Your first aid travel kit should also include: sunscreen rated at least 30 SPF; small bottles of alcohol hand sanitizer; bandages; an antibiotic ointment; chewable antacid pills to cure heartburn; and anti-itch cream such as the OTC steroid hydrocortisone. It’s very common to have a headache or pain during vacations, whether from a sunburn, altitude sickness or any myriad reason. To help with this, you should bring along some child and adult versions of pain medicines, as you never know what your local pharmacy will have. Tylenol (paracetamol) and Motrin (ibuprofen) are the two most common OTC medicines, and both are very safe at the proper dose. I prefer ibuprofen due to its anti-inflammatory properties, although it can cause more stomach problems. Most children’s syrups come in sizes under 100 ml and thus are good for carry-on luggage.

Many travelers will visit high mountain areas such as Tibet. It can be a fantastic vacation — but many trips have been ruined by getting altitude sickness. Any elevation over 8,000 feet (2,500 meters) can cause this. The symptoms are similar to a hangover: a headache is the classic symptom, followed sometimes by tiredness, nausea and no appetite. Everyone is susceptible, including children, especially those under 2 years old. It’s estimated that 25% of travelers get this mountain illness. With this “mild” form of altitude sickness, a bad headache for a couple days usually isn’t a big deal, and Tylenol here and there will get most people through just fine. But there are more serious forms of altitude sickness, causing acute brain swelling or fluid in the lungs. It is these severe forms, which can be fatal within just a few hours, that worry doctors the most.