What do I need in a first aid kit?

[hubbike]

For a year long tour in south america

so far got assorted plasters and bandages and some disposable thermometers.

thinking I might need some pain killers, water puri-tabs, some sting releif cream, some antiseptic cream...

what about antibiotics and anti diarrea type medication will I just buy that out there do you think?

What else?

 

[Comatosed]

I would probably recomend getting some professional advice for that sort of trip, I usually take more than that for a couple of weeks in Scotland.

I would recomend anti inflamatories, they're excellent for if you pull a muscle and mean you can continue cycling without pain.

 

[Coco]

anti diarrea type medication

Definitely take this.

 

[Arch]

For a year long tour in south america

so far got assorted plasters and bandages and some disposable thermometers.

thinking I might need some pain killers, water puri-tabs, some sting releif cream, some antiseptic cream...

what about antibiotics and anti diarrea type medication will I just buy that out there do you think?

What else?

I'm not sure antibiotics are a good idea - don't they tend to be specific, and dosing yourself without medical advice might be counterproductive....

I've never done this sort of travel, but I've read a lot of books by people who have, and they often take their own hypodermic syringes, for places where hygiene might not be reliable.

Not quite first aid, but handy, is a little sewing kit - needles, some thread, safety pins. Safety pins are useful for bandages, and at a pinch sewing needles can be sterilised in boiling water, and used for extracting splinters, or even emergency sutures.

Tweezers, also for splinters/stings.

I've heard spray- on plaster is good, especially for curved/mobile areas.

 

[Darryl]

Definitely take your own syringes

I carry a small kit that can be given to a doctor should you need any treatment that involves blood when I travel abroad.

 

[Brains]

Did several months in S.America a few years back, with a group of 15 Europeans. Altiplano to Amazon
The injuries we had to deal with were

A broken wrist
A broken collarbone
A Diabetic coma
HACE
Hypothermia
Sandfly bites (Industrial)
Mozzie bites (Industrial)
cuts, scrapes, grazes,
Sunburn
Thrush
Colds
and lots of diorear (spelling) and its side effects of dehydration, so lots of Immodium and Dyralite

We went to hospital in Equador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile.
As long as you have the money, the hospitals were as good as the NHS

Only real issue is the hospitals are a long way apart.

The Collarbone was 9hrs in a dug out canoe, followed by 12 hrs in a 4X4 along jungle tracks before being treated by the ex presidents personal doctor, US trained, who had been exiled to a remote, but very good, hospital.

The broken wrist we splinted with chrome trim off the side of a truck which was OK until we arrived at a town with a hospital 3 days later

The Diabetic coma, HACE and Hypothermia we dealt with ourselves

The system in the hospitals is 'pay as you go'

Walk in, see the nurse, she says broken wrist. pay the nurse.
go to xray, pay for xray
take xray to doctor, he says broken wrist, pay doctor
get local anisthetic, pay anithitist
go to bone setter to set bone, pay bone setter
go to plaster of paris dept. pay plasterer
go to sling fitter, pay for sling and fitting
pay porter who has been wheeling around patient like a taxi with whatever is on his "meter"

It's a system. it works pretty well. As long as you have money (cash, Yankee dollars prefered).
Forget the insurance, that is what the receipts are for later. They don't take credit cards unless it's several nights stay or you need to pay surgeons

So bottom line is a good, travel 1st aid kit, with bandages, padding, micropore, take normal pain killers, gloves, lemsip, savlon, plasters lots of serious relief for bites and dealing with upset tummy and it's side effects and no harm in doing a 1st aid course and get the manual

With the possible exception of syringes (which are easy and cheap to get here) I would not bother with any 1st aid kit that you can't use yourself.

I'd strongly suggest best place to get the kit is Nomad Travel
http://www.nomadtravel.co.uk/pages/nomad-travel-clinics
You pay slightly over the odds, but it's good stuff

PS - Don't take any medicines that look like white powder, can cause serious problems with the customs officers

 

[Garz]

Scissors as work handed out new kits to our engineers and they only lack a pair of scissors where my old one has them!

 

[Headgardener]

Gregson used to do travel first aid kits in various sizes from one man kits up to group leader on an Amazonian trek but I don't know whether they still do them.

 

[Creamcrackered]

I have done three month long trips to South America and not needed much more than a sticking plaster. Apart from when I was knocked off my bike by a pick up truck, then the Chilean hospital patched up my grazes for free. However, I do think anti-biotics are worth having in case you get a serious case of the runs. Get your Doctor to prescribe them and buy them here before you go. Otherwise I'd go along with Brains - just a good general travel kit - no need to go over board.

 

[rich p]

Maleria tabs depending on where you're going. Chiapas, Mex for sure, maybe Guatamala etc.

 

[hubbike]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I've been along for my injections and the nurse gave me a load of stuff (plasters, compeed, bandages etc) but said I'd be better off buying other things from pharmacies as I go. is this true?

Think I'll put together something much as Brains suggests. Thanks.