Travel Medic First Aid Kit

January 24, 2018

I love companies that do one thing and do it right. Adventure Medical Kits makes first aid and survival kits for every need. The quality of components are top rate and their prices are affordable. I’ve been carrying and using their Travel Medic first aid kit for years.

In this review, I’ll talk about what’s inside, what I add (for more serious injuries), and the other crucial kit that I carry.

What’s Included

Adventure Medical Kits Travel Medic first aid kit-1 — Two compartments of essentials.

Adventure Medical Kits Travel Medic first aid kit-2 — Kit contains basic first aid items and a versatile selection of medications.

Adventure Medical Kits Travel Medic first aid kit-6 — Kit Contents. NOTE: You get a 50% discount on refills.

This kit addresses a traveler’s needs

There are items for basic cuts, scrapes, and hygiene – band-aids, butterfly sutures, antiseptic towelettes, and antibiotic ointment. There is also a large sheet of adhesive moleskin for blister control and a packet of burn cream.

An intelligent selection of medications:

Diotame and Loperamide HCl (Pepto-Bismol) are for traveler’s diarrhea.

I can vouch for Diotame! The first day I arrived in Cambodia, I got such bad gas that my stomach was distended like an African child. I fantasized about sticking a needle in my gut to pop my stomach balloon to get relief. After suffering for hours, I finally thought to check my kit.

Sure enough, there was something for me. I took the Diotame and got relief in an hour. By the next day, I was good as new.

Diphenhydramine is for allergies.

I don’t have much trouble with typical allergies, but once an ant bit me in Thailand that caused by entire foot to swell up (so much I couldn’t event fit a sandal on!). I figured it was worth a shot to try the Diphenhydramine since I was having some sort of allergic reaction. Sure enough, it calmed the inflammation.

Then there are the basics: Acetaminophen for headaches, Ibuprophen for inflammation, and Antacids.

What I Add (For Bigger Problems)

A small travel kit lacks items for serious injuries. I beef up the kit’s capabilities with two small, multi-use items.

Adventure Medical Kits Travel Medic first aid kit-4 — Super-glue and Gorilla Tape. Get ‘er Done!

Super Glue

Superglue is actually used in hospitals and dental offices (albeit “medical grade” and 100x the cost). It bonds skin together faster and better than any other known substance on earth.

That is exactly why I have it – emergency wound closure. If you get seriously cut, super glue can put you back together enough to buy time to get to a hospital. (Important Note: Just use spots of glue to tack a cut together, spaced apart like stitches. Don’t glue the entire length of the cut because this will trap infection and will be a nightmare when the hospital has to reopen the wound.)

You can also use it to fix your travel gear when it breaks.

[Update: During my solo motorcycle trip around Cambodia, I used the glue in my first aid kit to repair a hole in my carburetor’s diaphragm. This was crucial for my trip success. Spare parts were completely unavailable.]

Gorilla Tape

This is simply improved duct tape – better adhesive, waterproof, easy to tear, stronger. It is the most versatile piece of travel gear I carry. (Soon I will post a mega-review with dozens of examples when this piece of gear has saved my ass.)

Tape allows you to turn a t-shirt or paper towel into a large bandage to cover bigger wounds. It can also be used to improvise a splint for a broken or sprained limb. The tape is so good, I imagine you could patch a bullet hole with it, to be honest.

Gorilla tape stays sticky even when wet – or bloody.