What medication do you take in your first aid kit while on the trail?

Might be a good idea to add some sort of antidiarrheal, and maybe swap out the Benadryl for something like Pseudoephedrine HCL (because they're lighter ;O) )

Why the melatonin? To help you get to sleep? If so, you should get rid of it as it's redundant with your script.

I occasionally get migraines and find that an arsenal of Ibprophin, Tylenol Rapid Release (rarely works) and Pseudoephedrine HCL are all I usually need to tackle it. Oddly enough, I usually find that Pseudoephedrine HCL is what gets rid of my migraines. That combined with stopping drinking milk (an inflammation causing liquid).

Why is melatonin redundant? Because of MJ? I have REM issues and have to sleep longer when I have to use MJ to combat insomnia. Sometimes I HAVE to use it because my brain won't stop running but melatonin works well for me.

Most of the perscription migraine medications really should be tested on a person before I would use them in the back country. Nausea, extreme drowsiness, stomach issues, can be some of the side effects and they effect different people differently.

For me I go with some advil and T3's (codine) for mild to moderate pain, an anti diarehal and some benedryl tablets.

They've made some progress in learning about migraines and what triggers them. Since backpacking is already one major stressor, especially if the person is not in great shape, that's one. Heat is two.

Nuts, chocolate, and a few other food items are also triggers, red wine, a few other things. Avoid those. Caffeine is also a stressor in excessive doses. Wish I'd known that 20 years ago, oh well. Since nuts and chocolate are exactly what people tend to pile on backpacking, those would be my first guess as the straws that broke the camel's back. Peanuts are the very worst.

Coffee is much worse than tea, and green tea is better than black tea, in terms of still getting caffeine, but not too much. Hot chocolate should be avoided like the plague.

Basically, if you add in enough triggers the odds of you getting a bad headache, or a variety of other stress triggered maladies, increases, if you can drop the triggers to just the physical stuff you can't avoid because of backpacking, it really helps. I find if you go to 3 major triggers, the odds skyrocket of getting hit with the stress induced malady.

It wasn't a random event that your friend got a migraine.

claritin
advil
simethicone
pepto
sudafed
prescription meds

The claritin and benadryl are not redundant, as the claritin is for daily allergies and the benadryl is reserved for acute allergic reactions. Ibuprofen is the only OTC pain killer that works for me. Pseudophedrine is a stimulant and I drink tea, so no need for caffeine. The simethicone is technically redundant with pepto, but in my experience they work better together than either alone. I used to carry meclizine b/c rocking in my hammock made me slightly motion-sick, but I seem to have gotten over that. If I were travelling with someone else, I might add aspirin and/or tylenol. I presume anyone with a known condition requiring specialty meds will have their own (epi-pen, nitro, etc), so my kit only reflects what I've found to be the most common conditions I encounter.

Lots of advil, agreed. Enough to share if someone needs it. Great as an anti-inflammatory as well.

Unisom sleep tablets, not the capsules, the tablets, work very well in conjunction with ibuprofin and can, if you're hit with a headache or other ill feeling that a decent night's sleep will resolve, make all the difference between being able to go on and having to stop. Only otc sleeping stuff I've found that actually lets you wake up feeling reasonably ok.

aspirin in case someone has a heart attack or stroke. Or for pain relief.

Anti-histamine in case of bee sting.

First Aid:

Alieve
Antihistamine
Anti-diaria
(enough of each for seven days at a maximum daily dose)

What did your friend do for treatment when you cut your trip short? Did he go to the emergency room? He needs to know ahead of time what will help, and bring only medications that work for him. Most people who get severe migraines find that only one or two of the dozens of available migraine medications work for them.

I get hemiplegic migraines that paralyze the left half of my body, make it impossible to speak, cause me to vomit profusely, and without treatment they last 3-4 days. I've been hospitalized many times for it. I take an anti-seizure medication every day to control them but they still occur sometimes. When I go backpacking, this is what I bring:

a) Magnesium (chelated): I bring a whole bottle of magnesium amino acid chelate capsules. Magnesium oxide (the most common kind in vitamins) is useless because it can only be absorbed in very tiny amounts. Magnesium has neurological effects at higher doses that can help with migraines. At very high doses it can actually be used to anesthetize a person. I take 10-20 400mg capsules when I get a migraine.

b) Metoclopramide, Ondansetron, or some other prescription anti-nausea drug.

c) Vicodin, Percocet, or some other prescription analgesic/narcotic.

d) Benadryl

e) a Benzodiazepine or other prescription sedative

If your friend sees a doctor, there are dozens of prescription migraine medications he can try. The triptans (including Imitrex) are helpful for many people.If your friend doesn't want to see a doctor, and he doesn't know what will work for him, I'd suggest keeping chelated magnesium, benadryl, naproxen, and caffeine on hand. The chelated magnesium and benadryl can be safely taken in large amounts (much larger than directed on the label), but the naproxen and caffeine should be used carefully. Also, if he doesn't do this already, he should keep a record of everything he did and every food he ate in the 48 hours prior to his migraines so he can identify contributing factors and avoid them.

2 aspirin, 2 ibuprofen. Same 2 of each for about four years now, never had to use them. That's it for me. I know, I'm lucky.

My medication kit is very basic:

ibuprofen
sleep meds
anti-diarrheal
benadryl

I do get a migraine once every 4-5 years, but not enough to warrant taking my Imitrex IMO. Thankfully they're not nearly as severe as Colin's and I have no idea what causes them. Mine involve a severe headache, partial loss of vision, numbing of extremities, and vomiting. Ahh, good times.

Ryan

I take:
-Advil (2)
-Aspirin (2)
-Tylenol (2)
-Immodium (3)
-Thyroid Replacement (I have thyroid disease)
-Birth control pill
-Valium (have an Rx- helps w/ sleep and muscle spasms if I overdo)

Per day on the trail:

4 x Ibuprofen (pain relief and anti-inflammatory)
2 x Benadryl (antihistamine and also works as a sleep med for me if needed, though the hammock seems to work better than meds)
2 x Immodium (antidiarrheal)

I also have instant coffee that can be made if I have a particularly bad headache.

Other than that, I find that I don't need much. I usually hike solo, so…

claritin- great for seasonal allergies
advil- general pain relief
pepto- under-rated GI antibiotic, I use this if I get exposed to sketchy water
benadryl- non-life-threatening but miserable allergic reactions
immodium- anti-diarrheal, taken prior to bailing on my hike
prescription meds
T3 or similar- juuust in case of severe painful injury
tylenol- works better on fevers than advil
neosporin

pills weigh doodly, so I bring what allows me to plan for some worst-case scenarios. Have never regretted it. Has preserved several hikes for me.

This is what I brought:

– Acetaminophen: Ended up not using any, gave a couple to my partner.

– Ibuprofen: Ended up needing more than I brought, but no more than 2 a day.

– Melatonin: Definitely did not need this, but I gave a bunch away.

– Excedrin Migraine: Caffeine + Aspirin + Aceta… Didn't use but my partner did.

– Percocet: Got from my Dr. as an emergency. Ended up using some for end of the day pain relief on days when my knee acted up bad.

– Tums: Didn't need any personally but gave a ton out to folks with sour stomachs.

– Marijuana: Brought way more than I even wanted, only smoked a little bit for pain relief and as a general relaxant at the end of the day. Also helped stimulate my appetite a little bit, which helped when getting bored of certain foods.

Ibuprofen/muscle relaxent for occasional back spasms
A few anti-diarrheal in case of unfortunate bowel spasms

That's it.

We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine and a whole multicolored collection of uppers, downers, laughers, screamers . . . Also, a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.

–Hunter S. Thompson, ultralight backpacking fanatic

I bring anti-inflammatories: ibuprofen for mild issues and simple dosing of small people, and Celebrex for serious, all day punch if needed. I also bring acetaminophen for another analgesic, since it's more effective than the anti-inflammatories for headaches and fever. A few benadryls, imodiums, some tums, small bottle of saline and a selection of wound cleaning/care chemicals.

Most meds are light and low bulk and can really help, so I say pile 'em on.

Ibuprofen (inflammation, fever, pain)
Benadril (stings, allergies)
Hydrocortisone creme (itch)
Oragel (tooth AND topical anesthetic)
Antibiotic ointment (cuts and abrasions)
Imodium (anti-diarrhea)
Bodyglide (anti-chafe)
Scotch (attitude)

I recently read that aspirin can work for tooth pain, used by placing it on/next to the tooth to dissolve. Evidently the acidic reaction of the aspirin will zap the nerve and reduce the pain. I was going to run it by my dentist next visit.

I meant to add aspirin to my list too. Some of us are older and you never know that you won't feel an elephant on your chest during a hike….an aspirin could save you or your partner in this scenario.

Tylenol, Benadryl, Hydrocodone, Bactrim.

Hershey's Dark.

JD's honey whiskey.