Safeguard Yourself With Medical Gizmos to Go : From sterilization kits to pill timers, these products make it easier to avoid illness and receive care away from home.
Staying healthy on the road is getting easier, thanks to a plethora of gadgets and devices such as AIDS prevention kits, water-filled pill timers with built-in straws and miniature medical data cards. Here’s a sampling of products you might want to pack.
If you’re traveling to countries with questionable sterilization practices, the Steri-KIT is designed to ease fears of AIDS transmission if you need to have blood drawn for lab tests or receive a local anesthetic. The basic Steri-KIT, for $19.95 plus tax and handling, includes 12 needles and four syringes. A larger kit, for $29.95, has 12 needles, four syringes and skin closure strips.
LensCard, the size of a credit card, contains a tiny piece of microfilm on one side and a dime-sized magnifying lens on the other. When you bend the card in the middle, the lens magnifies the medical information. The piece of microfilm can hold up to a printed page of information, such as special medical conditions, blood type, emergency contacts and physicians’ and hospitals’ names. Cost is $11.95. (Available from LensCard Systems, 800-322-3025).
To avoid contact with dirty toilet seats, there’s the Lady Fresh Hygiene Funnel, which eliminates the need for women to sit down. A package of five disposable funnels is $6.35.
To help travelers pep up or wind down, there’s a new line of “sensory therapy” from Estee Lauder. The dab-on creams include Muscle-Easing Gel, SleepTime, Energy Boost and Stress Buffer. Each tube costs $10-$15. (Available by telephone order from 800-723-7310.)
The Aqua Pill Timer makes it hard to forget your medicine. This $25 pillbox, introduced last year by Zelco Industries, holds two ounces of water. It has a built-in straw and timer along with a slide-out drawer to hold pills. You set the timer to go off when the next dose is due. (Available by telephone from 800-431-2486, with a $5 shipping and handling charge.)
There’s a lower-tech alternative, the Samsonite Travel Pill Case. The diary-size case has seven plastic compartments, each labeled by day of the week. Each day includes four compartments for pills. It’s $14.95.
Drinking water in foreign countries can be risky. But there are several devices to reduce the danger. The PUR Traveler, for $59.95, can purify 400 quarts on one filter cartridge. You pour tap or well water into the top chamber, close the lid and depress the plunger. Water is forced through a filter that removes parasites and then through another device that eliminates bacteria and viruses. Another option is the $29.95 PentaPure Travel Cup, which treats small quantities of water quickly. Pour water through the disinfecting unit into the cup below.
EcoWater is a countertop distiller. Pour in 1 gallon and it boils the water to 212 degrees and then changes it to steam. Next, it condenses it into purified water. A 120-volt model is $105.99 plus state sales tax; the 230-volt model is $125.99 plus sales tax. Both models were introduced about two years ago and are smaller versions of older models, according to a company spokesman for EcoWater Systems. (Available by telephone order from 800-86-WATER.)
There’s also the AccuFilter 5 Water Purifying Straw. The base is filled with filtering membranes that catch organisms. It retails for $21.95.
To avoid aching backs on long trips, there’s the Wonder Roll Self-Inflating Automatic Adjusting Back Support. You open a valve counterclockwise and the pillow inflates automatically. It’s $29.95. (Available from GNR Health Systems at 800-523-0912.)
For expeditions to remote areas, there is an Expedition Medical Kit, with supplies designed for use by large groups to stop major bleeding, treat dehydration and manage dental emergencies. A sampling of supplies in the $129.95 kit: trauma pads, dressings, bandages, splinter removal forceps, anti-bacterials, Pepto-Bismol and a first-aid book. A smaller version, the Traveler’s Medical Kit, is designed for a one- to four-person group. It has dressings, bandages, rehydration salts and other supplies. It costs $89.95.
To avoid sleepless nights and quell noisy hotel environs, there is the Soother Companion, a travel-size white-noise generator. It emits a mixture of sound waves to mask noise. The $99.95 machine is about the size of a hardcover book. (Available from Sharper Image, 800-344-4444.)
To keep mosquitoes at bay, there are DEET-impregnated ankle and wrist bands. The bands are effective for 120 hours. A two-pair set costs $19.95.
For people in need of supplementary oxygen, medical supply stores sell portable tanks. At MEDI-UNIT in Alhambra, for instance, units are sold with a case and shoulder strap or with a cart. Prices range from $220-$275. (For more information, call MEDI-UNIT at 818-281-2103 or another medical supply store.) Airline policies about carry-on oxygen vary; representatives suggest calling ahead to clarify the policy. Some airlines provide oxygen for a fee if you call ahead to reserve it.
Note: Many of the aforementioned products are available at Going In Style, in the Century City Shopping Center, and from Travel Medicine Inc. at (800) 872-8633.
