Targeted planning

Travel first-aid kit: “Take off” into a healthy summer

Take health precautions for the whole family on vacation.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Sunny studio - stock.adobe.com)

Finally replenish your personal "energy stores" and enjoy a few weeks without any unpleasant incidents, breakdowns or medical problems - that's how you imagine a successful vacation. But to spend a safe and healthy vacation, you need to be well prepared.

Think in advance about the state of health of everyone traveling with you, but also about unforeseen events that could ruin your rest. These include colds, aches and pains, digestive problems, insect bites, infectious diseases or injuries. Travel sickness or altitude sickness are also among the things you can arm yourself against in advance. A list for a complete first-aid kit can be found below.

Special care for children
Children need their own medicines that are tailored to their age and weight. They often react sensitively to unfamiliar things such as time differences, unfamiliar food or extreme temperatures. The hygienic conditions in the destination country can also be particularly challenging for young children. Diarrheal diseases are therefore a common risk. Pre-packaged drinks, disinfectant wipes and products, extra toilet paper and concentrating on cooked food can help prevent many problems. It is then important to replace fluids and minerals.

What you should have with you

Before you go on vacation, it's best to do a check: Have you packed everything you need for your health?

• Sun cream and after-sun lotion
• Pain gel for blunt injuries such as bruises, sprains, etc.
• Antipyretic and painkillers
• Medication against diarrhea and vomiting, medication against motion sickness
• Preparations for allergies
• Medication for colds
• Medicines for urinary tract infections
• Eye/nose drops
• Wound and healing ointment
• Clinical thermometer
• Insect repellent, ointment against insect bites
• Tweezers, (blister) plasters, sterile bandages, gauze bandages, disinfectant
• Medication to be taken regularly

Pain in the vacation destination
Especially when traveling, it can happen that problems occur whose cause is known, such as menstrual cramps or toothache due to teeth grinding, muscle pain due to overuse, joint problems due to poor sleeping position or headaches that may be due to too much sangria the night before. So always take a good, broad-spectrum painkiller with you when you travel - it can save your vacation enjoyment.

Carry injections
We also know about medicines that are regularly taken as injections. For the latter, you should carry enough needles and syringes as well as a certificate of therapeutic necessity. A small dictionary in the language of the destination country is helpful so that medical assistance does not fail due to communication problems. It is also best to have the contact details of the doctor treating you to hand. (Cell phones can get lost or broken!)

Think about health insurance
Remember to pack the e-cards of all travelers. In EU member states, EEA states, Switzerland, Great Britain, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, the reverse side serves as the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

This ensures that you will receive medical care in accordance with the rules of the respective country. It is only valid if it is completed in full. If you are traveling to countries where the EHIC is not valid, you will need an international vacation health insurance certificate - proof that you have valid health insurance.

Think about travel health insurance
In countries without an agreement, treatment costs must be paid locally and an application for reimbursement must then be submitted with the invoice. In this case, additional travel health insurance or repatriation insurance often pays off.

Watch out, summer flu! Unfortunately, colds also occur on vacation. Headaches and aching limbs are often the first signs of a cold, which can also be accompanied by a rise in body temperature. Painkillers and antipyretics should then be quickly to hand. These will improve your general condition and speed up the healing process.