Relieving Pain On-The-Go: Creating a Family Medical Kit & 8 Things It Should Include

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of  a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its client. All health related  suggestions and opinions expressed in this post are all my own. #WellAtWalgreens #CollectiveBias When we left for Disney earlier this month, I found myself frantically running around the house with a plastic bag trying to track down all the medications we might need just minutes before we were scheduled to leave.  Admittedly, medication almost slipped my mind completely, but just as my husband closed the back of my car and asked “Are we ready?”, I happened to see the box of one of girls pain relievers sitting in the recycle box in our garage.  It was only then that I started running around the house like a crazy woman trying to track everything down – medicine for the girls, medicine for the baby, and medicine for my husband and I.  Let’s face it, relieving pain on-the-go is no easy task.  And while forgetting something isn’t the end of the world, it can be costly and difficult to find the right medications away from home.

Luckily, I didn’t forget anything crucial on our Disney trip, despite my last minute approach.

But as I ran around the house with the plastic bag, I thought to myself, “I have to do better next time.”  Because we have several trips planned this summer and I can’t go running around the house like that every time.  I needed to have everyone’s medicines all together and in one place that’s easy to locate.  While a First Aid kit seemed like a good idea at first, I realized that it didn’t include many of the pain relieving medications that I needed, especially for the kids.  So the week after we returned, I got to work creating a Family Medical Kit for our vacations.Making a kit is easy.  Simply go to your local Walgreens and pick up a plastic pencil box, typically found in the office supply section (I let Greenleigh decorate ours to make it more personal).  Once you’ve picked up the pencil case, head over to the pain relief aisle – located back near the pharmacy – and pick up the medications that your family needs on a daily or weekly basis, that you might need while traveling.  Ours are all Well at Walgreens brand because why pay more if you don’t have to?  Plus, with the Walgreens Way to Well Committment, 1 cent from every Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness product (up to $3 million annually) to go to support bringing preventative wellness services to local communities.  I like that.

While your family’s individual needs will dictate what goes in your kit, it should definitely include:

1. Pain & Fever Childrens Suspension – From fevers to headaches to random aches and pains, this medicine does it all and shouldn’t be left at home if you have kids.  I picked the bubblegum flavor, because my kids don’t fight me about taking medicine when I tell them it’s going to taste like bubblegum (ordinarily forbidden).
2. Homeopathic EarAche Drops – Pools, lakes, and beaches are all on our destination list this summer, which means there will be lots of swimming.  It’s great to have these on hand in case someone develops Swimmer’s Ear or an ear infection while on the road.  Nothing like a little instant relief until you can get them to a doctor.
3. Triple Antibiotic – We call this stuff “Magic Medicine” in our house.  I put it on every cut and scrape they get (I even used it when one of the girls had an adverse reaction to one of their earrings) and it works fast.  Like, really fast.  Sometimes the girls ask me to use it on boo-boos under the skin, and I agree because…well, it can’t hurt.  Because it’s magic.
4. Infants’ Pain & Fever – Teething is in our future, and I’m scared.  The last thing is for it to hit right as we check into a hotel, away from home.  And like the Children’s Pain & Fever it has a ton of other uses.  This stuff is my best friend and I never want to leave home without it.
5. Flexible Fabric Bandages – Let’s face it, boo boos are going to happen.  Bandages are a must.  I chose not to put character bandages in our kit though for fear that the kids would see them and use them all in one trip…after all, character bandages are really just stickers for the skin in their eyes!  Fabric work better for this purpose because they will last.
6. Pain Reliever Extra Strength Quick Gels – Going on vacation is lots of fun, but it can be lots of work too.  These are for our headaches and aches and pains.  Lucky for us, they work very fast!
7. Omeprazole Magnesium Delayed Release Acid Reducer – Both my husband and I struggle with heartburn, so this is a must for us.  We take it if we’re going to be eating foods that cause heartburn as a preventative measure, but it can also be used to treat heartburn once it’s set in.  It’s a lifesaver!
8. Daytime/Nighttime Cold & Flu Relief – While it seems odd to plan for a cold, or even the flu, during the spring or summer, it’s happened more times than I can count.  And one restful night’s sleep with Nightime Cold & Flu Relief can make all the difference in the world, while the Daytime Cold & Flu Relief can give you the boost you need to power through the day.

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Do you have a Family Medical Kit for Travel?  If so, what’s in it?