By Those who like to travel and get to know new countries get around and demand some adaptability from their bodies. Other climatic conditions, unfamiliar food, other hygienic circumstances, and much more can cause many health problems or even problems.
Parents in particular, who also have to bear the responsibility for the offspring, should take precautions with a well-stocked first-aid kit. This will save you a lot of inconveniences. Because there is not always a German-speaking doctor on-site and language problems do not make the case of illness any more accessible.
Nevertheless, you should not treat health problems lightly when you are abroad. You should consult a doctor or a hospital, especially if you have had an accident or if your symptoms persist or worsen despite treatment.
If in doubt, the local German embassy will be happy to advise you on where to find a German-speaking doctor or even provide you with a translator.
Travel health insurance, especially in non-European countries, can give you the good feeling that you don’t have to be alone with treatment costs in an emergency. In general, the treatment costs abroad are significantly lower than in Germany.
Headache and motion sickness
Above all, you can treat the classic travel complaints very well with suitable remedies from the first-aid kit. These include motion sickness and seasickness, making it easier for some people to get here. If you don’t want to use an industrial product to relieve your travel problems, you can also use capsules with ginger powder. Rubbing alcohol, peppermint oil or lavender oil, and rosemary oil is also refreshing on the journey, especially in hot regions. Significantly people who are prone to migraines and headaches benefit from such remedies. The blood vessels relax and open up, you can concentrate better, and headaches don’t stand a chance.
Indigestion
Digestive tract problems can also be quickly dealt with with a well-stocked first-aid kit. Complaints such as those caused by too much ice and ice-cold drinks or poor kitchen hygiene and noticeable through vomiting and diarrhea can be treated with conventional medical preparations. You should always have a diarrhea-inhibiting medication and a laxative with you. Castor oil, for example, is a natural laxative.
But you can also rely on charcoal tablets in any case. Because these not only solidify the stool but are also very effective at binding toxins in the gastrointestinal system. In this way, they can be discharged from the body in a harmless form.
If you don’t have any charcoal tablets at hand, the use of dark chocolate with a very high cocoa content also helps. Cocoa has a similar effect to the activated charcoal in the charcoal compresses.
Note that the most significant danger with diarrhea and vomiting is dehydration. So give the sick person enough fluids. In extreme heat, it may be necessary for very young and significantly older adults to have an electrolyte drink ready from the start.
Observe the sick person very carefully and immediately go to the nearest hospital to suspect a lack of water.
A family member who has suffered from heatstroke needs a lot of rest. Darken the bedroom and make sure the room is as cool as possible. Air conditioning can also help, but it should not be set too cold. Provide the patient with plenty of fluids and ensure enough sleep. If the condition has not improved significantly by the third day, or if you notice signs of dehydration, consult a doctor immediately.
Skin Irritation
Even the typical beach problems, such as sunburn, contact with jellyfish, and insect bites, become less of a concern if you already have the proper remedies in your luggage.
But if prick, gels, or modern sticks are applied directly to the skin, it can help. Many of these products also work against sunburn at the same time.
If the smell of tea tree oil doesn’t bother you, you can use it to keep the pests away and quickly disinfect a new puncture site and thus prevent a severely itchy inflammation. But a cold compress with vinegar water also helps quickly and easily. It reduces the swelling of insect bites and jellyfish wheels and has a light disinfecting effect. Everything is usually forgotten after 10-20 minutes at the latest.
A quark wrap can also work wonders against severe inflammation after an insect bite or bite and sunburn. It cools and lets the complaints disappear quickly.
In holiday regions with high UV exposure, it is best to use sunblock with an SPF of 50. The face should also be protected from the sun with a sun hat and, if possible, seek shade at midday. If you have burned yourself, you should apply an after-sun lotion. Aloe vera gels also reduce inflammation while keeping the skin comfortably cool.
Injuries
In their high spirits, small and large vacationers often injure themselves during leisure activities such as ball sports, bike tours, and much more so that a few precautions can dry the tears quickly here too. A disinfectant and an ointment for bruises and sprains should also be packed in the first-aid kit, as well as one or two elastic bandages and adhesive plasters. A zinc ointment helps with abrasions, sores on the skin and mucous membranes, and minor wounds.
In the case of tension, muscle pain, back, joint, and muscle pain, horse ointment has also proven a suitable means of pain relief.
Allergies and chronic diseases
Allergy sufferers and people with chronic diseases should, of course, ensure that they have sufficient quantities of their usual medication on hand and therefore carefully include them in the travel planning. It can be vital for people with diabetes to pay attention to the blood sugar-lowering medication and order enough indicator sticks for the blood sugar monitor before the trip.
Hypertensive people should pack their blood pressure monitors in their suitcase along with their usual medication in sufficient quantities.
Infectious Diseases
Anyone who knows that he or a family member is quickly afflicted by earaches, toothaches, or infections of all kinds should be well prepared and have suitable precautionary measures at hand. This may include earplugs or a tight swim cap, ear drops, and an immunity booster. In any case, a fever-reducing agent should also be packed.
Fear of flying or heights can also make it necessary to take appropriate medication and should therefore be included in the planning.
Miscellaneous for the first-aid kit
Other countries have different customs, which can also mean, for example, that the host country has completely different rhythms than we are used to at home. Especially in hot southern countries, this can mean that people are active and noisy when we want to meet our need for sleep. In hardly any other cultural area, there is so much consideration for sleep and rest times as in Germany, so sleeping masks and earplugs can provide the much-needed rest under certain circumstances.
You should check the expiry date of your medication regularly. You can hand in expired packaging to the pharmacy, where it will be disposed of properly.
Feel free to use your free time to study one or the other package insert for your medication. This gives you a quicker picture of which medication should be administered, when, and how. You feel safer in an emergency and react calmer and avoid mistakes.
Have a safe and healthy journey!
