Preparing for a vacation – what is included in the travel pharmacy?

Romana Rakovec from the Chamber of Pharmacists warned at the press conference that pharmacies do not have holiday or travel pharmacies prepared as a pre-assembled package. “Pharmacy pharmacists must ensure the correct, safe and, above all, rational use of medicines, which is why we do not advise buying things in general, but only what is really necessary,” she emphasized. When choosing a travel pharmacy, the age and state of health of the traveler, the method of travel, the duration and location of the trip, the development of the medical service and the availability of medical personnel in this environment must be taken into account. “If you are on vacation in the immediate vicinity, in the southern regions or our neighboring countries, I think that there is no need to to deal too much, because the health service in these places is fairly developed,” Rakovec said.

When going on any kind of trip, we should still think of some basic medicines and first aid supplies such as sterile gauze, bandages, safety clips, waterproof plasters, scissors, tick tweezers, disinfectant and wound salve. The pharmacist also drew attention to sun protection products, where she advises especially sun creams with high and controlled protection factors, as well as skin care products after sunbathing. “This applies both if we go to the sea and if we go to the hills. The most effective protection is mechanical – not to expose ourselves to the sun more than necessary, but if we are in the sun, the most effective protection is with clothing,” she emphasized.

Every travel pharmacy also includes products to prevent or treat minor health problems, such as insect repellents, post-sting products, travel sickness products, diarrhea relievers, and electrolyte replacement products. salt, it is recommended to have some remedy for constipation. Rakovec also added anti-allergy medicines and to alleviate problems with allergies, to reduce elevated body temperature, to eliminate mild pains, headaches, toothaches and medicines to relieve stomach problems.

Medicines belong in hand luggage, care must be taken when shopping abroad

As she pointed out, the stability of medicines is controlled up to a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, so it is necessary to take care of their adequate protection, especially during transport. Just like high temperatures, very low temperatures are also problematic for medicines. “We have to keep this in mind especially when we travel by plane, which is why medicines always belong in hand luggage and are with us in the passenger compartment,” she said. In addition, she emphasized that medicines must always be packed in their original packaging, together with the attached instructions for use, and the expiration date must also be checked before the trip.

At the same time, she called for caution when buying medicines abroad. “If you buy a medicine in a pharmacy, it is certain that it is not counterfeit and that it is safe, of high quality and effective. This applies to the EU. It is not exactly 100% true for other parts of the world. There are areas of the world where counterfeit medicines appear, often it is in Asian and African countries. You have to be especially careful there.” she emphasized.

With fake medicines, there is a risk that it will not work, and very often there are also risks that the active ingredients are wrong or that even active ingredients that are harmful to health are added, or that the medicine was stored and produced in circumstances where they ran certain chemical reactions that have changed the active substances and can be dangerous to health. “In our country, we have to pay attention to this when buying medicines online. Even here, online sales are not safe from this,” added the pharmacist.

Chronic patients should take a spare supply of medication with them

Doctor Nena Kopčavar Guček warned at the press conference that chronic patients are the most vulnerable among adults during the summer. “The first rule is that we take enough of all the medicines we take with us. For a few more days than you expect – it often happens that something is postponed, that we miss something, that the ferry is too full, that the flight is delayed – let’s take some spare,” she urged chronic patients who are going on a trip. At the same time, she advised everyone who suffers from chronic diseases to take the latest results and various cards on the trip, and to keep medicines in their hand luggage at all times during the trip.

Paracetomol, which is freely available without a prescription, has been included in the “iron repertoire” of every travel pharmacy. With it, we can alleviate problems, for example, with mild toothaches or headaches, and thus we do not need “to upset the surroundings and oneself for absolutely every little thing and to look for help at a time when we can offer it ourselves, at least temporarily”.

During the summer months, attention must also be paid to a sufficient amount of water. As Kopčavar Guček said, dehydration threatens children and the elderly the most. At the same time, she warned that we should avoid work and sports activities during the hottest parts of the day, and we should also take care of an adequate amount of water when traveling by car. She also warned against excessive exposure to the sun. As she said, for the activation of vitamin D, 20 minutes of exposure to the sun’s rays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. is enough, and it is enough to expose the face and hands to them. During this time, doctors advise avoiding the sun and using a cream with a sufficiently high protection factor, which must be applied to the body every two to three hours.

Health insurance and clinic for travelers

At the same time, she emphasized that “the most important medicine” also health insurance. “This applies to everyone, and adults are also responsible for our children. I recommend arranging international health insurance, which is actually free for the European area. You can order an international card online or in person from the insurance company where you are insured. Those who who are going on some adventures to other continents, I recommend that they take out health insurance for the area you are traveling to and also for all the countries you are traveling through.If you are flying through Germany to South Africa, something can happen to you at the airport in Frankfurt ,” she warned.

For those who are going to more distant places, there is an infirmary for travelers at NIJZ. “You can book a consultation there, but you must bring with you a list of the countries you will be going to, dates and information on which places within the country you will be staying. Some diseases, especially infectious ones, fluctuate depending on the monsoon period in individual countries, so it is it is very important to know where and when you will be staying, so that doctors can advise you on appropriate protection with drugs or even vaccinations,Kopčavar Guček explained.

Motion sickness and ear infections are common among children

The problems that children most often face when traveling were presented by a pediatrician Denis Exactly. “Quite a lot of children, especially between the ages of 6 and 12, have problems when traveling with various means of transport, which manifests itself in the form of nausea,” he said. He advised us to make sure that the child rests on the way. “If we are going on a short trip and the child is prone to nausea, it may make sense to skip a meal before the trip, but if the trip is longer, prepare a lighter meal for him,” he added.

“Looking in the direction of travel also helps, it is not recommended for children to be on screens or reading while driving. We prefer to distract the child with singing, games, listening to music,” advises Bas. If we know that children are prone to motion sickness, we can get preparations containing ginger in pharmacies, which even younger children can consume. “It is important that they do this about an hour before the trip and that they are not consumed after, for example, vomiting has already occurred,” emphasizes the pediatrician. “You can also buy antihistamine tablets without a prescription at the pharmacy, which are officially registered for everyone over the age of 6. For children under the age of 6, we consult with a pediatrician about the use of these preparations before the trip,” he added.

Inflammation of the external auditory canal is also very common in children during the summer months. “Ear oil is a natural protection of the ear canal against inflammation, we do not recommend cleaning it with cotton buds. For someone who may be prone to this oil accumulating a lot and forming plugs, we recommend using ear oil. In case, if you plugs occur frequently, we recommend a visit to the doctor so that the ear can be flushed if possible.” said Bash. He advises all those who are prone to having their ear canals inflamed in water, especially in the pool, to buy protective drops containing alcohol and vinegar at the pharmacy.

What to do if we get burned by an arsonist or step on a sea urchin?

At the same time, Baš also warned about fireflies, sea urchins and ticks. “Fortunately, there are no life-threatening sea urchins in the Adriatic Sea. There is local pain, burning or swelling. We advise that the place be washed with sea water, so that the sea urchins can be safely removed with what we have at hand. The place then we also apply some kind of cooling ointment, we put a compress on it. If the child is in a lot of pain, we can also give him painkillers or an antihistamine.” advises.

If you step on a hedgehog, carefully remove the spines with tweezers. “If the needles don’t come out all the way, and even after a day or two they don’t come out on their own, we recommend visiting a doctor. In principle, we recommend that all wounds be washed with clean water, that they be covered if we have a sterile bandage with us, and that then it is observed,” said Bash.

The tick is also best removed with tweezers. “We get as close as possible to the skin where the tick is sucked and pull it out. The use of oils, ointments or rotating the tick is not recommended, because in doing so the salivary glands, through which the borreliosis infection is transmitted, are further released,” he warned. .

The place where the tick was sucked in can be observed for some time after removal. “It is normal for there to be redness at the site of the tick after the bite, which disappears after a few days. While a ring that begins to appear at the site of the bite after a week or two is a suspicion of Borrelia infection. In this case, a visit to the doctor is necessary. Right for example, in children with Borrelia infection, sometimes only the nipple or earlobe swells – even in these cases, it is necessary to visit a doctor.” said the pediatrician.