ASA also helps decrease mortality from an acute MI, not just prevent it. Use the chewable children's style for fast uptake.

you might include some meclizine (Bonine, Antivert) for acute dizziness, nausea due to motion sickness... or benign positional vertigo

Besides some of the items mentioned, I carry Caladryl, hydrocortisone cream, sudafed, tincture of iodine, and vaseline.

The sudafed comes in handy because if you wake up with a cold, the sudafed will completely dry your nose out and you can hike better. It was originally developed for the astronauts because they couldn't blow their noses while wearing a suit/helmet. You only need two tiny pills for the whole day.

If you aren't in an area with nasty bugs, then the Caladryl and hydrocortisone may be overkill. In the south, they are definitely required carry for me.

The vaseline is for covering dug-in ticks which makes them release, and also doubles as an emergency fuel, medicine for chapped lips, and jock itch or any kind of rash.

While neosporin and a band-aid are useful for cuts, The tincture of iodine is for scrapes and then can be left open to the air.

I pretty much carry the standard stuff, but I always keep some Medi-Lyte electrolyte tablets in all my FAKs. Most of the kits large enough to hold it have Burn-Away Plus, too. And I like to keep a couple forms of Hemcon/Celox as well.

For strictly day trips:
Tylenol
Motrin
Benadryl

Everything else can wait til I get home.

And, if I can get on my soapbox for a minute... aspirin. It is NOT a miracle, cure-all drug. Sure, it's light and cheap, so fine, if you want to carry it, go ahead. But don't think that popping an aspirin will stop a heart attack cold in its tracks. Ask ANYONE that's been treated for a heart attack - you don't get an aspirin and the staff walks away. It stops platelet aggregation, ie, clots. It doesn't break down the clot that's already there, it doesn't relieve spasm of blood vessels, it doesn't make your heart return to it's normal function. Yeah, sure, you may decrease some of the damage of a heart attack, but it's still going to be happening.

Bottom line - if you get a heart attack in the woods, you're going to make it out, or you're going to die. A few aspirin isn't going to do as much as a lot of people seem to think.

+1 for adding Ibuprofen in addition to the Acetaminophen. The two work differently on reducing pain. As long as you stay within the label recommendations of each, you can take them at the same time. The combined pain killing effect is greater than either alone, and in some cases, equals that of low dose opioids.

I found this out about 10 years ago when I had surgery and was in a lot of post-operative pain. Any opioid they gave me provoked severe dizziness and vomiting. I was given them both and it controlled the pain. Other Doctors I'm asked since then confirm that this is an acceptable approach when the pain is not controllable by either alone.

The scenario I'm thinking of is a broken bone and the potential for serious pain. The combo might make the pain bearable. Plus, you don't have to worry about trying to carry around a controlled substance.

Note: always double check with your Doctor or Pharmacist; they may have a different opinion,

Basically I go easy on drugs - I am not into playing doctor. I will pack some baby aspirin, perhaps ibuprofen for personal use.

I carry what is necessary for the most threatening and most likely scenarios: Benadryl and epi-pens for anaphylaxis (My son has a prescription), ibuprofen for inflammation and fever, acetaminophen for fever and pain. I do have some Imodium, but I would hesitate to use it except to just get a person to a place where they can more practically deal with the problem. Imodium does not treat the disease, it only paralyzes the intestinal muscles to prevent evacuation of the bowels. It is best to get it all out and hydrate to actually get better. I guess it depends on how far you have to go to get to treatment. Rice and charcoal (hard wood and small amounts mixed in the rice) are good for getting the patient better if you can't get them out; it helps get rid of the cause, provides nutrition and slows down the bowel movements. When it comes to fever, unless it is higher than 102 (medical professionals weigh in on that number), I would not try to reduce it if you are in a remote location far from treatment, The fever will actually help to kill the infection and is not dangerous unless it gets too high. I know this thread was dealing with OTC meds, but I do carry Cipro as well. I carry it when I travel, and have it for camping and backpacking when I need it. it is good for intestinal infections (not parasites) and other infections. I would hesitate to use it on anyone else unless I felt the risks justified it though. If you have a cooperative doctor and can demonstrate that you are going on some sort of expedition, they can give you prescriptions for these things and instruction on their use.

DF118 Forte (Dihydrocodeine), Tetracycline, Ibuprofen, Paracetamol + Caffeine combo, Benedryl or Zirtek, Malt Whiskey miniature, Aspirin, Oralyte and a small 10ml bottle of Bog Myrtle essential oil.

Some of the above aren't OTC meds though and Immodium isn't carried (better out than in and the Oralyte is used to take care of the loss of fluids, salts etc)

Edit - Forgot about the Dequacaine Lozenges

Not to divert the thread, but here is a link to the Special Operations Medical Handbook on scribd. You will either have to upload a document of pay a small fee for downloading it: Special Operations Medical Handbook