*Nothing in this article is intended as medical advice.
*I carry a very small travel first aid kit because I can buy many first aid supplies while traveling. I ensure I have an adequate travel first aid kit for minor health problems -- more than that, and I find a doctor or clinic. I travel with antiseptic ointment, aspirin, Band Aids™, No Jet Lag and aloe vera gel -- you may want to ask your doc whether you need specific first aid kit supplies. What I carry:
1. Brave Soldier Antiseptic Ointment
I can live without Bandaids™ if I have Brave Soldier. I can live without aspirin if I have salt and water; I can use booze for a disinfectant and a wet towel for sunburn if I have to. In fact, if I could carry only one first aid kit supply when I travel, it would be Brave Soldier -- heals blisters, soothes burns. I don't want to try Brave Soldier and Neosporin in a goo-to-goo test; I'd trust the brave one with a hangnail or surgery scars. Tuck a tube in your backpack and fear no travel booboo.2. Aspirin
I would have moved mountains for an aspirin once -- I was camping back of beyond and was struck with a headache so bad my vision wavered. I made do with salt, water and caffeine, but I've never traveled without aspirin in my first aid kit since. I carry a small supply in a plastic name brand-labeled aspirin tube. Helps my fevers, aches and sunburns. Ask your doc if you can take aspirin; you may want to ask about aceteminophen and ibuprofen as pain relief options.3. Bandaids™
The word "bandaid" is a trademark and it refers to a brand of adhesive bandage strips. With that disclaimer out of the way, I'll disclose that I carry Bandaids™ over generic adhesive bandage strips in my travel first aid kit because I like the stick-em of Bandaid™ brand stuff, and I put Bandaids™ through the sticky-test mill -- I expect one to cover a blister and a layer of Brave Soldier for a full day of walking.4. No-Jet-Lag Tablets
Jet lag isn't really a first aid problem, but, like any health issue, it can play havoc with a traveler's schedule, especially if only a day or two is planned in a destination. "No Jet-Lag" homeopathic tablets, endorsed by National Geographic Traveler, help jettison jet lag symptoms like sleeplessness by working with circadian dysrhythmia. The stuff works. 35 tablets are good for about 50 hours flying time.
5. Aloe vera gel
Sunscreen's the best way to avoid sunburn, but it leaches into the water; some places, like the Xel ha underwater park in Mexico, prohibit that -- as they should. Once burned, aloe vera comes to my rescue every time. If I make local friends in a tropical land, I can cut aloe vera plants in their yards and smear the spears' sticky inner stuff over owies and burns; look for a high aloe concentration in a commercial gel.