I mentioned a while ago that I would list the contents of the medical kit, since they’re not the same things that were in my kit in Morocco – it makes sense that each country would tailor its kit to the most common ailments there. I’m slowly perusing the medical handbook too – there are lots of tropical things to watch out for!
I used several things in the medical kit in Morocco (dental floss, ibuprofen/aspirin, disposable thermometers, Benadryl, anti-itch cream, and the like) but my goal here was to open the kit to describe its contents and then not use it at all. So much for that – on Sunday night on the way home from the bus, I stepped on some reinforcing steel sticking up from the sidewalk. It was bleeding, which I took as a good sign, and I cleaned the wound thoroughly. Then I had a debate – call the PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Officer) over what was likely nothing and risk being branded a hypochondriac, or be sorry rather than safe? I called – wound not deep enough to require a tetanus shot, and I had had one recently enough anyway, but I was advised to use the cleanser in the medical kit and then triple-antibiotic for a few days (and to keep the wound clean, which was not possible, but I tried).
So, without further ado, the contents of the medical kit – if it’s something that wasn’t in the Morocco kit, I’ll label it P (note – some things are listed with a generic name and a brand name – I’ll list here the one most familiar to me):
Ace bandage
Aloe vera lip balm (P) – I think I will use this now that I know I have it!
Adhesive tape
Aquatabs (to treat water when you can’t boil it)
Antibacterial ointment
Scissors
Bandaids – as well as butterfly bandages (P)
Benadryl
Bentyl (Dicyclomine) – for abdominal cramps (P) – I’m not familiar with this
Betadine solution – for cleaning wounds (P, though there was something similar in M – this is what I used on Sunday)
Pink Bismuth
Caladryl/Calamine lotion (P)
Clotrimazole – anti-fungal (is that generic Tinactin?)
Condoms
Dental floss
Eye wash (P – in M it was a one-time emergency wash – here it’s Visine drops)
First Aid Guide
Flammazine cream – for burns (P)
Gauze pads
Gloves
Hydrocortisone cream
Ibuprofen/Motrin
Imodium (P)
Malaria slide kit (P) – you draw blood and then bring the slide to a medical facility
MIF kit – for stool sample (P) – if you needed one in M they would send it to you
Off
Oral rehydration salts (but only the kind you mix with water, not the kind you take with water – though I hear they’re banana-flavored…).
Paracetamol – for pain and fever (P) – I’m not familiar with this
Dramamine
Rubbing alcohol
Sudafed
Cough lozenges (2 kinds)
Sunscreen (but Coppertone – not the wonderful Elta Block we got in M)
Tamiflu (they gave us this in M, but we had to give it back at the end – could have kept or used up everything else)
Thermometer
Tweezer
Urine/stool cups (P)
Multivitamins (P – you could get this in M on request; note, in the kit, and in drugstores, vitamins and other supplements come in boxes of blister packets, not in plastic or glass bottles – just something I noticed)
Vitamin C (P – you can also order B-complex and calcium – which implies that the PCVs have trouble getting enough of these in their diets)
Whistle (I never carried this around in M but maybe I will here – now that I’ve opened the kit!)
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"Bentyl - I’m not familiar with this"
ReplyDeleteThat's an odd thing for them to give you. It's used for irritable bowel syndrome, not for routine medical care.
"Caladryl/Calamine lotion (P)"
Is there poison ivy there? That's the only thing anyone uses Calamine lotion for that I know of.
"Clotrimazole – anti-fungal (is that generic Tinactin?)"
No. It's generic Lotrimin.
"Eye wash (P – in M it was a one-time emergency wash – here it’s Visine drops)"
Not the same thing. An emergency eye wash is always a good thing to have around.
"Flammazine cream – for burns (P)"
That's a brand name for sulfadiazine, an antibiotic cream applied to burns.
"Malaria slide kit (P) – you draw blood and then bring the slide to a medical facility"
How do you draw blood yourself?
"Paracetamol – for pain and fever (P) – I’m not familiar with this"
That's Tylenol (acetaminophen)- the foreign brand name.
"Whistle (I never carried this around in M but maybe I will here – now that I’ve opened the kit!)"
I always carry a whistle with me wherever I go and keep it handy. The New Yorker in me dies hard.
I think the Calamine might be for mosquito bites?
ReplyDeleteI don't know the difference between Lotramin and Tinactin.
I know the emergency eye wash is not the same thing - which is why I labeled the Visine as new here. Visine is more usable for me (though I brought my own single-use drops) - I could order it on request in Morocco. The handbook here says to flush eyes out with water in an emergency.
There's a detailed procedure listed in the medical handbook on how to prepare the malaria slide kit - all I can say is I hope I never have to do it (and since I am not remote, I think I would not have to - I can go to the hospital or to the Peace Corps office).
The New Yorker in me dies hard too but I never carried a whistle before - good time to start!
>I think the Calamine might be for mosquito bites?
ReplyDeleteCould be. I've never tried it on mosquito bites. I'm getting quite a lot this year with the huge die-off in our bats and the unusually wet spring and early summer, so maybe I should give it a try!
>I don't know the difference between Lotramin and Tinactin.
They're both antifungals.
Ever since I looked in the kit I have felt itchy....coincidence?
ReplyDelete