Southeast Asia forum

Hi Cheapswill,

You'll need just the basics, a few bandaids, pain killers, anti-histamine, a decent pair of tweezers.

A sewing kit comes in handy as well.

Chill steviej
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Who want Fat Hair.................

hi will,

like steviej says, a basic kit will do it. we usually buy one of those small car/traveller first aid kits from a pharmacy or such. the antibiotic/antiseptic topical cream is a must for cleaning up the inevitable cuts and scrapes. you might also want to add immodium/lomotil or something similar just in case you need to stop things up in a hurry. pink bismuth/pepto bismol in an easy-to-carry tablet form is a good idea too. take care.

Posted from within Vietnam.

And when you're here buy some tiger balm or eucalyptus oil. Cheap and very effective ! As Steviej says, just the basics will do for a 2 months trip.

steviej is right. don't take the stuff unless it is absolutely necessary. but also keep at least some of it with you in your day pack, because if you really need to take an immodium, the last thing you want in the middle of an 8-hour bus ride is to have your supply sitting safely in your pack in the luggage hold where you can't get to it. cheers.

Don't forget anti-malarials if you're going to Cambodia and Laos, especially if you're travelling outside the cities. Doxycycline is cheap and available everywhere but if you want to take Malarone you must bring your own. When buying Doxy be sure to get genuine and in-date tablets. Boots or Watsons in Thailand are probably the safest places, otherwise hospital pharmacies should be reliable.

I also carry a digital thermometer as it's so hot for me in SE Asia anyway I'd never be sure if I had a fever or not.

If you are from the US remember that the rest of the world calls Acetaminophen/Tylenol by the generic name Paracetamol (or brand name Panadol). You can get it everywhere. The 'band aid' brand name is better known than it used to be but keep 'plasters' in reserve as it'll depend who taught the English!

Imodium is a brand name and the drug is actually called Loperamide. You can get cheaper capsules at home if you buy generic Loperamide; its exactly the same stuff. Imodium (genuine or otherwise) is pretty cheap and readily available in Thailand, and the brand is very well known.

Although I'm not a doctor, as someone who has had a *lot* of intestinal complaints I must say that Imodium/Loperamide is not always a terrible thing to take. Sometimes your gut reacts to something and will keep trotting everything away long after it's got rid of what it needs to, other times it is just not accustomed to what you're throwing at it. Loperamide can restore proper digestion more quickly without any negative effects, but don't take it for more than a day or two without seeing a doctor.

Also, without getting into too much detail, if you want solid out, put solid in! I've met a few people who eat nothing but soup and water when they get ill and wonder why things don't improve for ages... baked potatoes, heavy meat-free pasta dishes (Gnocchi is really good) and well-boiled root vegetables will help firm things up, and are probably much better for you than taking Loperamide.

Hi.

I'm also a first time backpacker. I've seen 'backpacker' first aid kits in Boots and such. It includes all the different sterile needles, syringes and even a blood transfusion kit? Is this overkill for going backpacking in Thailand/ Cambodia/ Vietnam and Laos?

I was thinking along the lines of if I dont trust a hospital with the needles then do I really trust what they are putting in through the needles...

Any advice?

Good advice above. My first trip, I wasn't very smart on traveling and packed everything but the kitchen sink. Geez, thought I was going to have to hire people to help me lug it around. I actually started throwing stuff away. Now, I'm at the other extreme because I live here and hardly carry anything except camera and clothes. Try to find a comfort level somewhere in between that for you.