Eminently Eve
Of course when we come back from our trips and post on social media, we only mostly post the great parts of the trip. It is however, important to note that sometimes things do not always go smoothly. One of the important things to watch out for is your health.
As you may already know, Eminently Eve is all about ‘Conserving By Touring’ therefore all the trips we ever do are to nature-themed and conservation oriented game parks and nature reserves. These kinds of trips in many cases may bring about a set of health implications one of which is that most of the game parks and nature reserves are located in remote areas where there are no hospitals or clinics nearby. Therefore, in my opinion a first aid kit is always a necessity during such trips.
Some of the things I always carry in my first aid kit, which you may also want to consider carrying after consulting your medical practitioner (in no particular order) are:
1. Antiseptic solution/cream, Bandages, Scissors, ‘Elastoplast’, dressings…
In as much as one may try to be careful and avoid getting hurt, there is really no guarantee that some minor accidents will not happen, either to one’s self, children or other adults one is travelling with. The last thing that you would want to do in that case would be to end up grabbing the nearest rag to try & cover the wound and stop the bleeding. Hence, to avoid that I always carry clean dressings, some bandages, scissors, ‘elastoplast’ and an antiseptic solution. An antiseptic solution helps to stop the growth of microorganisms on the skin, reduce the risk of infection and stop the spread of germs.
2. Over the counter pain ease medication & any other specific medications you are “dependent” on
You have probably noticed that pains and aches somehow find a way to creep on us when we least expect it and when we are least prepared. In as much as you may take your chances with the first aid kit at the resort you are going to, (if they have one), it is never guaranteed that they have the right medication for you. It really doesn’t hurt to carry something for a headache or stomach ache with you.
I found a while ago that whenever I carry these medications with me, I never fall sick. So it is almost a good omen bringing these medications. It is also extremely important that if you suffer from other illnesses that require specific medications you always pack them, whether you are passing through a town with pharmacies or not. Your whole holiday will be ruined when you get there and realize that they do not have the medication in stock or you forgot your prescription. You may even risk losing your life or your loved one’s life depending on how serious the illness is. In some cases you may think that you since you haven’t needed that medication for months so you do not need to bring it. Big Mistake! While travelling relaxes our minds and make us feel good, it may cause changes to our bodies because we are exposing them to conditions we do not expose them to on a daily basis. And that may cause a flare up of diseases that may have seemed to have disappeared. So I always carry all my medication with me and I urge you to do the same.
3. Disposable gloves
In case the vehicle you are in or another vehicle gets involved in an accident, and your assistance is required by the authorities (because of shortage of manpower) & you feel that you can help, then some disposable gloves will come in handy. They will help protect you from the victims’ bodily fluids while you are rendering the help. I also carry disposable gloves in case I need to change my wheel. I don’t like having dirt on my hands and then end up spreading it all over the inside of the vehicle.
4. Emergency blankets/survival blankets
Emergency blankets are used to keep one warm and reduce heat loss in a person’s body if one suffers from hypothermia. In cases of accidents, victims are often exposed to the outdoor temperature for a long time especially due to delays in help coming. Hypothermia is recorded as one factor that significantly increases the mortality rates of crash victims. It is therefore important to always carry the emergency blanket as it is light and will work efficiently enough to help in those cases. It actually has many other survival benefits which we will discuss under survival tips in the near future.
5. Loperamide, Rehydration satchets/salts, Antiacids,
When you travel, your diet tends to change and unfortunately sometimes your body just fails to adjust smoothly to the new diet. Consequently, you may find yourself suffering from diarrhea (which may lead to dehydration) or perhaps from indigestion. For those reasons, through the help of my Doctor I always carry loperamide, rehydration salts, to counter the diarrhea and antacids for indigestion, among other medication to help with that. I would strongly advise that you consult a medical practitioner to give you professional guidelines on the exact types of medications which will be suitable for you.
6. Antihistamine cream, antibiotic cream & Insect repellent, spray or cream to relieve pain from bites or stings
I learnt the hard way that an antihistamine is a must carry whenever I go on my trips. On one of our trips, I woke up one beautiful morning with a completely swollen lip and a weird pain swallowing. I was not feeling any pain on the swelling site (I definitely had not been bitten by anything) but the swelling was becoming worrisome as it was only getting worse. Lucky, we had decent call reception so we called our doctor and he advised us to take antihistamine which the resort had. Then voila! within a few hours all the symptoms had disappeared. The doctor explained that it was an allergic reaction to something I had been exposed to. Since then we make it a point to carry antihistamine, insect repellent and spray or cream to relieve bites or stings.
So there you have it guys, these are the things that we carry as part of of our first aid kit when we travel. PLEASE consult your medical practitioner before using any of the medication I have shown in my pictures. I use these specific ones because they are the ones we were advised to use by our doctor and we always keep in touch with him if we start noticing anything amiss while using the medication.
Until next time, safe travels… Remember to always have a little intimacy in your life & as always I’m talking about intimacy with nature
[…] I worry especially for those who travel with children. Anything can literally happen during your trip from major accidents to minor accidents which require first Aid to be rendered. Whether it’s a bandage that needs to be put on a bruised sore or a splint on a broken arm, leg or medication to treat a headache, diarrhoea, stomach aches etc, a first aid kit is a must for anyone leaving their home to go on a trip. I have written a detailed article about some of the things that you should have in your First Aid kit and you can find it on this link. […]