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Making a Traveler's Natural Medicine Kit
To paraphrase Charles Dickens, traveling can be both the best of times and the worst of times. Often it's both - in one journey. Whether your trip is welcome or not, business or pleasure, it's almost always stressful. The planning, the anticipation, the mode of travel chosen, being away from home, plans gone awry, lack of sleep - all of these add up to stress. And where there's stress, illness is soon to follow.

This is where a first-aid kit comes in handy. Fortunately, there are many natural remedies one can bring along when traveling that can provide the proper anodyne for most ailments, sometimes at a fraction of the price of what your hotel might charge for over-the-counter conventional remedies.

Besides, making your own first aid kit is an adventure, requiring planning and ingenuity. To do it right, put as much time and effort into packing your first aid kit as you would into packing the rest of your personal belongings, as there are several things to consider, including destination, mode of travel, the length of your trip, the activities you plan to engage in, and who's going along.

The What, When, Where, How
What you use to carry all your healing goodies is a matter of personal choice. Containers that make useful kits include small baskets with lids, quilted makeup bags, tool kits and small fishing tackle boxes. Equally important is proper storage of your goods within your kit. Remedies that might melt or containers that could leak or spill should be individually placed in plastic bags to prevent seepage onto your clothes or elsewhere in your travel bags. Essential oils must be stored in glass vials or bottles. The constituents in essential oils will eat right through a plastic container, as well as the rubber bulb at the end of a glass dropper. When buying essential oils for travel, always get them with a solid screw top. Some come with dispensers built into the bottles but, if not, buy individual glass droppers (one for each bottle) and store them separately. Tincture bottles should either be stored in individual compartments or placed in plastic bags. The 1-ounce size is obviously smaller and would pack more easily, but you might consider a larger bottle for something like echinacea that the whole family will use. To help reduce repackaging, take advantage of promotional and trial-sized items.

Also, make sure all your remedies are labeled. It's so tempting, especially if you're packing at the last minute, to think you'll remember what it is that you poured into that brown tincture bottle. Noses aren't infallible, and even lavender essential oil can smell like rosemary essential oil if you have no context - such as the bottle's position on your shelf.

Following is a list of items you might consider for your kits: tinctures (echinacea tincture, shephard's purse-yarrow tincture for bleeding, valerian tincture for menstrual cramping), dried loose herbs for tea or bleeding (peppermint, fennel seeds, cayenne), salves (vapor balm for congestion), herbal oils (arnica oil for pain), essential oils (lavender, clary sage, etc.), homeopathic remedies and flower essences (Oscillococcinum, Traumeel), supplements (vitamin C, melatonin), miscellaneous (aloe vera for burns, green clay for bug bites and poison oak), and supplies (gauze bandages, matches, needle and thread, tweezers).

Whatever your individual endeavor, you know your family and self better than anyone else. Pack wisely and be prepared for the unpredictable this summer.