Parenting in the Parks: Packing a Travel Pharmacy for a Family Trip

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Packing a Travel Pharmacy for a Family Trip by Adrienne Krock

The Parenting Panel shares the products they pack for their trips in their 'travel pharmacies'.

Read it here!

[mkelm44]

As a frequent camper, my wife I have discovered that in many cases it is a lot easier to get travel sized containers for a lot of things. As Chris says, we have found that we rarely need more than a few doses of any medicine, and if we do, then it's time to break off from the vacation and go find the pharmacy. So rather than carry a full thing of 50 advil or whatever, we carry 12 with us. It lets us save on space, which is good when you're carrying everything yourself. In addition, we write out a list of dosing instructions for every medicine we carry, so if we can't remember, we have instructions for how to use the medicines. It again saves on space rather than having a bunch of seperate set of instructions

A couple of other things I might suggest would be hand disinfectant (you can find small bottles that clip on to any bag) because even at Disney, bathrooms aren't always the most available, especially if you're making an impromptu stop for a pretzel or whatever. I'd also suggest a small washcloth or two- these have multiple purposes, from washing up (when normal wipes won't quite cut it) and maybe a small thing of soap. If you check in an outdoor store you can find a multi-use soap that will work as soap, toothpaste, shampoo, dish soap, etc) and put it in a small container for truly bad situations. Also, the washcloths are great when it's hot out- just dip them in water and use them to keep cool.

[bennette]

My suitcase tends to be lightly packed with the exception of my kit. I think it's pretty close to Mary's.

Blister band-aids are a must for us and we no longer travel without a mini canister of Body-Glide. It's not just for preventing blisters, it helps prevent heat rash for my husband as well as aid in healing if he forgets to put it on! We take some medical tape, too, to make sure those bandaids stay on!

I've moved away from duct tape, after learning this year at least one country doesn't want to find it even in your checked luggage.

I've never liked that Crystal Light stuff (I think Disney water tastes okay) but after being out this year in extreme heat for extended periods of time, I have learned to carry and use a hydrating powder of some kind. The single-serve packets are great.

I also carry a few ginger candies now for nausea or to help settle my stomach. Gin-Gin's super strength candies are my usual brand.

I now carry Cipro and an anti-nausea patch but haven't needed them yet.

[MermaidHair]

I have many feet problems so I add to the general list that people have already outlined many extras to help sooth my aching feet and blisters. These include mole skin, neosporin and gauze pads for if a blister is really bad. Some safety scissors to cut the moleskin with (learned that the hard way!). Then to ease my tired feet I bring a baggie of epsom salts for soaking. I used to pack all of this in a tupperware that fits my feet for soaking but I recently got an inflatable foot bath that I will bring next time. (see here) I have also recently been turned on to soaking my feet in ice water for 10-15 minutes to reduce swelling. Quite relieving once you get used to them!

[rph13]

Make sure to either keep prescription and over the counter meds in some type of original container or at the very least put the lot number and expiration date into the new container. None of the meds listed break down into harmful products when they expire but they might not be effective if the drug is extremely out of date. Especially in cases of antibiotics and pain/fever reducers, you want to make sure that those are effective, no sense carrying the meds and then not getting the desired effect.
With that being said, the general consensus is almost all meds can be used months (and in some cases years ) after the expiration date. Your mileage may vary of course and if I was in a country that you should not drink the water, I don't think I would want to rely on expired antibiotics.

The other thing I did not see listed that my family always carries is eyeglass repair kit. DD glasses broke one year when we were at the Library of Congress and of course no one there had any type of screw driver (highly secure area) or any type of tape, so the poor kid had to hold her glasses on her face for the whole tour.

[eabaldwin]

Wow, you are all so prepared! I feel like I need to bring more "stuff" with me from now on. I should keep some allergy stuff with me because DH has been hit with allergy symptoms on a few of our trips. He usually keeps some in his bag, but we don't always bring his. I should bring some tylenol/advil for the girls as well. At least we would have it just in case. I usually just have a few band aids, some sun screen, and chap stick.

[GusMan]

Keep in mind, being strategic in what you bring is a key part of being prepared. You dont have to bring "a lot," but a few small doses of this, that, and the other can go a long way. Keep in mind that the first aid centers can also help you in a pinch. After a while, you find out what is best to keep around for your family.