus, it just annoys my six year old to have to wear it.  Finally, fun for Mom!  If you can get your kid to wear a hat, consistently, without having to carry it yourself, stuff it in your bag, discover you left it 128 miles back at the rest area… it is a great idea too.

 

8. Throw Up Supplies.  Kids throw up, especially while traveling.  It is another joy and rite of passage when parenting.  Smelly vomit on the floorboard of the car, or my favorite, throwing up in the line while waiting to board an airplane.  Fantastic!  I cannot travel anywhere now without a BIG Ziploc bag containing a couple of paper towels.

 

9. Advil. Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Something with PM in it…. Any pain killers that may work on your screaming headache after having spent a day cleaning up puke, watching your kid eat gross stuff, touch everything in a public bathroom, take a painful spill... and listening to silly songs for 15 hours in the car.  Another fine end to a day of parenting.

 

10. Meditation/Mini-Bottles:  I purchased this great app on my iPhone called Relax Melodies for 99 cents.  A good pair of headsets combined with your favorite mini-bottle and you can get 5 minutes by a babbling brook or an ocean or a campfire while listening to piano music.  Happy Travels.

 

Advisory and disclaimer: Don’t try out any new medications, nutritional supplements, or treatments on your child without consulting your family doctor. In addition, although I don’t personally endorse the products mentioned in this post, I don’t feel I can say “zip-top” bag and be taken seriously, hence “Ziploc.”