Armed And Ready...For The School Holidays

It’s holiday time again and what do we do? We go on holidays.

- Pank Jit Sin

Gone are the days when kids are contented with stayovers at their cousin’s or friends’ houses. These days, kids INSIST parents bring them to exotic and new places. This, of course, is stressful to us. But being the loving parents we are, we submit to their requests and bring them to new and far off places.

While it may be fun to take in new tastes, sights and sounds, there’s something that we may miss— the new tastes often come with unwelcome side effects. Any change in diet can elicit a reaction from our digestive tract and bowel causing either diarrhoea or constipation. Then there’s the possibility of food poisoning if one is travelling in less hygienic areas.

Being someone with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and prone to diarrhoea and constipation, yours truly has learned to equip himself with an array of medication and supplements to get through the tough episodes and to allow himself the liberty of gorging on all the local foods.

Here are some common, but useful over-the-counter (OTC) medications that should be part of your travel must-haves. Please note that these are not endorsements.