Recommended medicines to carry while traveling in/around

[clinton114]

Last February while visiting in Isaan, I got sick (diarrhea confined me to my hotel room) after eating food with my wife's family. At the end of the first day of sitting on the toilet, my wife went to a pharmacy and came back with charcoal tablets & something else. I swear, within 30 minutes I was cured. I don't know if it was the charcoal tablets or the other pills (which I don't know what they were), but I was able to resume the travels. Since living here in Hua Hin (past three months) I have not been sick once, probably because I cook a lot at home myself, and avoid really questionable food sources/dodgy-looking restaurants.

I want to ask if anybody has recommendations for medicines to keep handy in a travel pack for the eventuality that I will get sick again? I want to travel in the area (Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Singapore) and don't relish the thought of trying to find medicine after it's too late. What pills do you think are essentials for a travel pack? Thanks

[hhfarang]

I travel (around Thailand) with both medicine to stop diarrhea and medicine for constipation which happens to me a lot when I break my morning routine usually during travel. I also carry a muscle relaxer, both for a questionable back and to help sleep in extreme conditions experienced during travel in third world countries plus Ibuprofen as at my age it is rare to get out of bed without pain somewhere, and then of course an ample supply of my "prescribed" meds. Other than the muscle relaxer and my prescribed meds, all of these could be found locally in most of Thailand and probably Singapore (Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar may be a different story), but I carry them anyway for convenience. On extended trips I also carry OTC cold remedies and sore throat/stuffy nose medicines that I mostly have people bring from the U.S.

I've traveled enough to know what problems I may or usually do have so it's kind of a personal decision based on your travel history. A good mosquito repellant should also be on hand when traveling anywhere in S.E. Asia.

[lomuamart]

It all depends on where you intend traveling to. So, for instance, there are certain areas of Thailand where malaria is present so some protection might be advisable. I think the worst areas are on the borders with Burma and Cambodia but you'd be best advised locally. And in any case, you'd need to be pretty much off the beaten track to encounter it. Certain malarial drugs can have unpleasant side effects so you need to weigh up the risk.
A good antiseptic is advisable. It's really easy to get cuts and scrapes over here and they can take an age to heal. Especially on and around the feet as the dust and grime is ever present. Also the water you bathe in isn't always exactly clean. Take care of abrasions.
Other than the above, I reckon that Thailand is pretty safe. Friends who came over had bought some aerosol "extra skin", or something like that. It basically sealed wounds antiseptically. They got it from Boots chemist in the UK. There must be equivalent in other countries?
Also, the chemists here in Thailand are pretty good and can supply medicines OTC at a fraction of the cost of the western world.

[playboy]

I now rely more on hot tea (Lipton tea or chineses black) when I have spicies food or feel having stomach upset or diahrea. It seems working for me. I used to use charcoal pills also and will use it if it available in the area.