I have used the topical in many forms (cream, liquipen, etc) and it's great for little stuff like mosquito and ant bites to take away the itch and swelling but for anything that a person has a "real" allergic reaction to, I would go with the oral as well. I usually carry a couple tabs of the oral in my FAK when camping but that is mostly for hay fever type stuff should it tend to sneak up on me. It rarely happens (to me) but when it does it can really ruin the weekend if you?re not prepared. Two or three tabs in a blister pack are so small and light that I figure "why not". I usually keep one or two Imodium in blister packs as well. Occasionally that river water gets to me and would ruin the weekend as well if I wasn't prepared with the Imodium. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />