My Volunteer Travel First Aid Kit

People frequently ask me what I pack in my travel first aid kit. I tweak the contents of my kit depending upon the destination, availability of pharmaceutical supplies and foreseeable medical services. Believe it or not, everything on this list fits into a fairly small zipped container, with the exception of prescription drugs, which I always put in my carry on luggage – just in case. Since most of my volunteer projects for The Global Citizen Project are in impoverished places, I plan to take this locked and loaded version of my travel first aid kit to all the destinations. Once there, I can pick and choose what I may need on a daily basis and stash a short list of items in my day pack (in a Ziplock bag to play it weather safe). So far, I haven’t run into a situation where I’ve needed something not on this grandmaster list. Since I’m always eager to improve my Girl Scout-like packing and travel skills, please share any can’t-live-without first aid items I should add to my  kit.

• Ace bandage


• American Red Cross Adult CPR with First Aid card


• Antifungal cream


• Aspirin


• Bandaids (various sizes)


• Benadryl (pill and cream form)


• Cloth tape


• Condoms (if sexually active)


• EpiPen


• First aid antiseptic


• Gauze All Purpose Dressings (4” x 4”)


• Hand sanitizer


• Ibuprofin


• Insect repellent (EcoSMART when malaria/dengue fever isn’t an issue; Ben’s Deet when it is)


• International Certificate of Vaccination (a.k.a. the “Yellow Card”)


• Latex gloves


• Lighter


• One size fits all cough/cold medicine


• Pearls Probiotics


• Prescriptions (Cipro for diarrhea, Ambien for insomnia, Doxycycline as a malaria preventative, altitude meds when necessary)


• Scissors


• Sunscreen (since I’m on Doxycycline for the year and sun sensitivity is a side effect, I pack SPF 50 and above)


• SteriPEN


• Superglue


• Syringes (various sizes, prescribed by travel doctor)


• Temparin One Step Lost Filling Repair


• Tweezers


• World Nomads travel insurance