This is a Hipmunk guest post from Jodi Ettenberg. 

Part of being a savvy traveler is knowing what to pack. I recently wrote about some useful and fun USB travel gadgets, but I wanted to go back to the basics: a first aid kit.

(photo credit: mwichary)

I rarely leave home without mine, and it’s been the subject of some gentle (and not so gentle) mocking. But the travelers who split their calf open on a rusty nail in the middle of a Dominican Republic national park (true story) or fell down the stairs and got bitten by a blood-sucking cockroach in the Philippines (also a true story) didn’t laugh: they were just happy I had something to help make it better.

Many of these can be purchased and/or replaced from the road, but if starting out in a more remote destination, it’s a good thing to have a more thorough kit from the get-go.

For general travel:

• Neosporin or a similar triple antibiotic cream 
• Anti-itch cream
• Benedryl or other anti-histamine
• Small sutures/stitches 
• Burn gel
• Diclofenac (anti-inflammatory cream sold over the counter)
• Gauze
• Sewing kit 
• Safety pins (large size)
• Matches
• Duct tape
• Ibuprofen
• Band-aids
• Moleskin for blisters
• Diflucan (for the ladies)
• Anti-mozzie spray
• Alcohol wipes
• Tweezers
• Leatherman Micra (mini and awesome multitool)

For travel to developing countries, I add the following:

• Ciprofloxacin (if you get food poisoning/stomach infections, you will want some of this), though self-medicate at your own risk. I’ve done so in the past, but only when I’m nowhere near a clinic  or doctor and really ill.
• Metronidazole (for giardia or amoebic dysentery; I’ve picked these up for reasonable prices in Thailand or other parts of Southeast Asia)
• Immodium, but only to take if absolutely necessary since trapping whatever bacteria you’ve got in your intestine is a bad idea. I only use it if I’m about to board a bus for 8 hours and know that I’m not going to make it without copious bathroom breaks. 
• Anti-malarials if you are heading to a malarial region.
• Oral rehydration salts

What’s in your first aid kit?