Tips on Medicine

Medicine & Staying Well:
Always check with your travel agent, the US government travel page or your doctor well in advance to see if any vaccines are required for travel or recommended for safety for the place you will be visiting. Sometimes preventive measures are necessary, such as Hepatitis B vaccines.

If you are traveling out of the US, carry a prescription with the common drug name. Many foreign countries do not recognize our fancy drug names.

Make sure to keep all drugs in the original containers, or bring the original containers along if using a pill organizer. This can help same confusion and hassle with customs or other officials and foreign pharmacies.

Pack a small travel first aid kit which contains two or more of each size of Band-Aides, a small tube of anti-bacterial ointment, antiseptic wipes, a thermometer, some children's strength pain reliever (an adult can take these in a pinch), Pepto-Bismol tablets, Imodium-D, some tweezers, diaper rash ointment, insect repellent and sunblock. Also, bring a small zip-loc of baking soda to mix with water to make a paste for stings and mosquito bits. You can also buy small prepackaged first aid kits by Johnson & Johnson targeted towards specific "tragedies" - very small, yet handy.

If you are in an undeveloped country, remember that water needs to be boiled for 10 minutes to be declared safe to drink.

If the water is not safe to drink in a country, don't eat raw salads or vegetables or other uncooked foods. Peel the vegetables if you want raw ones.

Don't use ice cubes in beverages and always go for drinks in the bottle, instead of washed cups. If you are buying bottled water at a restaurant, make sure the waiter opens the bottle at your table to be sure you are not being served tap water in a recycled bottle - hmmmm, scary thought!

Rinse your mouth and toothbrushes with bottled water if the country's water is not safe for tourists.

Use wetwipes to clean your children's hands before all meals.

In desert countries, check your clothes and shoes before dressing to avoid unpleasant surprises (such as scorpions).