🩺 Health · 0 to 18 months
🩺 Your baby’s travel first aid and medicines kit
Put together a small kit with a pharmacist or doctor. It’s there to help you follow their advice, not replace a consultation when your baby is unwell.
What you’ll need
- Regular medicines in their original packaging, prescriptions and the supplied measuring device.
- An age-appropriate thermometer, gauze pads and recommended care supplies.
- Oral rehydration solution (ORS) sachets, if advised.
Before and during the journey
1. Check before you zip up the bag
- Check expiry dates, storage conditions and quantities for the stay and any delays.
- Keep essential medicines accessible, away from heat and out of children’s reach.
2. Use each medicine’s own measuring device
- For paracetamol, have the dose confirmed according to your baby’s weight, age and the product’s concentration. Use its own measuring device.
- Don’t swap measuring devices or give multiple products containing the same medicine.
3. Fever: more than bringing the number down
- Under 3 months, a temperature of 38 °C or above needs urgent medical assessment.
- At any age, seek medical help promptly if your baby has difficulty breathing, is hard to wake, refuses to drink or shows signs of dehydration.
4. Diarrhoea and protection outdoors
- Prepare ORS with exactly the volume of water stated. Ask how to give it and when to seek medical advice; it is not a replacement for feeds in hot weather.
- Continue usual feeds as advised by a healthcare professional. For sun and mosquitoes, prioritise suitable physical protection and check the permitted age for any products.
5. Between us
Write down the instructions while you have time to think clearly. At three in the morning, a readable prescription and a local healthcare number are more useful than a kit containing twenty products.
Classic mistakes
- ❌ Guessing a dose The product’s concentration matters just as much as the medicine’s name.
- ❌ Reusing an opened single-use container Follow single-use instructions; saline does not disinfect a wound.
- ❌ Treating symptoms and waiting despite a warning sign A kit does not replace a medical assessment of an unwell baby.
Questions dads ask
Should I pack every possible medicine?
No. Ask a professional to check that your kit suits your baby, the length of your stay and your destination.
Is ORS useful in hot weather?
Not as an everyday drink. It is used to replace fluid losses, particularly during diarrhoea, following advice suited to your baby.
A local detail, or your own experience with this guide? Write to the team
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Read next
- 🛂 Travelling with your baby: documents and health
- 🚆 Taking the train with a little one
- 🚗 In the car with your baby: seats, breaks and safety
- 🧳 Packing for your baby: the essentials, not the whole house
- 👶 Baby carrier or pushchair: choosing for your journey
- 🍼 Feeding your baby while travelling: breastfeeds, bottles and meals
- 😴 On arrival: safe accommodation and the first night
When in doubt, contact your doctor or midwife. For a life-threatening emergency, call 111.