Travel Medications
Which Medications are Vital for Travel?
After endless hours of planning and months of saving up, you finally go on your dream vacation. Then suddenly, BOOM, you end up coming down with a terrible cold, travelers’ diarrhea, weight gain, or worse. All of which put a massive damper on your vacation time, and unfortunately, are extremely common. This is because traveling can expose you to numerous germs and viruses, while also disrupting your healthy diet and exercise routine. As a Family Nurse Practitioner and an avid world traveler, I am here to tell you that there are small travel health steps you can take to decrease your risk of illness while traveling. I have put together a list of the best medications to travel with to prevent travel-related illness and ensure that you come away from your travels with nothing but fond memories!
PRESCRIPTION TRAVEL MEDICATIONS
Your routine prescriptions
Antibiotic for Travelers’ diarrhea
Medication to prevent malaria if needed
Medication for high altitude: Diamox (acetazolamide )
Medication for frequent yeast infections: Diflucan (fluconazole)
OVER-THE-COUNTER TRAVEL MEDICATIONS
Diarrhea medicine: Imodium, Pepto-Bismol
Antacids: Tums, Pepcid
Antihistamines: Claritin, Zyrtec, Allegra
Motion sickness medicine: Dramamine, Meclizine
Cough drops, cough suppressant, or expectorant
Decongestant: Sudafed
Pain and fever medicine: acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen
Mild laxative: Docusate Sodium, MiraLAX
Mild sedative or sleep aid: Benadryl, Zzzquil, Tylenol PM, Melatonin
Baby Aspirin 81mg
FIRST AID KIT AND TRAVEL MEDICATIONS
1% hydrocortisone cream
Antibacterial ointment
Thermometer
Oral rehydration salts
Antiseptic wound cleaner
Aloe gel for sunburns
Insect bite anti-itch gel or cream
Bandages of varying sizes
Disposable gloves
Cotton swabs (Q-Tips)
Tweezers
Conclusion
Travel medications are vital, especially when travelling abroad or for extended periods of time. You never know when an illness or injury might occur. Furthermore, you never know what sort of medications, medical care, or even cost of medical treatment might be in a different country.
Thank you for reading our guide on the best medications to travel with! We encourage you to learn even more about travel health by visiting the health topics on our Tips & Tricks page!
