A travel first aid kit is not your home kit moved into a suitcase. It is a much smaller kit that solves two things: the minor complaints of a beach holiday, and keeping your regular medication going. Everything else you can buy here.
That distinction matters more than it sounds, because suitcase space is limited and so are hand luggage rules.
The one thing you really must bring
Your regular medication. It is the only irreplaceable item, because an ongoing treatment cannot be improvised at your destination.
- In your hand luggage, not the hold. If a checked bag is lost or delayed, your treatment still travels with you.
- In its original packaging, with the box and the patient leaflet. That is what lets anyone identify the active ingredient here, where the brand name may well be different.
- With a few days’ margin, in case the return trip is delayed. The extra days take up no more room and remove the problem.
- With the prescription or a doctor’s letter, especially for injectables, controlled drugs, or anything involving needles or a medical device.
If you take something that needs refrigeration, ask your own pharmacist before you leave about keeping it cold in transit.
Prescriptions and healthcare cover in Spain
If you are travelling from another European Union country, a prescription issued at home can be dispensed in a Spanish pharmacy provided it meets the cross-border prescription format set out in EU rules. Not every national prescription does, so check before you travel rather than assuming.
If you are travelling from the United Kingdom, assume your prescription will not be accepted here. Bring enough of your own medication for the whole trip plus a margin. This is the single most common problem we see at the counter with British visitors.
For public healthcare, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) gives access to medically necessary state care during a temporary stay, on the same terms as a resident. UK visitors have the equivalent GHIC. Neither covers repatriation, and neither replaces private travel insurance.
At Farmàcia Arqué we serve customers in Spanish, Catalan, English and French, and we deal with these questions daily. Asking costs nothing.
The dressings kit: small and sufficient
For a beach holiday, this is plenty:
| Item | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Plasters in several sizes, including blister plasters | Sandal rubs and new footwear |
| Sterile gauze and hypoallergenic tape | Covering cuts and grazes |
| Antiseptic in single doses or a small format | Disinfecting minor wounds without carrying a full bottle |
| Single-dose saline | Cleaning wounds, eyes and noses |
| Blunt tweezers and small round-tipped scissors | Splinters, spines, cutting tape |
| Digital thermometer | Takes up almost nothing and saves a night-time trip out |
Single-dose versions of everything are more practical for travel and weigh less.
What a coastal holiday actually adds
This is where a generic kit falls short.
Sun protection. The most underestimated item and the most used. A 200 ml bottle covers roughly six full-body applications, not a week of family beach days, so plan accordingly or expect to restock here. How much to apply and how often to reapply is covered in SPF and sunscreen.
Aftersun or a soothing moisturiser, for the mild redness of the first day, which is when it usually happens.
Oral rehydration salts. These are the standard treatment for dehydration caused by diarrhoea, vomiting or intense heat. Pharmacy sachets have the correct balance of salts and glucose; homemade sugar-and-salt mixes are not equivalent and can fall short exactly when it matters.
Insect repellent, if you plan to spend evenings near green spaces or outdoors at dusk.
A painkiller or fever reducer you already know suits you. A holiday is not the moment to try a new active ingredient.
Jellyfish and sea urchins: mostly what not to do
On the Costa Daurada, jellyfish appear irregularly depending on wind and currents. If you are stung, what matters most is what you don’t do:
- Don’t rinse with fresh water and don’t rub the area with sand or a towel. Both can trigger more stinging cells to fire. Rinse with sea water.
- Remove any tentacle fragments with tweezers or the edge of a card, never with bare fingers.
- Don’t use home remedies. Vinegar, ammonia and urine circulate as universal fixes and are not: the effect depends on the species, and some make it worse.
With a sea urchin, don’t try to dig out deep spines yourself, as they fragment easily. Clean the area and get it looked at.
In both cases, come into the pharmacy. We can look at it and tell you whether a soothing cream will do or whether you need a doctor.
What you don’t need to pack
This is the part that saves suitcase space. In any Spanish pharmacy, ours included, you can buy without a prescription and without an appointment:
- Sunscreens across the whole range, plus aftersun
- Common painkillers and fever reducers
- Oral antihistamines and bite creams
- Oral rehydration salts
- A full range of dressings and wound care
- Toiletries, baby care and contact lens solutions
- Rapid pregnancy, flu and COVID tests
Bringing a year’s supply of any of this from home is carrying weight for no reason.
Hand luggage: the 100 ml rule
At European Union airports, liquids in hand luggage must be in containers of 100 ml or less, all inside a one-litre transparent resealable bag.
Medicines are exempt from that limit when they are needed during the journey, but carry them clearly identified and with the prescription or doctor’s letter, because security may ask. Cosmetics and sunscreen are not exempt, so the big bottle of sun cream goes in the hold or gets bought at your destination.
When to put the kit away and get help
A travel kit covers minor complaints. Seek medical attention if you get:
- A high fever that won’t come down or lasts more than 48 hours
- Persistent diarrhoea or vomiting with signs of dehydration: intense thirst, very dark or scant urine, dizziness on standing
- Signs of heatstroke: hot dry skin, confusion, severe headache
- Sunburn with extensive blistering, fever or vomiting
- Difficulty breathing, swelling of the lips or tongue, or a body-wide rash after a sting or a medicine
- Anything that interrupts your regular treatment
In a medical emergency the number is 112. Salou’s primary care centre (CAP) is on Carrer Carles Buïgas. And outside our opening hours there is always a duty pharmacy in Salou covering the 24-hour shift.
This article is for information only and does not replace assessment by a healthcare professional for a specific symptom. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before travelling if you are on long-term treatment. Sources: Spanish Ministry of Health — travel health, Spanish Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS), European Commission — European Health Insurance Card, Spanish Red Cross — first aid kit.