When you’re on the road there will be pharmacies, clinics and hospitals everywhere. However, they won’t always have the medicines that you are used to having at home. If you are in the middle of nowhere (trekking through the mountains, on a hike, in a small village, on a deserted beach, etc.) then you will need to have some basic supplies in case of an emergency. You will want to start with a few necessities and then purchase more, as needed, while on the road. This first-aid kit checklist shows everything you’ll need!

Our first-aid kit contains the following items:

1. band-aids and gauze;
2. safety pins;
3. a thermometer;
4. mosquito repellent;
5. oral re-hydration powders;
6. water purification tablets;
7. antibiotic/antiseptic lotion for cuts and scrapes (it: Polysporin); and
8. Ibuprofen/Paracetamol or some sort of painkiller & fever reducer (Tylenol, Advil, Panadol, etc.).

(**The above noted items we have in a separate little bag that we bring with us when we go on a hike or some other day trip.)

items in our first-aid kit

1. vitamins (multivitamin, probiotics, vitamin C);
2. malaria tablets (ie: Malarone, Doxycycline, Larium), for malaria risk countries;
3. malaria treatment tablets;
4. anti-diarrhea pills (ie: Imodium);
5. constipation pills;
6. pills for nausea/indigestion/diarrhea/upset stomach (ie: something with Bismuth: Pepto-Bismol);
7. cold & flu pills (ie: Benylin, Benadryl, Tylenol, etc.);
8. sore throat lozenges;
9. antihistamine (for anything from hay-fever to bug stings or for an allergic reaction to God knows what);
10. motion sickness pills (ie: Gravol, or something else with ginger in it);
11. an antibiotic prescribed by your doctor for traveller’s diarrhea, stomach infections or other illnesses (ie: Apo-Azithromycin,Doxycycline, etc.). If you’re in the middle of nowhere and have a high fever, are vomiting and have diarrhea, these pills can be a lifesaver;
12. altitude sickness pills (Apo-Acetazolamide/Acetazolamide), if trekking at high altitudes;
13. baby powder & Vaseline; and
14. birth control pills.

That concludes our first aid kit checklist. Most of it is about being prepared for the “just in case” situations. You may not need to use any of it, but when you do, you’ll be glad you stocked up on supplies.

***Goat Note: A good idea is to keep some pain killers, motion sickness pills, anti-diarrhea pills and something for nausea with you in your day-bag. That way if you’re on a bus and you can feel ‘something’ coming on, you’ll have the necessary medicines…and won’t be kicking yourself for leaving it in your big bag, which is now stored under the bus!

WHERE SHOULD I TRAVEL TO?

HOW TO SAVE MONEY FOR TRAVEL

TO-DO LIST BEFORE TRAVELLING

CHOOSING A BACKPACK

WHAT TO PACK

GUIDE TO TRAVELLING AS A COUPLE

OUR TRAVEL STYLE

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First-Aid Kit Checklist For Backpacking , 10.0 out of 10 based on 4 ratings