Adventure Medicine

 

Before any remote or overseas trip, ask a few simple questions. 

 

Where am I going? What am I doing? How quickly could I access medical help? What health problems could realistically affect me? 

 

If you have an existing medical condition, that preparation becomes even more important. TravelHealthPro recommends discussing pre-existing conditions and regular medication with a healthcare professional before travelling. 

 

That might be as simple as making sure your normal medication is optimised and you have enough for the journey. Depending on the individual, destination and clinical assessment, a doctor may also consider whether additional medication is appropriate and provide clear instructions about when and how it should be used. 

 

The important point is that this is individual medical advice, not something that should simply be added to a generic expedition first aid kit. 

 

 

There isn't one perfect adventure medical kit. 

 

A weekend walking in Snowdonia is very different from motorcycling across Morocco or trekking somewhere several days from reliable healthcare. 

 

Your kit should reflect you, the activity, the environment and the time to help. 

 

TravelHealthPro recommends a first aid kit tailored to the individual, destination and travel plans. Typical contents might include dressings, plasters, tape, pain relief, oral rehydration treatment, antiseptic and other items appropriate to the journey. 

 

For overseas travel, your personal medication may be just as important as the traditional first aid kit. 

 

Medicines should normally be kept in their original pharmacy packaging, with appropriate prescriptions or supporting documentation. You should also check the rules of the countries you are entering and travelling through, because some medicines that are routinely prescribed or available in the UK are restricted elsewhere. 

 

 

Imagine you have an existing condition that occasionally flares up. 

 

Before travelling, you've discussed it with a GP. Your condition and travel plans have been assessed and, where clinically appropriate, medication has been prescribed for you with instructions for its use. 

 

Several weeks into your journey, your symptoms return. 

 

Rather than guessing, borrowing somebody else's medication or immediately trying to find an unfamiliar local healthcare provider, you may be able to arrange a video consultation with a doctor. They can assess the situation and advise whether the medication previously prescribed for you should be used, or whether you need local medical assessment instead. 

 

That doesn't replace emergency services or appropriate local healthcare. 

 

It simply adds another layer to your preparation. 

 

As a leader, have your clients managed their own health? Have they enough mediciation, do they and you know what to do? Who to contact? Is there a plan? 

 

 

Good adventure medicine isn't about carrying a miniature hospital in your rucksack. 

 

It's about building sensible layers: 

 

 

The further you travel from immediate assistance, the more important those layers become. 

 

Because being adventure ready isn't about expecting things to go wrong. 

 

It's about being prepared if they do. 

 

 

 

TravelHealthPro (NaTHNaC) – Medicines and travel: guidance on preparing medication, documentation and travelling with medicines. 

 

TravelHealthPro – First aid kits: guidance on tailoring a travel medical kit to the traveller, destination and planned activities. 

 

TravelHealthPro – General travel advice: destination health risks, vaccinations, medical conditions, insurance and preparation. 

 

NHS – Travel vaccinations: NHS advice recommends seeking travel-health advice around four to six weeks before travel where possible. 

 

GOV.UK – Taking medicine in or out of the UK: information on controlled medicines, documentation and checking destination-country requirements.