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These are the drugstore-type things I know I’m taking:
- Vitamin E oil. For a while, you could get this at Costco. It’s great for anything skin-related — cuts, itches, chapped lips, whatever.
- Tiger Balm. You can get this at most Asian markets. It’s good for aching muscles, but also has a kind of Vick’s Vap-O-Rub quality to it that’s not half bad when you’re congested.
- Airborne. Fizzy tablets like citrus-flavored Alka-Seltzer, only with the power to kill sickness before it sets in. I *always* get colds, and this stuff works. I’m sucking it back like crazy right now because The Boy (age 12) is just getting over a nasty bout with pneumonia, and I… I am today losing my voice. Just in time for travel!
- Melatonin. I have no idea if they still sell this stuff (got yanked off the market after a bad batch came out of Japan), but it’s the best way to reset your body clock and defeat that diabolical jet lag. It’s a sleeping pill that doesn’t knock you out, only makes sleeping seem like better idea — because it’s made from the same stuff your brain uses to regulate its circadian clock.
- A few Ibuprofen capsules. Because, you know, headaches come with the jet lag.
- Foaming lice killer stuff. Lord knows we’ve got enough of this at the house. (Too much information?) Anyway, this is a just-in-case thing for the young man.
- Infants’ Motrin (liquid). For colds and aches and whatever else, this seems to be the ticket. Our pediatrician said this kind lasts than the liquid Tylenol. We’re only bringing a small bottle because they have drug stores in China, too.
- Infants’ Benadryl (liquid). For the congestion and the snot. Efficacy overlaps with Motrin. It’s purple!
- Are we bringing antibiotics? I don’t think so, but I’d have to check with My Rigorous Spouse to make sure. They’re available over the counter in China, and regardless, if we’re infected enough to need ‘em, we’re probably going to be heading for a hospital anyway. That’s what happened last time.
- Gripewater. I think. It’s an old home remedy against colic that at least does no harm, as far as I can tell. And some folks swear by it. We’ve got a bottle left over from last time that we never really used.
That’s a slender list, but we’re doing our best to be Carry-on Only on the way over, at least. Because they have laundry detergent and actual laundries in China, too. (Think about it — do you really want to be carrying around three weeks’ worth of dirty clothes by the end of the trip?) And those vacuum-packing space bags really work.
