As well as medical and first aid supplies, there are other items which are very often required by global travellers.

There are numerous travel accessories available including; bags, rucsacs, money belts & wallets, luggage tags & padlocks, travel pillows, electrical adaptors & phpne charges. The list is endless and everyone has their favourite accessories.

However, here we concentrate on those items which have an important effect on travellers health.

These include:-

A good selection of other travel accessories can be obtained on line from:

Insect Repellents

Chemical repellents are the best and perhaps the only suitable personal protection against outdoor biting insects.

Repellents act by interfering with the sense organs with which insects locate their victims.

Most of the commercially available insect repellents contain diethyl toluamide (DEET), or dimethylphthalate (DMP).

These preparations come as lotions, sticks, gels, creams, or in aerosol cans or pump-action dispensers.

DEET is apparently effective against all free-flying biting insects.

DEET is a widely used repellent that deters pests by making it harder for them to smell humans.

DEET has been used without harm by millions of people. However, there have been occasional reports of serious reactions in a few individuals. Anyone who suspects an adverse reaction to DEET should stop using it immediately and seek medical advice.

The chances of an adverse skin reaction are reduced if DEET is impregnated into clothing rather than applied directly to the skin.

When applied to the skin, DEET remains effective for only a few hours. However, when impregnated into cotton (not synthetic) material it remains effective for several weeks.

When sitting down out of doors, most mosquito bites occur on the ankles or feet. Cotton ankle bands impregnated with DEET have been found to give up to 85% reduction in bites by several species of mosquitos.

Picaridin, a synthetic compound, is also effective against various pests. It is odorless, less greasy and less likely to cause skin irritation compared to DEET. However, its safety has not been as extensively studied as DEET's.

Another option is to wear insect repellent, impregnated clothes. In this case the repellent Permethrin is used and is tightly bonded to the fibres of the garment. When insects are exposed to this repellent their neurons are agitated, rendering them unable to coordinate voluntary muscles, and thus unable to attack. Unlike traditional insect repellents, Insect Repellent Clothing puts the insect repellent on the clothes you wear, not on your skin.

Permethrin, a synthetic insecticide, mimics natural extracts from chrysanthemum flowers. Unlike DEET and picaridin, it is not for direct skin application but is used on clothing and gear. It can kill insects on contact.

Traditional repellents usually last for several hours but with permethrin-based insect repellent clothing, the insect repellent is IN YOUR CLOTHING, not on your skin and keeps working as long as you’re wearing the shirt, trousers, hat or other garment.

Permethrin has been shown to be effective the entire time the impregnated clothing is worn and is effective in repelling mosquitoes, ticks, ants, flies, chiggers and
no-see-ums.

Insect repellents are easily obtained from most pharmacies, supermarkets etc.

A DEET free repellant called TREK plus impregnated bracelets are available from:

Mosquito Nets

In countries where insect-borne diseases are common, a mosquito net is an important accessory.

The use of a mosquito net is strongly recommended wherever there is any risk of bites from mosquitoes that bite at night.

The Anopheles mosquito that is responsible for spreading malaria is mostly active from dusk to dawn.

It is well worth buying a good quality net, because any slippage of the weave would allow mosquitoes to enter. Any tears should be repaired or blocked with cotton wool and the net should be tucked in carefully under the mattress.

The net should be checked after getting into bed, using an electric torch to make sure that no gaps are left. Care should also be taken not to sleep with any part of the body touching the net since mosquitoes can feed through nets.

Increased security can be achieved by impregnating the net with permethrin which is very effective in killing or repelling mosquitoes which come into contact with it.

Many hotels in the tropics provide mosquito nets. If in doubt it would be worth taking your own.

Another useful measure is to spray your room (or tent) with an insecticide aerosol spray after closing the doors and any windows. This will kill any insects that entered the room earlier but not any that enter later. For this reason all doors and windows should be kept closed during the night.

Mosquito nets are available from numerous outdoor suppliers or on line from Amazon and from the following:

Sun Screens & Sun Blocks

Sunlight contains Ultra Violet light which can be further categorised as UVA and UVB.

Exposure to UVB increases the risk of basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, two forms of non-melanoma skin cancer. It is also responsible for sunburn.

Exposure to UVA causes skin ageing and there's a high level of concern that UVA increases the risk of malignant melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. In contrast to UVB, UVA does not cause sunburn.

Sunscreen sun protection factors (SPF) are measured by timing how long skin covered with sunscreen takes to burn compared to uncovered skin. For example, SPF 15 means it will take 15 times longer to burn when wearing the sunscreen.

Although they found that the sunscreen lotions did protect well against UVB rays, the UVA protection was less than satisfactory.

Because SPF factors only look at burning times, they only apply to UVB rays.

In the UK the number of cases of skin cancer are said to be rising faster each year than for any other form of cancer. Part of the reason is thought to be due to our changing lifestyles, for example more people are sunbathing and taking more holidays in sunnier climates, increasing their exposure to harmful UV rays.

Part of the Government's safe sun message advises people to use protective sunscreen but, according to new research, while useful for protecting against UVB rays, lotions are less protective against harmful UVA. What's more, it's possible that people might be staying out in the sun longer because they think their skin is being protected, actually increasing their exposure to UVA.

It is hoped that future sunscreens will include better protection against UVA.

Currently there are two types of product used for sun protection:-

Absorbents which work by screening out the sun's rays by a factor which is displayed on the container. They come in various forms e.g. lotions, oils, creams, etc.

Reflectants which are creams usually white and based on zinc oxide which totally block out the sun by forming a physical barrier.

Both forms can be purchased from a number of outlets e.g. Pharmacies, sports shops, outdoor equipment suppliers, supermarkets, etc.

Good sun protection methods include staying in the shade during the peak sun strength times, covering up, wearing sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat and using an SPF 15 or higher sunscreen.

For more information on sun screens & sun blocks, go to the page entitled:- Exposure to the Sun

Water Purification

When you travel abroad you should always assume that the water is unsafe to drink unless you know otherwise. Even in European hotels and holiday resorts it is a good policy not to drink the local tap water.

There are many diseases that can be spread by contaminated drinking water including typhoid, cholera, hepatitis A, dysentery and several diarrhoeas.

Nowadays safe drinking water is available world-wide in sealed plastic bottles but you should always make sure that the seal is in tact when you receive a bottle. If not, do not accept it, it could have been refilled from another source.

In very remote areas where drinking the local water is the only option available, some form of purification may be necessary.

Water purification entails disinfection and removal of suspended particles. There are three options available:-

Boiling, Chlorination/Iodination & Filtration

Quite often it is necessary to employ more than one method. When this is the case always filter water before boiling it and boil water before treating with iodine, but always wait for boiled water to cool down before adding the iodine.

The simplest and most effective method of water purification is boiling for five minutes (longer at altitude). When cooled, the water should be kept in a clean sealable container to avoid recontamination.

Chemical purification using iodine or chlorine is another option but care must be taken not to take too much. Iodine should only be used for short periods and people with thyroid problems should consult with their doctor before using it.

Iodine is a very effective disinfectant and Iodination is preferable to chlorination since iodine is effective against waterborne pathogens, Giardia and other resistant organisms like amoebic cysts which are resistant to chlorine. It can also be used to purify water for washing and cooking.

It is available as tablets, crystals or tincture (drops). You should always follow the usage instructions on the container.

After adding the iodine, allow the water to stand for at least thirty minutes before drinking.

The third method is by filtration which is essential when the water is turbid or there is a high degree of suspended matter.

The filter will clarify the turbid water by removing silt, algae and other suspended matter. Suspended organic particles also interfere with the process of chemical disinfection.

Units used to filter water should be dependable, easily maintained and give some indication of when their useful life has expired.

Filters remove impurities from the water by mechanical straining and some form of further purification is almost always necessary.

This is because filters work by drawing water through a microporous element such as as a ceramic filter with a pore size of 0.2 microns.

This will remove all pathogenic bacteria, cysts, protozoa and helminths but not viruses that are much smaller than the 0.2 microns, and since hepatitis A and several forms of diarrhoea are caused by viruses further treatment is necessary.

Beware of extravagant claims made by manufacturers as to the effectiveness of water filters without producing convincing evidence of their claims.


Remember, the life of a filter is greatly lowered when used with highly turbid water and the filter should be checked periodically for cracks and leaks.

There are several filters available commercially some of which are quite expensive so you should seek specialist advice before purchasing one:

N.B. Drinking water that has been purified by filtration alone should only be considered if you are happy about the quality of the source but filtered water should always be boiled or disinfected before giving to children and babies.

Adventure holidays now make up a large proportion of the total holidays bought in the UK. Adventure holidays do involve a certain amount of self sufficiency, even on a totally managed holiday. Imagine never having to worry about where your water comes from or buying bottled water again. Some bottled waters in less developed countries are no more than local tap water put into branded self-sealing bottles.

If you’re preparing for a trip abroad to a remote destination, going on an adventure holiday or even just backpacking, then a travel water filter or purifier bottle should be at the top of your list of essential packing items.

Relying on bottled water – which is always safe to drink – presents its own problems, By taking your own re-fillable bottle with you, you are reducing the environmental impact of the disposal of sinle use plastic bottles. Every minute, around one million single-use plastic bottles are purchased around the world. Many single-use plastic bottles are recyclable. Unfortunately, most aren’t, and instead end up in landfill or just duimped as litter where they can take at least 450 years to degrade.

One water filtration bottle could save as much as 700 plastic bottles from being dumped.

In fact, there are now places around the world that do not allow you to use disposable plastic bottles. The Inca trail is one of them.

Safe Water for International Travelers (SWIT) - is an independent organization that provides the best available information about water safety around the world. Information is gathered from the most important and trustworthy sources. They haveproduced a list which categorizes the state of the drinking water in any given country.

Each year 10 million international travellers or expatriates, suffer severe waterborne diseases from ingestion of contaminated water or food while travelling or staying abroad. Worldwide, unsafe water is a major problem. One billion people do not have access to safe water. It is estimated that diarrhoeal diseases that result from contaminated water kill about 2 million children and cause about 900 million episodes of illness each year. However, international travellers should not become hysterical about avoiding all water whilst travelling abroad. Most of the general information sites for travellers recommend to avoid drinking water anywhere abroad. But to avoid water where it is safe, could be as annoying, as it is dangerous to drink it where it is not safe. Information is now available on the purity of drinking water worldwide. For a list of all the countries and the quality of their drinking water: Click Here