a family packing the car for a vacation, including a red bag

Vacation First Aid Kit

By:

Taste for Life Staff

This content originally appeared on

Before you head off on a summer road trip, put together a first-aid kit. Think basic and then pack your first-aid supplies in a handy, portable case that will fit easily into your car or suitcase.

Dealing With Bugs

Avoid Toxic Repellents

Research highlights adverse effects of DEET, malathion, and permethrin (used alone or in combination), particularly among the young.

Look for safe, natural repellents using essential oils of cedarwood, citronella, eucalyptus, geranium, and pine.
Repel Ticks Naturally

To help prevent tick bites—and lower the risk of Lyme disease—wear protective clothing in tick-infested grassy or wooded areas.

Oils of citronella, cloves, and lily of the valley “possessed repelling activities of the same magnitude as the repellent DEET” against ticks, say researchers, but without DEET’s side effects.

Removing a Tick

Carefully remove any ticks you find with tweezers and disinfect bites with tea tree oil or other antiseptic.

Report any bull’s-eye rash to your healthcare provider immediately.

Travel-Related Ailments

Diarrhea, heat rash, motion sickness, poison ivy, sleeplessness, and sunburn are nuisances at any age—but can make kids (and anyone around them) downright miserable.

Soothing Foods

For carsickness, it’s best to drink a little ginger tea before you drive off—and to bring along a thermos of tea, organic fruit, nuts, and whole-grain crackers.
Soothing Tea

Chamomile tea is a time-honored natural solution for sleeplessness.
Soothing Topicals

After too much fun in the sun, aloe vera or calendula creams or gels can help soothe burns.