Recommendations for your first-aid kit
If minor health problems occur on holiday, you can usually treat them yourself with a well-assembled first-aid kit. Depending on the destination, climate and individual needs of the traveller, the contents of the first-aid kit should be adapted. The Austrian Chamber of Pharmacists recommends obtaining all medicines in Austria, as buying them abroad can be associated with risks such as counterfeit medicines or a lack of quality assurance.
The exact composition should ideally be agreed with your doctor around four weeks before travelling - especially in the case of existing illnesses, long-term medication or special travel vaccinations. This way, you are optimally prepared for health challenges on holiday.
Tips for putting together a first-aid kit
The Austrian Chamber of Pharmacists recommends sunscreen with a high sun protection factor, after-sun products, clinical thermometers, painkillers and antipyretics, medication for coughs, colds, mouth and throat infections, travel sickness, diarrhoea, constipation or heartburn as well as anti-allergics and eye drops for the first-aid kit. For children, additional antipyretic juices or suppositories, electrolytes and child-appropriate insect and sun protection. Wound care should include disinfectant, wound ointment, cooling compresses, bandages, blister plasters, scissors, tweezers and disposable gloves. Repellents and antipruritic agents help against insect bites; in tropical countries, malaria prophylaxis may also be necessary. Vaccinations and long-term medication should be checked about four weeks before departure and the first-aid kit should be adapted to the holiday destination - ideally in consultation with a doctor.
