I love to travel. I don’t love packing. The last minute dash to gather remedies and supplements was stressful when I didn’t have a good plan. I’ve collected so many pearls of wisdom from online resources and some of my favorite wise ones named below. What better way to keep the notes organized than in a post?

Homeopathy is a godsend. It can inexpensively and safely dispatch ailments that might otherwise ruin your day. Who wants to sit in a hotel room alone with a throbbing headache or food poisoning? I never travel without it.

Disclaimer, I am not a homeopath. I’ve worked closely with several and read the work of many more. As it is within all health modalities, they don’t agree with each other on everything.

The general guidance I follow is the use of the lower potency 6C, 12C, or 30C for repeated dosing as needed or a one-time dose of 200C, particularly when the situation is acute. If you can, try to avoid all food and drink about 15 to 30 minutes before and after taking. If you can’t, don’t worry about it.

To avoid antidoting the remedy, some further suggest to refrain from ingesting substances with strong odors, such as coffee, tea, mint, alcohol, garlic, onion, plus anything excessively sour, pungent, spicy, or salty, and anything artificial, such as food dyes, preservatives, MSG. I avoid mint toothpaste for this reason. Others believe it’s not necessary. And again, if it’s unavoidable, don’t sweat it. As Jerry Kantor often says, “The body’s vital force is smart and knows what to do.”

I’m a nerd and take my 100 remedy kit with me when I travel. It comes in handy in the middle of the night (both at home and away), at your kid’s baseball games, and any surprise trips to the doctor or hospital.

The one I love contains 1/2 dram glass vials and weighs 1.7 lbs, with 91 of the most commonly used 30C remedies and 9 of the most important 200C remedies.

Ok, yeah, I also have the 50 remedy kit, which I keep at home. It contains the higher potency remedies that can be harder to find.

When going through airport security, I opt out of the TSA scanners and metal detectors. A pat down for me and a residue test for my precious pellets, please. Just hand the kit to an agent with a smile.

While it’s best to talk with a classical homeopath real time, it’s not always feasible on the road. When I’m in a pinch, I’ll search the remedy + materia medica online and read to see what resonates. Below I offer lots of choices — the idea is to take the single remedy that most closely matches the specific symptoms and then watch closely, with some patience. Below I link to some useful posts. I will continue to add to these and welcome your suggestions. I’ve added a few good non-homeopathy options, too.

If you’re not buying the kit, consider getting travel-sized tubes of Aconite, Apis, Arnica, Belladonna, and Carbo Veg or Nux Vomica. I’d also add Oscillococcinum, small bottles of Bach’s Rescue Remedy and tea tree or neem oil, and a shelf stable probiotic like this one… plus packets of LivOn vitamin C and your favorite immune support herbs. Follow TSA’s 3:1:1 rule for carrying liquids on the plane and bring a doctor’s letter if you need more latitude, for remedies and food (recently, they almost nabbed a sealed jar of nut butter until I produced the letter).

ps. I also take a deep breath and a cue from Louise Hay, and ask myself — what is the meaning of the affliction? What is my body trying to tell me? What am I not “seeing?” (eye problems) What is my gut saying that I’m not heeding? (tummy issues) How am I feeling unsupported or what burdens am I unnecessarily taking on? (back pain) It can be a revelation and it works with children, too. For ailments and their affirmations, see here and here.

Aches + pain + inflammation

• Arnica! (I keep a tiny vial in my purse)
• Bach’s Rescue Remedy (for all emergencies, that’s in my purse, too)
• Rhus toxicodendron (muscle stiffness)
• Ruta graveolens (better for ligaments and tendons)
• Sepia, Natrum muriaticum, or Phosphorus (migraines, one-sided headaches, with nausea)
• Magnesia phos (muscle spasms)
• Cinchona officinalis (tinnitus and headaches)
• More info here and here

My #1 cure for headaches is to drink a ton of water.
I pack dried nettle leaf to make tea and healing poultices when needed. It contains lots of vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids. Nettles nourish the adrenals, flush the kidneys and bladder, and help with allergies and blood sugar management. I drink it daily at home and on the road. More info here and here.

Anxiety + insomnia

• Aconite
• Coffea (light sleeper)
• Arsenicum album (waiting at the hospital, overactive mind, can’t nod off)
• Chamomilla (irritable, overtired, esp children)
• Opium (night terrors)
• Cocculus indicus (worried, overtired, wide awake after a 3am check in on a child)
• Belladonna (bad dreams, especially of falling)
• Lycopodium (unrefreshed, dreamless sleep, esp with digestive issues)
• Silica (sweaty head, anxiety dream)
• Calcarea carbonica (sweaty head, cold feet)
• Sulphur (itchy, irritable, bed feels too hot)
• Aurum metallicum (early morning waking with depression)
• Natrum muriaticum (fitful, grieving, lonely)
• Zincum metallicum (restless, can’t get comfortable)
• More tips and specifics here and here

Lavender essential oil on wrists, pillow, and in spray bottle.

Bug bites + stings + itching

• Apis mellifica (stings and hives)
• Ledum palustre (insect bites)
• Urtica urens (made from nettles, skin feels scorched, constant rubbing, worse in cold)
• Arsenicum album (hives that are worse at night)
• Belladonna (itching and hives, esp on the inner sides of limbs)
• Rhus toxicodendron (itching with joint pain and/or fever, worse in cold/damp)
• More here and here

Both tea tree and neem oils soothe bites and can make you less tasty to bugs, too.
See above under aches + pain for info about nettle tea, which is antihistamine, great for allergies and allergic reactions.

Dental pain

• Think ABC — Arnica, Belladonna, Chamomilla (also for teething)
• Silica (toothache, gum boil)
• Mercurius (ulcer, coated tongue, metallic taste)
• More specifics including abscesses, gums, broken teeth, mouth ulcers, bruxism/TMJ, salivation here and here

Ear ache

• Ferrum phosphoricum (quick acting, best without fever)
• More ear remedies here

Emotional trauma + grief + shock

• Aconite (intense, sudden anxiety, panic, fear)
• Arsenicum album (anxiety, fear of loneliness, darkness, being imperfect)
• Gelsemium or Lycopodium (inadequacy, agoraphobia, public speaking)
• Ignatia amara (grief, loss, mood swings, depression)
• Kali arsenicosum (hypochondria and health-based fears, panic attacks)
• Kali phosphoricum (vulnerable to stress, overwhelm, ambition)
• More info here

Star of Bethlehem flower essence

Eye pain + discomfort

• Apis (allergic conjunctivitis)
• Bellis perennis or arnica (blow to the soft tissues of the eye)
• Arsenicum album (red, swollen, infected)
• Belladonna (hot, swollen, dry)
• Euphrasia or Allium cepa (hay fever, colds)
• Graphites (styes) and Staphysagria (recurrent styes)
• Ruta graveolens (eye and all muscular strain)
• Aconite (use high potency if panicked over a stuck, jammed contact lens)
• Similasan eye formulations — I like this and this better than the complete eye formula.
• More details here and here

I always pack sterile saline ampules in my purse. They’re soothing in a dry plane cabin, flush out irritants, and can help dislodge a stuck contact lens.

Fever + flu

• Belladonna or Aconite (sudden onset high fever with sensitivity to light, noise)
• Ferrum phosphoricum low grade fever, possibly with nosebleed or earache)
• Bryonia (gradual onset, dry cough, thirsty)
• Nux vomica (chills, Gi distress, strong nausea)
• Gelsemium (shaking, sore, dizzy)
• Apis (alternating dry fever and sweats with very sore throat)
• Phosphorus (flushed face, cough, sore throat, thirsty, vomiting)
• Sulphur (lingering, sweaty, aggravated by heat, bath)
• More details here and a helpful table here

Oscillococcinum (aches, chills, fever, 5-6 pellets will do you don’t need the entire dose).

Gastrointestinal issues

• Arsenicum (food poisoning, too much fruit)
• Nux vomica (nausea, cramps, overeating, spicy food, food poisoning)
• Carbo vegetabilis or Lycopodium (bloating, gas, food stagnation)
• Pulsatilla (slow digestion, belching, fatty foods)
• Cinchona officinalis for dysentery (severe diarrhea with blood, mucus)
• More info here

Caraway seeds for digestive problems including gas, heartburn, bloating, spasms.
Double dose of probiotics taken on an empty stomach (when possible).

Heart palpitations + worse (awaiting EMTs)

• Aconite
• Carbo vegetabilis
• Coffea (brought on by sudden joyful moments)
• Digitalis Purpurea
• Lachesis (with fainting)
• And lots more suggestions here

Jet lag + motion sickness

• Arnica (overtired, achy, out of it feeling)
• Cocculus Indicus (30C dose each time you change time zones)
• Also helpful with vertigo, motion sickness
• For disordered sleep, see anxiety + insomnia above

Other solutions include hydration (flood the zone!), exercise, timed exposure to natural light, and avoidance of caffeine, alcohol, heavy meals. Getting up, stretching, and walking around during long flights will boost circulation (heading off possible blood clots, hemorrhoids, fluid retention).

Sore throat

• Belladonna (sudden onset, strawberry tongue)
• Calcarea carbonica (with swollen glands)
• Lachesis (pain starts on left side)
• Lycopodium (pain starts on right side)
• More info on ears, noses, and sore throats here

Splinters + embedded irritants

• Silica (also helps with acne, dental abscesses, mastitis, and ingrown toenails!)

Sun + dehydration

• Glonoinum (heat exhaustion, throbbing headache, confusion)
• Cantharis (painful, itchy sunburn, if taken quickly can avoid blistering)
• Natrum muriaticum or Natrum carbonicum (excess sun exposure)
• Cinchona officinalis (dehydration)
• Belladonna or Bryonia (mild sunstroke)
• More suggestions here and here.

Take a cool bath, raise legs, sip cool water. No alcohol!

UTIs (cystitis)

• Sepia (esp with history of antibiotic use and thrush)
• Aconite (sudden onset esp after fright or cold)
• Pulsatilla (often indicated for those who are very shy, yielding, cry when sharing)
• Cantharis (for pain so searing, patients don’t drink to avoid urination)
• Nux vomica (Type A personality, irritable, short fuse, misleading feeling bladder is full)
• Staphysagria (honeymoon cystitis, onset after pelvic exam, suppressed anger, grief)
• Sarsparilla (severe symptoms, infection, blood, less painful to urinate standing)
• More info here

Drink lots of water and do not hold urine. Avoid sugar and acidic foods. Try probiotics, D-mannose, cranberry, grapefruit seed extract, parsley, dandelion, and goldenseal tea or capsules.

Yeast infection + vaginitis

• Calcarea carbonica (burning, itchy, thick/milky discharge)
• Natrum muriaticum (itchy, dry, irritated, egg white-like discharge, salt cravings)
• Sepia (itchy, run down, heavy feeling, worse in morning)
• Kali bichchromicum, Pulsatilla, or Sulphur
• More details here and here

Open a capsule of probiotic and make a salve with tea tree, neem, coconut, or oregano oil.
Insert a clove of garlic like a suppository (bigger ones are easier to retrieve).
Avoid sugar, alcohol, gluten, and yeast.

***

The homeopaths I know are personally and professionally generous, and eager for people to understand the profound gifts of this healing modality. Special appreciation to Mary Coyle for her mentorship and deep commitment to helping others (especially the children).