If you are planning a trip abroad, whether it is to some far flung exotic location or to a holiday resort in a European country it is quite possible that at some time during your trip you will require some sort of medicine to treat a common ailment associated with travel e.g. forty per cent of all international travellers from the UK suffer from travellers diarrhoea whilst abroad.

However, if you are planning an expedition to a more remote location to take part in some adventurous activity, such as going on safari, trekking to high altitude, cycling across a country or even scuba diving on a remote coral reef, you will probably find yourself travelling through a developing country such as those in Africa, Asia or South America where serious diseases such as malaria and yellow fever are endemic, standards of public hygiene are basic and access to medical treatment is limited.

This site has been designed to produce customised lists of all the medicines (pain killers, antibiotics, anti-diarrhoeals, etc.) you will require to meet your particular needs, and each list comes complete with a copy of the:-

Travel Doctor Manual

explaining how and when to use each medication by giving simple diagnosis guides and providing advice on the contra-indications and side effects of each of the medicines.

THE PROBLEM

The numbers of people travelling abroad each year is vast. About 50 million visits per year are undertaken by UK residents. World tourist organisations predicted an 80% increase in long haul destinations between 1995 and 2010. International arrivals number 664 million per year world-wide.

These huge numbers mean that there are many people who are exposing themselves to diseases and other potential health risks in their destination countries that they would not normally encounter. Also, the large movement of people around the world could serve to spread some of these diseases.

With a growing interest in outdoor pursuits, adventure travel is becoming increasingly popular. Whether it is a small group of friends who share a particular hobby or interest such as backpacking, mountaineering, trekking, cycling, scuba diving, etc. or a family group seeking adventure in an exotic location or even an expedition to a remote mountain range; they all face the same problem:-

When planning the trip, "what medicines should they take in case of illness"?

This is especially important to groups travelling to remote areas where access to medical help is limited or even impossible.

In order to solve this problem your first port of call might be your local pharmacy. Here you can buy many of the items you may require and also obtain advice on malaria prophylaxis and vaccination requirements.

But due to current legislation the pharmacy is unable to supply certain items such as antibiotics, the more powerful pain killers, some forms of malaria treatment and a whole host of other items which you may require.

Most people would then turn to their family doctor for help. But doctors are not allowed to issue NHS prescriptions for medicines to be taken abroad for illnesses that have not yet happened.

The only alternative is for the doctor to issue private prescriptions for those medicines not available over the counter in the pharmacy. However, the family doctor may not have the relevant knowledge or experience to know exactly what to prescribe. The would be traveller could then end up with several items they do not require but missing some of the more essential ones.

THE SOLUTION

We are a partnership of a full time GP and a community pharmacist who have both travelled widely to many parts of the world over the past twenty years. With our professional qualifications together with our experience of organising, leading and taking part in expeditions to different countries we are able to offer advice on the correct medicines to take with you on your expedition or holiday.

It s therefore possible, by using this web site, to put together a comprehensive list of medicines to include in a pack which will include those medicines you are most likely to need during your trip.

We believe that the contents of your medical kit depends on who you are, where you are going and what you will be doing when you get there.

Therefore the medical kit needs to be tailor made to suit your particular group's needs. To enable us to do this we need the following information:-

What country do you intend to visit? When are you travelling? How long do you intend to stay there? How many people in your group? The number of males & females. What activities do you intend to partake in? How far from medical help will you be?

We will then be able to process this information and put together a list of medicines for your very own

We can also provide you with up to date information about the relevant vaccinations you will require before travelling and any malaria tablets you will need to take.

Along with each list of medicines we will also supply an easy to follow customised manual which will contain information on each medication supplied, stating when to take it (and when not to), how to take it and any side effects there may be. There will also be a guide on simple diagnosis of the common ailments you would be likely to encounter. It would be like having your own personalised travel doctor with you.