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To be on the safe side, choose your essentials for your travel first aid kit from the remedies and self-help suggestions given on these pages (botanical names are given for those plants not included in chapter 2). |
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Cuts and Scrapes (See p. 67) |
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Pack a small bottle containing equal amounts of St. John's wort and marigold tinctures and use 1 teaspoon to a cup of boiled water to bathe cuts and scrapes. Press a clean handkerchief to the cut to help stop bleeding and apply a Band-Aid if needed. |
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A small bottle of distilled witch hazel can be used instead and will also be helpful to soothe sunburn, sprains, and bruises. |
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Diarrhea and Stomach Upsets |
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These are all-too-common problems for travelers who may find that local standards of hygiene in exotic locations are not quite the same as back home. When traveling in high risk areas never eat raw salads; always wash and peel fruit; avoid ice cubes in drinks; and regard street vendors selling "bottled water" with some suspicion. In high-risk areas, brush your teeth using bottled water oreven betterfreshly made green tea. |
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Pack a small bottle of meadowsweet tincture and take 10 to 20 drops in boiled water every two to three hours at the first sign of stomach upsets, gastritis, or heartburn. |
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Eat a raw, peeled, grated apple every two to three hours to help control diarrhea or drink a cup of strong, cold black tea without milk or sugar every two to three hours to help alleviate symptoms. |
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Take a bottle containing equal amount of tinctures of agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria) and gotu kola (Centella asiatica) in your luggage and take 2 teaspoons in 1/2 cup of boiled or bottled water every three hours for the more troublesome sorts of travel diarrhea. |
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