A holiday wardrobe may be the fun part of packing, but essentials such as paracetamol and Imodium can prove just as important as a fresh bikini or breezy summer dress. In fact, the right travel medicines can be the difference between a relaxing break and a holiday derailed by illness.
New climates, unfamiliar rich foods and, inevitably, one too many drinks can all leave travellers feeling out of sorts when they head overseas.
Having a well-stocked travel first-aid kit is particularly useful when staying somewhere remote, or in a destination where asking for medication in the local language may be difficult.
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But looking in my medicine cabinet, it’s hard to imagine what not to bring. So, we asked pharmacist Abraham Jacobson Khodadi, or ‘Abraham the Pharmacist’ as he’s known to his 850,000 social media subscribers, for his top tips on what to pack…
Abraham Jacobson Khodadi is a pharmacist who has built an online audience of more than 850,000 subscribers.
Painkillers
Khodadi says one seemingly basic part of a holiday medicine bag is also one that many people get wrong.
His key point is that paracetamol and ibuprofen should not be treated as interchangeable options.
While paracetamol is generally used for everyday pain relief, Khodadi explains that ibuprofen is better suited to pain involving swelling or inflammation.
His advice is to take both: paracetamol can be useful for problems including sunburn, hangovers or a twisted ankle, while ibuprofen may be more appropriate for a rolled ankle, toothache or back pain.
Oral rehydration salts
As Khodadi describes it, these are the items to have on hand for those unpleasant moments when you have been “ill at both ends” in a hot country.
If you’re travelling somewhere hot, these are essential to bring away with you.
He says: ‘This is the one that actually keeps you out of hospital.’
After a day’s vomiting or diarrhoea in a hot country, Khodadi says you haven’t just lost water, but also the salt that your body holds onto. In that case, plain water or a fizzy drink just won’t put those back.
Instead, you should take an oral rehydration salt sachet, allowing sodium and salt to re-enter the body even when everything else has shut down.
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Oral rehydration salts can help with both vomiting and diarrhoea.
Loperamide
‘This is the one that stops the runs,’ according to Khodadi, ‘the tablet you take when you’ve picked something up from food or water and you can’t be more than ten feet from a toilet.’
And while loperamide won’t treat the infection, it will buy you some control which might be particularly needed if you’re travelling home on a long flight.
This isn’t one for children or for those with a bowel condition, so Khodadi says to check with your pharmacist before taking them.
Khodadi also warns: ‘If there’s a high fever or blood in the stool, then that’s a see-a-doctor situation rather than a tablet one.’
Non-drowsy antihistamine
Khodadi recommends packing a non-drowsy antihistamine for bites, stings and pollen you’ve not encountered before.
He says: ‘The non-drowsy ones are the daytime choice’, after all you don’t want to miss out on any sightseeing while busy napping in the hotel.
Khodadi also recommends a tube of 1 per cent hydrocortisone cream to treat the problem locally.
Non-drowsy antihistamine is a holiday lifesaver for new kinds of pollen and bug bites.
Antacid
Khodadi says to pack an antacid for the indigestion and reflux that holidays practically guarantee.
He says: ‘Rich food, more alcohol, eating far later than you do at home and then lying flat is a perfect recipe for acid coming back up, and on a plane the drop in cabin pressure makes trapped gas expand on top of that.’
According to Mr Khodadi, ‘An antacid is the fast fix,’ neutralising the acid already there and making sure the stomach’s contents stay put!
If you’re prone to indigestion most nights while on holiday, Khodadi suggests an acid-reducing tablet that works more slowly but lasts far longer.
He also mentions that its worth mentioning any other tablets that you’re taking to your pharmacist as antacids can stop other medicines from being absorbed properly.