Pharmacists Advice For Your Travel Medicine Kit
January 9th 2018
Below you can find some helpful advice from our Pharmacist Emma on holiday travelling and your health.
- Do you have all your prescription medicines? And do you have enough for your entire trip and some extras in case of delays? (this is a good time to take stock of what’s in the medicine cabinet at home. The pharmacy can dispose of expired and unwanted medicines safely and for free)
- Vaccines? This pharmacy stocks most of the usual travel vaccinations. All vaccines require a prescription from your GP. At your GP appointment you can check which vaccines are required for your travel destination.
- For overseas travellers it’s a good idea to get a letter from your doctor listing your medicines. Also suggested is to have the GP include a diagnosis. This is important if there are bans on drugs in destination countries or if you find you need medical assistance while overseas.
- All medicines should be labelled to save confusion or the risk of medicines being removed in certain locations.
- Travellers should always have their insurance information on them and be aware of what their insurance covers.
- Medical equipment such as insulin pens should be packed in the hand luggage. The airline or travel agent can advise of any other requirements.
Prevention is better than a cure!
Have you packed?.....
- High grade insect repellent
- High protection sunscreen
- Travel specific probiotic (to prevent some travel illnesses)
- Motion sickness medication or ginger tablets
- Anti-diarhoea medicine and anti nausea medicine
- Antihistamine
- Pain relief medicine
- Oral rehydration products
- Basic first aid supplies including antiseptics and Band Aids
- Hand sanitisers
- Water purifying tablets (for certain areas)
It can be a little overwhelming preparing a travel medicine kit. You can begin to pack items that are not useful and are just taking up space. Please come and discuss your travel needs with our pharmacy staff. We want you to have a terrific time away discovering the sights of a new place not the hospitals!
