<p>I’m assembling a medicine bag for my son, this is what I have so far, but any other suggestions are welcome:
-Advil
-Zyrtech (allergies might be different in a new part of the country)
-Throat lozenges
-throat spray (Chloraseptic)
-antacid (dorm food, ha!)
-thermometer (so he can see how sick he really is or isn’t)
-Advil with decongestant
-Neti pot and saline packets (he used this at home when he had a cold and has become an enthusiastic disciple of its benefits)
-Tube of whatever you use for athletes foot, etc,
-Tube of cortisone cream (maybe that’s the same as one above?)
-band aids
-neosporin</p>
<p>Wow, these are really great tips! I especially love the tip about having your special dinner/lunch before you come to campus. It’s way more special and less stressful then anyway. And Scout59 I love your joke about the sad music! My youngest D, who will be with us on the ride home, always calls me out for doing this!!</p>
<p>My medicine bag list for my DS (I think I’m including more “categories” than you did here – this is everything health-related that isn’t among his day-to-day toiletries):
sunscreen
bugspray
bandaids
triple antibiotic ointment
tums
bug bite gel
spare toothbrush
q tips
benzoyl peroxide acne gel
benadryl
tylenol
ibuprofen
naproxen sodium
sudafed
cough suppressant gels
allergy eye drops
mucinex (expectorant)
cold-eeze
cough drops
thermometer
kleenex
lip balm
moleskin
athlete’s foot spray (just added after seeing yalemom’s list esp since DS doesn’t want to use flipflops in the shower)
reusable heat/cold pack
tea bags & honey</p>
<p>Printed out the medicine bag list. It may not be used, but D will be glad that she has it on hand. I also start putting together a rudimentary sewing kit for her. I am ignoring the request for iron and ironing board though. Tell her if she REALLY needs them, she can get them on her own dime.</p>
<p>For sewing kit, I’m thinking: package of safety pins, package of spare buttons, and one of those little kits with a few different colored spools of thread, a couple of needles and a threader.</p>
<p>Tool kit: screwdriver with interchangeable tips, hammer, adjustable wrench, vice grip, pliers, tape measure, duct tape, zip ties (again, we have some category drift here…)</p>
<p>Other misc: sharpie marker, head lamp, hand crank flashlight with USB charger, ear plugs, shoe waterproofing spray, spare lightbulbs for desk and floor lamps</p>
<p>We’re also sending spare batteries for all his calculators etc. and the electronic thermometer, since many of them are little button batteries that can be a pain to replace.</p>
<p>If you will be spending one or more nights away from home, make an actual packing list for *yourself *now. When we moved Son in, I was so focussed on him that I forgot a few things for myself that I never travel without.</p>
<p>^^headlamp/ flashlight are GREAT ideas. My older son lived in a dorm that lost power for over a day. His room was somewhat lit by windows, but the hallway and bathrooms were PITCH BLACK even in the middle of the day.</p>
<p>We found one of those old style plastic case sewing kits with a few needles, some small spools of thread in different colors, mini scissors and that handy threading tool…doubt he will ever use any of it except maybe the Safety pins for making a toga! We added some diaper sized safety pins just for that purpose since they were already told that there will be a toga party as part of orientation. I might even throw in an old white flat sheet to use too.</p>
<p>I’ll be the voice of restraint and say that middle-of-the-night emergency items are great, but things that could be gotten at the local store COULD wait (unless your college doesn’t have stores like that nearby). I’m limiting her med supplies to cold medicine, antacids, anti-diarrheal, band-aids, and a thermometer (she always has Advil). Some safety pins (and masking tape!) work for wardrobe emergencies. She has penlights and even her phone to use for black-outs. A few batteries. No tools - she will know many local kids who will have access to that stuff.</p>
<p>See the “what wasn’t used” thread if you’re wondering if you’re going overboard. My D will have limited storage and that stuff does pile up.</p>
<p>You might want to put in a couple of the instant ice packs/heat packs. My boys at various times have sustained minor sports injuries and found it good to have these around.</p>
<p>For the medical items, I don’t want him to have to go out shopping (which requires a bus ride) while feeling sick. Most of it is very small. Toolkit items are larger and could be skipped if space is at a premium, but even I remember being very glad to have tools as an undergrad. I’m imagining a couple of small plastic totes (one for medical stuff and one for other) that will easily fit under the bed.</p>
<p>boysx3 (I also have 3 boys, btw) I just got a reusable heat/ice pack from KMart for $7. He can keep it in the freezer and then microwave it if needed for heat (the instructions do say you can microwave it from frozen). Of course this relies on him putting it back in the freezer so he’ll have it cold for the next time, but I decided that that was sufficient and took the instant packs off my list.</p>
<p>Hopefully your child is somewhere that covers that in hall meetings the first few days of class. Most places encourage roommate contracts and best advice is to tell your child not to assume you agree with your roommates on things. One person talking at our orientation told how two best friends claimed they didn’t need to list what could be shared/not shared. Later in semester problem arose around boyfriend…definitely should have been on no share list. Point is to tell your students to be specific and not be blown off by other person saying it’s not needed…specify, is it ok to borrow it not other roomie is not around to ask…iron, detergent, milk, etc.</p>