travel pharmacy
These medicines are a must
A first-aid kit should be available on every vacation.
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Even on vacation you are not safe from illness and accidents. That is why a well-stocked first-aid kit is important.
Step on a pointed clam or eat the wrong thing in a restaurant: Even on vacation, you are not safe from accidents or illnesses. That is why a well-stocked first-aid kit is essential. What should travelers definitely pack? “First of all, of course, you should think of all those medications that you take regularly,” says Dr. Grit Berger, head of the pharmacy at the Central Clinic Bad Berka, quoted in a press release.
Means against insect bites and sunburns would also be compulsory for domestic trips. Above all, use enough “sunscreen with a sufficient sun protection factor”, advises Dr. Berger. In addition, “something for pain and fever, a remedy for diarrhea, nausea and vomiting as well as a small bandage pack and adhesive plaster”.
Travel tablets, disinfectants and masks
The head of the clinic pharmacy would recommend travel tablets to those who are sensitive to long journeys by car or bus. In general, you can get advice from the pharmacy about which medication is suitable, “if you are prone to sun allergies, are sensitive to unfamiliar food or just suffer from hay fever,” explains the expert.
Also useful: a clinical thermometer, handkerchiefs and a disinfectant. The latter, to disinfect your hands in Corona times or to clean wounds. Due to the pandemic, mouth and nose protection should also not be missing on the packing list; if you want to be on the safe side, use FFP2 masks.
Proper storage of medicines
It not only depends on what medicines you have with you, but also on how you store them. Because many drugs are sensitive to light and temperature: “The best thing is to keep them at room temperature up to a maximum of 25 degrees. But that is only a guideline,” says Dr. Berger. If they lie two or three degrees warmer for a few days, according to the pharmacist, that doesn’t matter. Only with sensitive drugs such as insulin “should the temperature of two to eight degrees be strictly adhered to”. To protect the medication from the heat, for example on the return journey, she recommends a cooler bag with ice packs.
The vaccination card should not only go into the travel bag because of the corona vaccination. Because in the yellow booklet you can also look up “whether pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus and diphtheria vaccinations have been refreshed or a vaccination against early summer meningoencephalitis (TBE) has been completed”. In some countries – regardless of Corona – you have to present proof of certain vaccinations in order to be able to enter – for example for yellow fever.
Farther away, more medication
When you are on vacation within the EU, a pharmacy is usually not far away. However, anyone who travels to Asia or Africa after the corona pandemic should be supplied with medicines as far as possible and prepared for all eventualities. Because in these countries there are many counterfeit medicines on the market. Malaria tablets are also a must in tropical regions. It can be useful to take antibiotics with you when you travel to remote places for a long time; it is best to discuss the first-aid kit with the doctor.
Anyone traveling by plane can take medication with them in their hand luggage as well as in their luggage. If the drugs are liquid, only 100 milliliters per container may end up in hand luggage if they are transported in a transparent one-liter bag. However, if you can prove with a prescription or a doctor’s certificate that you need the medication during the flight, you do not have to pack it in an extra bag.