7 Meds I Refuse to Travel Without

Being sick is awful no matter where you are, but being sick in a foreign country and trying to translate the medicine that you need is a nightmare.

Here are the 7 meds that I refuse to travel without.

(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. This is what I personally travel with. You do you.)

1. Immodium - Lessons learned from 2 winters in Mexico.

2. Benydryl - Found out I was allergic to a specific sunscreen the hard way.

3. Tylenol - Reliable fever reducer.

4. Tums - Either we are getting older or the food is getting spicier.

5. Dramamine - Ever booked an Airbnb on a boat?

6. Aleve - Favorite general pain reliever.

7. Claritin - Spring allergies are apparently universal.

1. Immodium

You do not want to find yourself in need of immodium without having it readily available. I generally also follow a few rules to avoid getting norovirus (stomach flu):

1. Check the reviews - nothing less than 4.3, and read the bad reviews to judge for yourself.

2. Make sure the chef and staff have somewhere with clean water to wash their hands and dishes.

3. If you’re somewhere with unsafe tap water, I will avoid fresh fruits and veggies and go for things that have to be thoroughly cooked. (Bonus if it’s lit on fire on the way to your table.)

2. Benadryl

• Found out the hard way that I am allergic to something in Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen…

  • While completely smothered in it

  • On a remote beach

  • That took us an hour to hike in and out

  • Broke out in hives from head to toe as soon as I was exposed to direct sunlight.

• As a side note, I recommend patch-testing any new cosmetics/ sunscreens BEFORE you put it all over your body.

• Picture: We drove around Big Island the next day instead of laying on a beach while I recovered, and found this cute coffee shop and a rainbow.

3. Tylenol

Our go-to fever reducer… a thermometer isn’t a bad idea either if you’re going to be traveling awhile.

4. Tums

We have reached the point where we consider “pre-gaming” spicy meals with Tums. Ginger tea also works like magic for me after a long day of experiencing the culture, aka eating way too much.

5. Dramamine

I get motion sickness easily and frequently since we are constantly on the move.

• I’ve tried sea-bands bracelets and found that they only distract you by slightly electrocuting you every few minutes… resulting in annoyance and nausea.

• BUT! I also found that if you take the all natural, ginger dramamine pills (looks like literally ground ginger in a tablet), that seems to do an okay job.

• I also bring the full strength stuff in case we decide we need to book an Airbnb on a sailing yacht in the Virgin Islands. 🤷‍♀️

6. Aleve

Favorite pain reliever. Referred to as “the big guns” in terms of pain relief.

7. Claritin

Spring time allergies anyone? This is our go-to.

I’m talking about the good stuff behind the counter that’s actually effective. Otherwise you still end up feeling a bit off, kind of like this picture of Copper, our derpiest good boy.