With minimal preparation before your departure, you can be ready to handle most common health problems (and many not so common ones) that might present themselves as you travel. My System for self-care is exquisitely easy. I have discussed the easy and useful solution with smart traveler health kit.
It makes use of a few essential supplies, each with multiple usages and will keep traveler healthy during travel. Reading this chapter you will quickly grasp the basics and the commonsense approach that I advocate. Once you’re on the road, in the air, or on the Water
Healthy Solution During Travel
Your kids may want to get involved all along the Way, in packing the kit of supplies and in applying remedies as needed. So, invite their participation as you begin. This chapter contains the basics for putting together your own Smart Traveler Health Kit, either the Regular-Size Kit, for the traveler who wants to be self-sufficient, or the Bare Necessities Kit for the traveler who wants to save space and be a bit more creative, or the city traveler who can augment the items called for with a trip to a pharmacy or health food store if necessary.
In the other traveling and camping article, I also contain advice to travelers while camping with tents. There you may get ideas for additional items that you can instance needs of hiking and travel.
I have also discussed and researched in 10 Essential herbal formula for “People Paste”-a powder for fixing up almost anything that can go wrong with “people,” or pets, both internally and externally.
Your destination will determine what is most needed in your Health Kit while traveling. An isolated area calls for more preparedness. Your personal sensitivities can also change what you want to carry. For example, if you know that you always get constipated when you travel, make sure that you have plenty of the herbal laxatives that the regular kit suggests.
If you know that your digestion always suffers, the digestive enzymes and the umeboshi plum paste, which are listed as Optional Additions at the end of this chapter, will not be options for you, but necessities.
Where to Get Supplies for the Kit
Any good health food store, “bio” stores and/or herb store in the United States, Canada or Europe should have most of what you need for the Smart Traveler’s Health Kit. In India, Nepal, other Asian countries, and Mexico, the open-air markets will usually have several of the basics I mention, such as salt, garlic, ginger, and Cayenne.
There are also potent indigenous medicines (such as Ayurveda in India) that the locals love to teach you about. The peppermint essential oil and some of the other ingredients that I suggest can even be purchased at many pharmacies these days.
Storing and Carrying Supplies
I find it convenient to use empty 35mm film containers and heavy-duty resalable zip-lock baggies (the kind used for freezing) for transporting many Health Kit items such as herbs, gauze, tape, etc. These containers and baggies are airtight, waterproof, unbreakable, and made of plastic that is stable enough that it does not deteriorate easily.
However, any container with these qualities will do. I avoid glass or aluminum containers, or anything that would break easily, rust, or break down through interactions with herbs, thereby contaminating them (such as happens with aluminum). One exception to this is the very small glass bottle that most essential oils come in. That glass is necessary for the essential oil-the bottle usually has a convenient dropper and in any case seems heavier to me. I have not had a breakage problem with these.
I’ll begin with listing the supplies you need for each of the kits, and will then give you the lowdown on why I’ve included each item, plus a basic introduction to how to use it. I’ve also listed a variety of conditions that each of the items is good for. Consult the SYMPTOM-REMEDY INDEX (p. 158) for a complete listing.
Small Travel First Aid Kit
Check out the small travel first aid kit for the travelers if he is looking for better health solution during traveling.
Regular Size Kit
- Clove essential oil, one small bottle of dropper Peppermint essential oil, one small bottle with dropper Slippery Elm herb, powder, one or more ounces
- Activated Charcoal in capsules Grapefruit Seed Extract, liquid form, 2 ounces Grapefruit Seed Extract, tablets, or capsules, form, 100mg each, one bottle
- Cayenne Pepper herb, powdered form, one OULIC62 Antiseptic Herbal Salve, one small container Herbal Laxative capsules “Breathable” surgeon’s adhesive tape, small roll Sterile gauze pads, 3-6 of various sizes Non-iodized salt, small container
For this regular size Health Kit, I also stuff, here and there in my baggage, small packets of dry herbs or tea bags.
Bare Necessities Health Kit
Here are some of the health kit you need to carry with your travel to maintain proper health and be out of any kind of health issues during your travel.
Essential Oil
You can use essential oil like the clove essential oil with the proper amount. There are some other oils you can carry one small bottle with dropper Peppermint essential oil. To use this oil externally, you need simple steps to follow.
Usually, diluted 5-10 drops in a teaspoon of vegetable oil, or added to any salve, or in clean water or other “carrier” for dilution. The only internal use I would suggest for this oil is using 5-10 drops in 1/4 cup of water and mixed it for usage in travel. Moreover, you can keep one small bottle with a dropper for better carriage.
Charcoal Capsules and More
Activated Charcoal in capsules is also useful for healthy travel. With that, one can keep Grapefruit Seed Extract, 2 ounces’ liquid form “Breathable” surgeon’s adhesive tape with their traveling pack. These items are really useful to keep you in a better situation in different environments.
Also, one can use some other necessary health kit supplies such as small roll Sterile gauze pads, 3-6 of various sizes Additional supplies along the way.
Few More Words
In this “bare necessities” category I find that I can almost always get fresh herbal antibiotics and antiseptics such as garlic, ginger, onions and salt (a good antiseptic, and good for a nasal rinse and gargle) in small shops or open-air markets even in remote places.
These on-the-spot additions are valuable to your travel kit. In the section that follows you will find an explanation about the reason for the inclusion of each of the Health Kit items, as well as suggestions for where to get them.
