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It’s family road-trip season — your first-aid essentials are here
4 minute read
If you’re hitting the road, pack a toolkit of handy health remedies. Our checklist will prepare you for little emergencies such as car sickness, bug bites, scrapes and more.
Your family’s holiday weekend getaway is coming up. You’ve mapped the route, planned the sights you’ll see and made an awesome road tunes playlist. But before you leave, make sure you pack a car first-aid kit with pain relievers, bandages, over-the-counter (OTC) medications and more.
“It’s easy to collect these things at home, but it can be much harder on the road, especially with today’s supply chain issues,” says Arielle Levitan, MD. She’s a board-certified internal medicine doctor and co-founder of Vous Vitamin. “I’m also a little superstitious, and I think that if you prepare for mishaps, they’re less likely to happen.”
On-the-go health woes
All kinds of little health issues — for kids and adults — can crop up while you’re on the road, including:
- Headaches
- Car sickness
- Colds
- Bee stings
- Minor injuries
- Allergies
We’ve pulled together a handy checklist of things you need to keep everyone healthy and happy.
What to have in your car health kit
To be prepared for all these health issues and more, make sure you’ve got the following 6 categories covered.
Pain relievers. Road tripping can be fun, but at some point, somebody’s head will hurt from being in the car too long. If that happens, make sure you have common OTC pain medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol®) and ibuprofen (Advil®, Motrin®). Dr. Levitan’s pro tip? Get the liquid forms for kids.
First-aid supplies. You’ve just parked at the rest stop for a quick bathroom break. Then your child trips and gets a nasty scrape on the knee. Or maybe you’re enjoying a picnic lunch at the rest stop when somebody gets stung by a bee. This is when you’ll need essentials such as:
- Adhesive bandages (such as Band-Aids®)
- Topical antibiotic cream
- Bee sting and insect remedies
- Antihistamines such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl®)
- Anti-diarrheal medications such as Imodium® or Pepto-Bismol™
Common cold remedies. Colds can strike at any time of year. If somebody has gotten the sniffles while you’re driving, having supplies on hand can make it easier to cope with symptoms, says Dr. Levitan. That includes:
- Nasal sprays
- Decongestants
- Expectorants (such as Robitussin®)
COVID-19 supplies. Guidelines on protecting your family from COVID-19 continue to change. But experts say the virus will always be with us, so you need to be prepared if someone gets infected. Pack:
- COVID home tests
- Extra masks
- Hand sanitizer
- Your family’s COVID vaccination cards in case you need to show them
Find all your COVID-19 needs and OTC supplies at the Optum Store and get them delivered right to your door.
Healthy snacks and water. You never know when you’ll hit a traffic jam or a bigger disaster that could leave you stranded in the car for hours. Or maybe you have to drive farther than you thought for a meal break, and everybody in the car is crabby and hungry. Healthy snacks and drinks will save you. Erin Clifford, JD, a Chicago-based holistic health coach, recommends that you stash some:
- Nuts or trail mix
- Nut butter packets
- Dried fruit
- Protein bars
- Bottles of water
Bland food (such as crackers) is also helpful if anybody in your family is prone to motion sickness.
Odds and ends. Freezer bags can also be good things to stash in the car in case anybody does get sick, says Keri Baugh, a New England-based travel writer. She runs the family travel blog Bon Voyage With Kids. What else is on Baugh’s list that didn’t make the above categories?
- Paper towels
- Trash bags
- Disinfectant wipes
- Spare prescription glasses and contact lenses
- Extra blankets, gloves and hats (in the cold weather months) so that you’re ready if your car breaks down or you get stuck in a snowstorm
How to store your health toolkit
You can stow your supplies in whatever container works for you and fits nicely in your car. Some ideas include:
- Small plastic box with a snap-on top
- Canvas tote
- Spare cosmetics bag
- Zip-top bag
Make sure you can find your kit when you need it. Tuck it away under the back seat or slip it in the trunk on top of your other bags. If you’ve got a small enough bag, you can even store it in the glove box.
Consider keeping your health toolkit in your car all year long. Whether you’re driving in another state or just doing errands around town, it’s always smart to be ready for emergencies.