Have you ever tried to pack half of the pharmacy in your first aid travel kit? Well, I have, the minute we started traveling with our baby. As well as trying to make some room in the car for our GP to join us on the vacation. Because I thought it was all essential. I wish that after six years of firsthand experience I could finally say I have cracked the mystery. The research I’ve conducted though (which very scientifically included only me and fellow Moms on the playground) shows that this is an impossible task. Because of the following:
- Most often you will only need the things you didn’t pack.
I am still packing too many things I have yet to need and rarely the items I could really use. On the last trip I packed latex gloves, even though I have never used them at home. With two kids who take falling to a whole new level, I have however managed to forget the antiseptic cream. The fact that we needed it on our first night is obvious.
- If you took two bandages, you will need the third.
No matter how meticulous you are about creating your kit, there’s only so much room you have at your disposal. I placed about fifty products on the table (the scene looked as if I had robbed the pharmacy) and then I had to make some tough decisions. Are the chances higher for us to need eye drops or have sore throats? In the final attempt to get as much as possible in, I took everything out of the boxes, rationalized how many bandages we could possible need, how about pills, or rehydration powders. Finally it came down to the skill I have perfected by playing Tetris. After I’ve magically closed the zipper, I only hoped I would never need to open the bag again.
- It’s impossible to predict the things you might actually need.
Even after you are done, there is the constant doubt that you are forgetting something. Yes, you most definitely are. And you will figure it out, at three in the morning in a hotel in the middle of hm, hm, Vienna. Well, that is a tough one for sure, which brings me to my next point.
- There are doctors and pharmacies in the world.
Let us not kid ourselves; ours are not the only pharmacies on the planet. I agree that it might be a bit awkward trying to explain diarrhea to a pharmacist who speaks Spanish while your vocabulary of Spanish is limited to: dos cervezas por favor and mi casa, es su casa. But I have discovered that emergencies make me very resourceful.
- No two trips will ever be the same.
Finally, you definitely don’t need a mosquito repellent for your trip to New York in April, but it’s a must for visiting Thailand any time of the year.
The Coolkidzcooltrips’ advise comes down to this: have good travel insurance, it’s your safest bet and the essentials in the first aid travel kit are basically the things you most often need at home taking the local conditions into the account.
