Travel Health Kit Guide — for Short-Term Travel
Australia-available medicines • SE Asia & Indo-Pacific deployments
Prepared by Dr Dimitri Andropov — Territory Medical Group
This document is only valid online and not up-to-date if printed.
General safety & health notes
- Look both ways before you cross the road or path!!
Traffic may come from unexpected directions. - Do not hire scooters or motorbikes abroad — high injury risk.
- Don’t get drunk or use drugs!
- Wash hands using soap, avoid touching face and use hand sanitiser often.
Peel fruit, eat cooked food only. Drink bottled or boiled water. - Avoid mosquito bites (repellent, nets, coils). Spray room with insecticide before sleep.
- Avoid methanol poisoning: only drink sealed, commercial alcohol. Never consume locally distilled spirits of unknown origin.
- Check your travel insurance is valid and covers medical care before departure.
- This kit is for short trips (up to 4 weeks) and for travellers who are well before departure.
- Use medicines exactly as labelled. If you get very unwell, seek local medical help.
- After travel, book a check-up in Australia if you used any prescription medicine in this kit or still have symptoms.
- This kit is for minor problems only. Escalate early if severe, persistent, or atypical symptoms.
- Store medicines in a cool, dry place. Check expiry dates once a year.
- Carry a list of your medicines, allergies, and emergency contacts.
⚠️ When to get urgent help
- Severe chest pain or trouble breathing
- Sudden swelling of lips, tongue or throat
- Collapse, confusion, seizures
- High fever that does not settle
- Bloody diarrhoea or severe abdominal pain
- For official travel advisories see Smartraveller (Australian Government)
🥵 Hydration & heat
- Use oral rehydration salts after heavy sweating or diarrhoea.
- Target clear to pale urine. Avoid prolonged work in peak midday heat.
- Use electrolyte sachets in high humidity as directed.
Traveller’s diarrhoea
💧 Hydration First
Frequent sips of oral rehydration solution (ORS sachet in 500–1000 ml clean water), flat lemonade, or clean water — keep sipping even if nauseous.
🌾 BRAT — Eat
Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, or Toast
🍟 FASSH — Avoid
Fatty or Fried foods, Alcohol, Spicy foods, Fruit juices, High-fibre or raw foods
- Avoid taking antibiotics and Loperamide unless severe — as it is best to stay near a toilet and let nature run its course.
- Loperamide 2 mg: 1 tablet after first loose stool, then 1 after each further stool (maximum 8 per day).
- Hyoscine butylbromide (Buscopan) 20 mg tablets: 20 mg up to 4 times per day for gut cramps.
- Zinc 20 mg once daily for 10–14 days may shorten diarrhoea.
💥 Gastro Bomb (use only for severe diarrhoea)
- Azithromycin 500 mg tablets: take two tablets together once (1 g total).
- With Loperamide 2 mg at the same time: 1 tablet after first loose stool, then 1 after each further stool (maximum 8 per day).
- Do not use if fever or blood in stool.
- If not better in 24 hours, or symptoms worsen, seek medical care.
- Interactions: caution with warfarin (monitor INR), QT-prolonging drugs (e.g., amiodarone, sotalol), digoxin; consider pausing statins while taking azithromycin. Avoid if significant arrhythmia or prolonged QT.
😷 Respiratory & ENT
- Paracetamol 500 mg tablets: 1–2 tablets every 4–6 hours as needed (maximum 4,000 mg per 24 hours).
- Ibuprofen 200–400 mg tablets: every 6–8 hours with food (maximum 1,200 mg per 24 hours).
- Oxymetazoline nasal spray 0.05%: 1 spray per nostril twice daily, maximum 3 days.
- Betadine throat gargle (povidone-iodine 1%): gargle 10 mL diluted as per label for 30 seconds, spit out, up to 4 times per day.
- Throat antiseptic lozenges (povidone-iodine, benzalkonium, or cetylpyridinium): dissolve 1 lozenge every 2–3 hours as needed.
- Roxithromycin 300 mg tablets: 300 mg once daily for 5–7 days if fever and worsening cough with coloured sputum when medical care is not accessible.
✏️ Skin & wound care
- Clean cuts with Povidone-iodine 10% (Betadine) as labelled.
- Clotrimazole 1% cream: apply thin layer twice daily for 2–4 weeks for fungal rash.
- Mupirocin 2% ointment (Bactroban): apply thin layer to localised skin infection/impetigo three times daily for up to 10 days.
- Hydrocortisone 1% cream: apply thin layer 1–2 times daily for up to 7 days for non-infected itchy bites or mild dermatitis.
- Cephalexin 500 mg capsules: 500 mg every 6 hours for 5–7 days for spreading cellulitis or wound infection.
👁️ Eye care
- Lubricating eye drops (preservative-free): 1–2 drops per eye as needed for dryness from flights or air-conditioning.
- Red, painful, or light-sensitive eye requires medical assessment.
🧰 First aid basics
- Adhesive dressings and blister plasters.
- Elastic bandage for sprains.
- Small scissors and tweezers (check airline rules regarding carriage).
🚉 Travel sickness
- Promethazine 25 mg: take the night before and/or 1–2 hours before travel; causes drowsiness.
- Adjuncts: horizon fixation, fresh air, avoid reading.
💧 Water sanitisation (emergency)
- Povidone-iodine 10%: add 4–5 drops per litre of clear water (8–10 drops if cloudy). Wait 30 minutes before drinking.
☀️ Sun exposure
- Sunscreen SPF 50+: apply 30 minutes before 30% DEET; reapply every 2–3 hours and after swimming or heavy sweating.
- After-sun gel (aloe vera): apply to mild sunburn as needed.
🦟 Malaria prevention (if instructed)
- Malarone (atovaquone–proguanil 250/100 mg): 1 tablet daily. Start 1–2 days before entering malaria area, take daily during stay, continue for 7 days after leaving.
- Doxycycline 100 mg capsules: 100 mg once daily with food and water. Start 1–2 days before, continue during stay, and for 28 days after leaving. Avoid lying down for 30 minutes after dose; use sun protection.
- Tafenoquine 200 mg tablets: loading 200 mg once daily for 3 days before entering a malaria area, then 200 mg once weekly during stay (up to 6 months). Requires G6PD testing before use.
- Avoid mosquitoes.
- Take malaria tablets as directed.
- Treat fevers immediately.
🧾 Other useful items
- Naproxen 250–500 mg tablets: 250–500 mg twice daily with food (maximum 1,000 mg per 24 hours) — for muscle aches, joint pain, menstrual pain, or inflammation.
- Diclofenac topical gel 1–3%: apply thin layer to affected area 3–4 times daily — for localised sprains, muscle strains, or arthritis pain.
- Esomeprazole 20 mg tablets: 20 mg once daily for acid reflux or when using anti-inflammatories. Note: acid-suppressing medicines can reduce stomach acid and may increase the chance of traveller’s diarrhoea; use only if clearly needed.
- Valaciclovir 500 mg tablets: 2,000 mg twice in one day at first sign of cold sores.
- Temazepam 10–20 mg capsules: at bedtime for short-term sleep if essential, maximum 3–5 nights. Never with alcohol.
- Cetirizine 10 mg tablets (Zyrtec®): 10 mg once daily for allergy symptoms.
- Sunscreen SPF 50+: apply generously 30 minutes before applying 30% DEET repellent; reapply sunscreen every 2–3 hours and after swimming or heavy sweating.
