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Gear and Gadgets: Travel in good health
By JUDI DASH Taking care of your health is especially important away from home. The following helpful items have been tested by the author and may be available in area stores. Unless noted, price does not include shipping. MEDS MINDER: Those little travel-pill organizers with the pop-up lids for each day of the week may be fine for those who take only a few pills a day, but what about folks who require more medication than a single compartment will hold? Enter the E-Pill 7-Day Medication Organizer & Reminder Combo. Each day gets its own slim plastic case with a clear lid that slides open over four large compartments. The seven cases, each labeled with a day of the week, come in a 61/2-inch-square canvas storage pack with an external pocket for stashing prescriptions or other small papers. The organizer comes with a battery-operated alarm (batteries included) that can be set to beep up to 31 times a day via easy-to-program slide switches. Seven-day Organizer & Reminder Combo is $49.95, including shipping, from E-pill; toll-free 1-800-549-0095; www.epill.com. NATURE TO THE RESCUE: Herbal remedies have come a long way from folk medicine status; many are now widely accepted medical aids. The Travel Herbal Medical Kit combines botanical components with other first aid essentials. Housed in a green nylon folding bag with three zippered, clear plastic pockets are echinacea-goldenseal extract for stemming colds, ginger extract for nausea, aloe vera gel for burns and skin irritations, and arnica gel for inflammation from bruises and sprains. There's also aspirin and antihistamine, bandages, bandage scissors, tweezers, moleskin, sterile dressing tape, gloves and other supplies. The kit comes with a sheet on herbal medicine use and a guide to wilderness and travel medicine. Travel Herbal Medical Kit is $41.75. For information, contact Adventure Medical Kits; toll-free 1-800-324-3517; www.adventuremedicalkits.com. OPEN, SAYS I: Child-resistant bottles may provide extra security, but they can pose a challenge to folks with arthritis or other limitations of dexterity. The inexpensive little OpenAid Cap Remover solves the problem and may be especially welcome away from home. Line up the bottle and cap arrows, hook the plastic OpenAid over the cap top and pull back to open the bottle. The hooked front of the tool can be used to tear off the tamper-resistant bottle seal, puncture the foil liner that seals the top and remove cotton packing. This little gizmo might be just as vital as that travel corkscrew. At this price, order several to keep permanently in your toiletry bag, the car and as a little gift for those you know could use some help. OpenAid Cap Remover (item 10009947) is $1 from the Container Store; toll-free 1-888-266-8246; www.containerstore.com. SMELL AND TELL: Oh, dear, is that your breath alienating your seat mate? Better check the BreathAlert, a palm-size, battery-operated odor detector that warns you if your mouth is sending out offensive signals. Just hold the monitor up to your mouth, press the button, breathe into the microchip sensor (which detects the presence of sulfur compounds and gas) and wait for the beep. The LED screen shows four levels of odor. One dot means you're okay, four means get to a toothbrush and mouthwash pronto. Runs on two AAA batteries, included. BreathAlert (WW-1335-85001) is $49.95 from TechnoScout; toll-free 1-866-877-2688. www.technoscout.com. CO2 ALERT: Carbon monoxide leaks can be deadly on the road in closed vehicles. Now you can be forewarned with the portable Carbon Monoxide Detector from the Quantum Group. About the size of a beeper, the battery operated Costar P-1 Personal Carbon Monoxide Detector clips to the car visor. Using an infra-red sensor, the unit sends out a 70-decibel alarm when carbon monoxide is detected. The detector comes in two models: a small one for cars and a larger one with wall-mounting hardware for recreational vehicles. Costar C1 Portable Carbon Monoxide Detector is $39.95 for cars, $45.95 for RVs from the Quantum Group; toll-free 1-800-432-5599; www.QGinc.com.
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From the Times Travel page
From the AP |
