From: geek@media.mit.edu (Chris Schmandt)
Subject: Re: Trip to island - additions to list
Organization: MIT Media Laboratory
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 03:08:40 GMT

In addition to the stuff that Vicki added (hi Vicki!) here's odds'n'ends
in our travel kit.  This is somewhat more oriented to serious outdoor
activity, so may not apply to you. 

standard first aid / survival kit.
extra bandaids (always useful)
antibiotic cream (esp. useful in places like rain forests where 
   bacteria aboud)
iodine water purifying tabs (will you trust the water where you're
   going?  In the US back country, the problem is Giardia).
anti-itch stuff (benedryl cream)
generic rash cream (hydrocortisone 1/2%)
decongestant (sudafed for adults, triaminic syrup for child) -- you
  don't want a kid to fly with serious nasal congestion, I promise!
car seat belt locking clip (if you rent a car and carry a car seat
   of most any ilk).
eye antibiotic.  for conjunctivitis ("pink eye").  Need a prescription,
   discuss symptoms with your health care providerr.  Conjunctivitis is
   is pretty obvious once you know it, and responds very quickly.  It is
   very unpleasant if untreated.
sterile eye cleaning solution.  Available in 4 oz plastic bottles with
    contact lens supplies.  The best thing for an eye wash.  I also carry
    eye bandages when I remember -- after I severely scratched my own
    cornea on a hike, not an experience I care to repeat.  The main danger
    in such eye injuries is infection; you want to wash out, put in 
    opthalmic antibiotic if available, and close your eye with a patch.
analgesic burn cream.  Also good for sunburns.  No medical value but can
    can add comfort.
also EXTRA hats (sun or cold, depending on destination) and gloves if
    appropriate.

We also carry tweezers or small pliers for removing cactus parts (guess
where we hike).

One of the childos measuring medicine spoons is useful.  An eye-dropper
  style oral dispenser might be more appropriate for an infant.

I carry a spare bulb for the night light.  In a pinch, a flashlight works.
For camping we like those chemical "light sticks" for night time 
entertainment and a gentle source of light in the sleeping bag.

We spend a lot of time the desert southwest, and carry the "extractor"
which is a pump-action style snakebite kit.  Seems to be the only thing
really worth carrying for snakebite.  One kit per adult, keep it on you
at all times (don't laugh -- we discovered that the Snake Range in NV
is aptly named, and they all had rattles).  My 6 year old is very proud
that she's now old enough to have her own.  They are supposed to be
good for insect stings too.  Practice before you use it if you carry
one!

I worry some about the catastrophic allergic reactions to insect bites.
I think there is some simple one-shot injection thing you can get, but I've
never carried one.  If anyone knows about it, please let me know.


A word on this list.  It probably sounds like I'm a hypochondriac!  I hope
I'm not!  But I am used to on a regular basis taking my child into 
situations where medical help might be 24 hours away, or even where a
a base camp might be a good half a day from a drug store.  We have been
doing this since Kaya was 3 months and are happy about it.  Never had a
major medical emergency, haven't used half this junk, but feel much more
self-assure for carrying it.

chris