People do tend to laugh at the range of medication I carry round with me, but it has stood me in good stead over the years and I often have to help friends and family out when they are ill or injure themselves.
I firmly believe that you should always carry the basic first aid essentials, tailored to your activities and general health. If you are an asthmatic, make sure that you always have a spare inhaler as well as throat lozenges and cold remedy in case you get a sore throat or cold as this can lead to an attack. If you play a sport such as tennis, there are also specialised kits such as tennis first aid kits or rugby first aid kits.
But how about the basics? Well, wherever I go I always take the following (but always be sure to follow the doctor's or pharmacist's advice when it comes to taking medicine!). I am especially careful about this when I travel abroad as it is not always easy to get to a chemist and ask for it in a foreign language!
Some form of painkiller such as aspirin or paracetamol is vital as you never know when you will need it; a range of plasters and blister plasters; antiseptic wipes and cream; sea sickness pills; and of course anti-mosquito wipes and anti-bite cream for good measure.