Bags booked, cases out, but the health kit is always the last-minute scramble. Sorted properly, it fits in a washbag and saves you from paying tourist prices for paracetamol on a Spanish seafront. Here’s the checklist our pharmacists use themselves.
The essentials (every trip)
- Sun protection, SPF 30–50 for adults, 50 for kids, plus aftersun. Irish skin burns fast abroad; see our suncare range and our SPF guide
- Pain relief, paracetamol and ibuprofen (adult and child versions if travelling with kids)
- Tummy kit, rehydration sachets, an anti-diarrhoeal for adults, and antacids
- Antihistamines, for bites, prickly heat and holiday hay fever
- First aid basics, plasters, blister plasters, antiseptic cream, tweezers
- Insect repellent, and bite-soothing cream for when you forget to use it
- Travel sickness tablets, take before the journey, not after it starts
Prescription medicines: the golden rules
- Bring more than you need, split between bags, in original boxes
- Keep them in hand luggage, holds get lost and get hot
- Order repeats at least a week before you fly, WhatsApp us your prescription and we’ll have it ready
- Travelling with injectables or controlled medicines? Ask us about documentation
Two weeks before you fly
Check if your destination needs vaccinations or malaria protection (allow time, some need weeks). Renew your EHIC card for EU travel, and screenshot your travel insurance details. Flying with young kids? Pack a digital thermometer and saline drops, cabin air is drying.
One stop, all sorted
Bring your packing list into us at 1 Dunamaise House, we’ll go through it in five minutes and make sure nothing’s missing for your destination. Safe travels!
This article is general information, not a substitute for personal medical advice. Talk to our pharmacists at Laois Pharmacy, 1 Dunamaise House, Portlaoise (057 86 61999) or message us on WhatsApp (085 840 7548), we are always happy to help.
