Your Travel First Aid Kit Checklist

Passport, check. Beachwear, check. Sunglasses, check. First aid kit?

How many of these things do you class as essentials when it comes to packing your suitcase for your holiday?

We can bet, the first three are zipped into your carry-on without a second thought; but when packing, do you consider your own and your family’s safety whilst away from home? Do you pack anything in your case to ensure you can act if there is a medical emergency?

First Aid Prepped

The last thing you want when you go on holiday is for your time away to be ruined by an injury or illness that could have been prevented. But sadly, these things do happen.

Preparing a first aid kit to take away with you that comprises all the essential materials you’ll need to look after both yourself and your family will help prevent anything serious from advancing and allow you to provide effective relief in emergencies.

Below, we’ve listed our must-haves when it comes to a travel first aid kit. These materials will ensure that you are prepared for almost any first aid emergency.

Sun Cream

The majority of British travellers go on holiday to get some sun in the hope of achieving that healthy summer glow.

Coming home golden may look great with your favourite outfit but when you’re spending extended periods of time in the sun, you need to take the correct precautions to protect your skin from getting burned.

Our two most important aspects when it comes to suntan lotion are:

• 4 - 5 UVA star rating
• High SPF

These two factors will help ensure that your skin is well protected whilst you’re sunning yourself up, but remember to top up on an hourly basis to ensure you don’t burn.

After Sun / Aloe Vera Gel

Despite topping up on the sun cream, it is easy to burn your skin in the sun.

Many people are unaware, but sunburn isn’t just redness of the skin, it is actually damaged DNA cells in the skin from too much UV exposure.

Getting sunburn is reason enough to seek shade, as removing yourself from the UV rays will prevent any further damage to the skin. We do recommend however to be mindful that you can still burn in the shade, so continue to regularly apply sun cream and maybe even fashion a loose cover-up for a few days to prevent worsening the burn or developing sun stroke.

After-Sun lotion is the perfect solution to soothe sunburnt skin and Aloe Vera gel can help to calm any redness, but remember that neither of these will repair the damaged DNA skin cells.

Plasters

Plasters are an absolute must when going on holiday, regardless of whether you’re jetting off somewhere exotic or staying within the UK for a staycation.

Flip flops are great for keeping your feet cool whilst on holiday and are easy to take off too if you just want to go for a stroll on the beach, but they’re notorious for causing blisters. Popping a plaster over a blister can stop it from rubbing on other shoes, bursting and even getting infected.

Insect Repellent

There are over 3,500 species of mosquitos and the majority of these breeds feed on human blood. Most bites are harmless, but these insects can carry various diseases and viruses such as:

• Dengue Fever
• Yellow Fever
• Malaria
• West Nile Virus

These illnesses are passed on when the mosquitos feed and if left untreated, they can be fatal.

Mosquitos and other insects can be repelled by sprays, rolls on lotion and other solutions all that contain DEET (diethyltoluamide) so packing one or two of these repellent solutions will help ensure that whilst you’re on holiday you won’t get bitten and you’re protected against the listed illnesses.

Tweezers

There’s nothing worse than walking around the pool area barefoot and getting a splinter thanks to one of the many palm trees that surround the area.

However, a pair of tweezers can solve all your problems and have you jumping back in the pool in no time.

It’s important that with splinters, you clean the area with warm water and soap before you try and extract the splinter. When you grasp the splinter with the tweezers, try and draw it out in a straight line, extracting it at the same angle it entered the skin.

After it has been removed, it is best to squeeze the wounded area carefully to encourage light bleeding – this will help remove any dirt that may be in the wound. Clean the wound and dry it and dress it, if necessary.

Skin Rash Cream:

Heat rash is something a lot of us will have had when on holiday. In both adults and children, the symptoms are usually small red spots that cause redness and mild swelling with an itch.

It’s important that you keep the skin cool so you don’t sweat and irritate the affected area.

Hydrocortisone cream can help heat rashes, but if the rash is located on your face, it’s important you don’t apply it here. Applying this type of cream can soothe the rash, allowing you to carry on with your holiday as normal.

Holiday Ready

Whether you’re travelling to the other side of the world, or you’re just heading to the coast of the UK, it’s important that you prepare for every eventuality and packing a first aid kit, comprising the listed items will be a step in the right direction.

So, will you be making room in your suitcase for the all-important first aid kit? Maybe you already did. Head on over to our Twitter feed @imptraining and let us know where you’ll be sunning yourself this year and what you’ll be including in your case to ensure you’re travelling first aid ready.