First Aid

With the lots of travel, I have heaps in my first aid 'kit'. It can be considered a minor pharmacy by now. Here are some of the items that I have, but first, a word of caution.

I am no medical expert and this information is only good for first aid. It is no substitute for proper and professional medical advice / care. It is useful for temporary pain relieve but seek medical help as soon as possible. Listed drugs are based on advice given to me, but you should talk to your medical practitioner on what drugs are suitable for you. All drugs have side effects and may be unsuitable for certain individuals.

What's in my first aid kit:

• Panadol, soluble
• Panadol for period pain (H use to take it)
• Condoms
• Carbon pills (do not find them useful)
• Buscopan ('pain killers' for stomach)
• Duspatalin (lets stomach and digestive system to relax)
• Imodium (to stop diarhea)
• Gascol / Disflatyl ( to get rid of gas from digestive system )
• Alcohol Swabs (good to clean public toilets before using them)
• Super glue (who knows - usually for my shoe)
• Digital Thermometer
• Maxalon (to stop vomiting)
• Clarinase, Clarityne, Sudafed, Actifed (cold medication - warning, some of them cause drowsiness).
• Band aid
• Solimat (cough mixture)
• Broad spectrum antibiotics (in extreme emergency)

The worst case of illness I had, when travelling was:

Food poisoning in Boston. It happened about 18 hours before I boarded my flight back to KL. I spent most of the time in the toilets of Boston Airport. Imodium did not appear to help much. Thankfully, it stopped when I boarded the plane. Did not want to imagine spending 7 hours trans Atlantic in a small toilet. What would happen should there be turbulence? Not funny.

I also got food poisoning in Bangkok, Thailand (which stupidly, I took raw oysters) and Singapore. Yup, supposedly clean Singapore, after lunch at a food court, knocked me out of action for two days. Getting food poisoning in Bangkok was serious too. I was running out of medication, and all the food was spicy. Suffered for about three days. I am careful with my food when I travel, but as they say, shit happens (no pun intended).

In India, strangely, I never had food poisoning. I am very grateful for this. The worst in India was cold. I picked it up just before leaving for Mumbai. My nose was running for the whole day. Imagine blowing your nose ( constantly leaving for the wash room ) while doing a due diligence on another company. Ended up taking a day off in the hotel. Recovered much later when I was back in KL.

Many times, I have used my first aid kit to 'rescue' fellow colleagues. They would be happy to have some medication and sometimes, almost immediate relief. As I would always tell them, I have everything except birth control pills. Actually, that's no longer true. Lately, I have been carrying Prostinor around. You know why...