The Pharmacist's Son

Al, my father-in-law, is a world-class pharmacist: attentive to the details and his patients in a way that all of us should be so lucky to have in our pharmacist. Several years back, he won “Pharmacist of the Year” for his 700-pharmacy company. When we went to Mexico as a family, I got stung by a huge jellyfish during a late night swim, whereupon I jumped out of the ocean with tentacle marks seared around my stomach and back. Scott, my husband, jumped out with me and gave me the non-verbal sign of his willingness to administer the “old fashioned” method of handling jelly fish stings; I responded, “No. You’re not going to pee on me.” My father-in-law, more helpfully, was prepared with a full array of Benadryl pills and ointment, and all swelling and stinging was gone within a few minutes. Scott took note of these more dignified healing methods, and became a full-time advocate of travel wellness preparation. Which brings me to our current travel med kit…

Scott now brings a full-sized hospital-ready med kit. Poison ivy? Got a cream for it. Poison sumac? Got a different cream for that one. Okay, I’m exaggerating. But let’s just say that for our 5-month adventure in South America, we did bring something that weighed in the range of 9 lbs. To his credit, we did end up using almost all of it, including the wrap for a sprained ankle, several tubes of hydrocortisone cream for some Amazonian chiggers, iodine from well-earned scrapes, and plenty of cough syrup for a bout of bronchitis.

For my upcoming solo travel to Central America for 5 weeks, I decided to seek the help of the pharmacist’s son, asking that he pare down his recommendations to the bare essentials. Here’s what he picked out:

• Chewable Pepto Tablets – This one is a *great* recommendation from my doctor who has been to just about every country…take two tablets every morning with breakfast, and your stomach will be calm, cool, and collected every day of your trip. This has worked for every person I know who has followed the advice.
• Band Aids (several shapes and sizes)
• Cleansing Wipes
• Gauze Pads
• Anti-diarrheal Pills
• Itch Relief Spray
• Iodine Tincture
• Cotton Swabs
• Ibuprofen
• Antibacterial Hand Wipes

All-in-all, we’re talking 2 lbs of weight. This seems reasonable and responsible. Inevitably I’ll end up using most of it, and will be grateful to have a travel bag stocked by a pharmacist’s son. Feel free to use this list for your own upcoming adventures…

Safe travels!

WanderKate