I have just started packing for my upcoming trip to San Francisco with my sister and 1 1/2 year old son and want to share my essential homeopathic remedies for traveling. I love homeopathics for travel because they take up very little room in your luggage and a single remedy can have multiple applications; so you need to bring very little to be prepared for a lot.
Relief For Jet Lag
For relief of the symptoms of jet lag due to time change or too many hours on a cramped plane with little oxygen be sure to drink plenty of water before, during and after your flight and once at your new location expose yourself to as much daylight as possible each day.
ARNICA MONTANTA (DONT LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT)
- primary remedy for jet lag
- person feels ‘beat up’, achy and sore from travel
- sleeplessness from exertion; too tired to sleep
- also a great remedy for injury and trauma, bumps and bruises of any kind, soreness and muscle aches from overexertion
- can be taken as a preventative: two or three doses within twelve hours of departure- repeat only as needed thereafter, up to three times daily for no more than three days.
COCCULUS
Symptoms treated include:
- feeling of confusion, spaciness, or dizziness
- also a great remedy for motion sickness – severe nausea, vomiting with dizziness and increased salivation
Relief For Motion Sickness
Remedies can greatly relieve symptoms once they occur but can also be taken as a preventative before traveling. Give two or three doses of the remedy on the day before travel and once again an hour before the trip begins. Repeat every two to three hours only as needed.
TABACUM
Symptoms treated include:
- severe nausea with vomiting
- pallor and coldness with sweat
- need for cool, fresh air
- faintness or a tight sensation around head, like a band
NUX VOMICA
Symptoms treated include:
- nausea with headache and faintness
- painful gagging and retching
- chilly and constipated
- also a great remedy for food poisoning and general stomach upset – nausea, cramps, and painful vomiting with irritability and frequent ineffectual attempts to vomit
- great remedy for hangover or overindulgence in food and drink
- also a great remedy for sleeplessness from overwork or mental strain or overindulgence in food or drink with irritability and waking at 3 or 4 AM unable to fall back asleep
Help Treating Food Poisoning
ARSENICUM ALBUM
Symptoms treated include:
- primary remedy for food poisoning, especially from bad water, meat or fish
- burning and cramping pains in stomach
- burning diarrhea
- nausea with vomiting that burns throat
- chilly, weak, anxious and restless
- also a great remedy for sleeplessness-sleepless between 12 and 2 AM with much restlessness and anxiety, driving the person out of bed
Help For Heat Exhaustion And Sunstroke
Heat exhaustion symptoms usually develop gradually with weakness, dizziness, and confusion, and the skin becomes pale, cold, and sweaty. Sunstroke or heatstroke is a more serious condition, in which the body’s cooling abilities stop functioning because of overheating. Sunstroke may develop more rapidly and the skin is hot, dry and red with a fever and throbbing headache. Seek emergency care at once if sunstroke if suspected and give the appropriate remedy while waiting for help.
Select one of the remedies, and give one dose every fifteen minutes, depending on the severity of symptoms. Repeat until improvement is noted, then less often as needed.
BELLADONNA
Symptoms treated include:
- dry, hot, burning skin; fever
- severe throbbing headache, red face
- dilated pupils
- stupor or delirium
- a great remedy to use in the early stages of illness like cold, flu or headache especially in children when there is a fever- dose every hour for up to 3 doses then as needed as long as there is improvement
CARBO VEGETABILIS
Symptoms treated include:
- weakness, fainting or collapse
- cold, clammy skin
- nausea and diarrhea
- wanting cool, fanned air
- also a great remedy for stomach complaints from overeating with lots of gassiness and bloating which is better for belching or passing gas
What’s In My Carry-On?
Typically my little one is a good traveller but traveling can get the best of us at times. Since I am traveling with a little one who is going to be off his schedule and overstimulated with all the new and exciting scenery and adventures I will also include in my kit:
- COFFEA CRUDA
- treats insomnia due to overstimulation and mental excitement with oversensitivity to noise, waking from the slightest sound
- CHAMOMILLA
- helps when they are extremely irritable, and angry with oversensitivity to pain or stimulus
- if your child wants to be carried and cries when put down, kicks and screams • great remedy for ear pain during flight or due to infection or teething
- great remedy for pain in teething infants and toddlers
I will also bring along his constitutional remedy (the remedy most well indicated for him generally as assessed by a professional homeopath) to help support him throughout the journey and keep his vitality balanced throughout the trip.
In Conclusion
You can include all of the above or a select few you feel are most applicable to your typical ailments while traveling. Remedies can be either 12CH or 30CH potencies with the exception of Arnica which can be 30CH or 200CH.
Always choose the remedy that best matches your individual symptoms and dose with the remedy until improvement is noted and only as needed thereafter. A little remedy can go a long way homeopathically.
When traveling through airports, wrap your remedies in aluminum foil and carry in your hand luggage to protect them from radiation devices and ensure their viability.
I have never been questioned about carrying remedies, so you can feel comfortable traveling with them as long as they are in their original container. Keep remedies away from direct sunlight and avoid temperature extremes if possible.
Happy travels this summer everyone!