I love traveling; there is no doubt about it. Traveling healthy is always best but things happen, so being prepared can make a world of difference in your trip. Over the years, I have assembled an herbal travel kit from my favorite products. The size and contents change depending on the type of travel and length. I have several different variations of the herbal travel kits but they all start with the basic core ingredients. Then I build upon them based on the location, type of travel (car, plane, backpacking) and length of trip.

The Basic Core Herbal Travel Kit:

• Allergy Begone! Tincture – Made from Goldenrod, and tackles countless aliments along with drippy allergies, asthma, while supporting the immune system, stimulating digestion and reducing gas. It is an excellent wound healer. It can be used as a styptic (stops bleeding). It is antiseptic, a disinfectant, anti-microbial, and anti-fungal. It’s anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties soothe and heal urinary infections. I never leave the house without it.
• Ginger Root (crystallized, tea or fresh) – Nothing beats ginger for alleviating nausea and motion sickness, it is also antibacterial, antiviral, a circulatory stimulate, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, anti-fungal, anti-clotting, it helps dispel gas and prevent bloating, is anti-arthritic, analgesic, and promotes sweating. It’s antibacterial and antiviral properties help with respiratory infections and coughs. It is also an expectorant, and helps to thin mucous so you can move it up and out.
• Valerian Tincture – It is so important to unwind and get a good night’s sleep when traveling. Valerian encourages relaxation and sleep, as well as extinguish muscle spasms such as menstrual cramps, back spasms, and even restless legs.
• Elderberry (lozenges or syrup) – Elderberry strengthens your immune system so it can fight off cold and flu viruses when you are exposed to them, as well as lessen symptoms and duration of the illness. I start taking some a week before travel and while traveling to help me fight any germs I may be exposed to.
• Pain Begone! – Accidents and sore muscles happen. Pain Begone! salve harnesses the medicinal powers of St. John’s Wort, Arnica and Goldenrod to reduce the pain of muscle and tendon injuries, aches, arthritis while reducing swelling. St. John’s wort is a nerve pain reliever, anti-inflammatory, and helps cells regenerate. Arnica stimulates the flow of white blood cells that process congested blood by dispersing trapped fluid from joints, muscles and bruised tissue. Goldenrod’s anti-inflammatory effect relieves muscle pains and aches including arthritis.
• Soothe Thy Lips – This balm nourishes, soothes and heals dry chapped lips along with all other skin irritations. Calendula is a powerful wound healer that promotes cell repair while its antiseptic properties keep infections from occurring. It helps heal wounds faster by increasing oxygen flow to the damaged area, which in turn helps the body grow new tissue. It also stimulates collagen production to help heal the body’s tissues. It is high in flavonoids (plant-based anti-oxidants) that protect cells from being damaged by free radicals. Comfrey fosters the growth of new cells and is anti-inflammatory as well as mucilaginous, which soothes inflamed tissues. This compact lip balm is handy to carry as it can be used on any skin irritation.
• Tea Bags – Traditional Medicinals and Yogi have a great tea line packed with organic and thoughtfully harvested healing herbs. When you’re under the weather, a nice hot cup of tea can be very soothing. Tea bags take up very little space; it’s so easy to throw together a bunch of tea bags. My favorites are Ginger, Chamomile (good for digestion and makes a nice compress for pink eye or skin irritation), Breathe Easy, Herba Tussin (great for coughs), Throat Coat. When making tea, steep longer than the box says – at least an hour or so to extract as much as the tea’s medicinal properties.

For longer trips, I add a couple more items to cover almost any illness (see below). On one of our winter trips, I was happy to have these herbs on hand when Mathew came down with the flu. He had all the classic symptoms: sudden high fever, aches, sore throat, cough and very tired. He felt so awful that he took everything I gave him with no complaints. As a bonus, we were staying at a hotel that turned out to be the perfect place for getting a lot of rest. And that is exactly what he needed most of all. Luckily, we attacked his flu quickly with lots of rest and herbs. The fever broke after 2 days and he was back to his old self by the third day.

In addition to the above, I packed:

• Boneset Tincture – Nothing fights the flu better than boneset, especially if taken at the early onset of illness (we knew flu was a possibility since we received a message of reported cases in Mathew’s class right before we left for winter break). Boneset gets it name from the terrible pain one feels in their bones and the muscles from the fever of influenza, nicknamed “break bone fever”; the type of fever that makes you feel like your bones are breaking. It brings the chill to a head and flushes it out of the system. I also find it excellent for lingering coughs. It is very helpful for getting the toxins out of the system from rattlesnake and spider bites. It is always good to be prepared for anything when you travel.
• Elecampane Tincture – Elecampane is one of the best herbs to treat all chronic and acute upper respiratory infections, whether viral, bacterial or fungal (even TB). It’s also a tonic for the respiratory tract.
• Yellow Dock Tincture – Travel tends make a person “irregular” leading to feeling uncomfortable and bloated. Yellow Dock is a gentle laxative. It encourages both bowel movement and good digestion by stimulating the release of gastric juices. It clears toxins, moves stagnation, reduces inflammation, inhibits coli and staph growth, frees stored iron from the liver, aids digestion of fatty food, helps with acne, boils, and dermatitis. It is also relieves painful sore throat when the tincture is diluted into cold water and gargled.
• Epsom Salts – They are excellent for drawing out toxins. So if you have an infection, mosquito bites, bee stings, simply soak it in a warm Epsom salt bath (or soaking a cotton washcloth in a warm water Epsom salt solution for the affected area) and voilá, infection and pain are gone. Table salt will work too but not as well. It can also be used for splinter removal, itchy skin, mild sunburn and poison ivy. Epsom salts are anti-inflammatory and great to use for reducing swelling and alleviating the soreness from sprains and bruises.