Personal Care Guide

Pack light. This is perhaps the most often repeated piece of advice to travelers. But when it comes to personal-care items, how much can you really leave behind?

When choosing personal-care items for your trip, keep in mind that pharmacies all over the world stock things like soap, shampoo, deodorant and aspirin. Pack small, travel-size containers of these basics. If you’ll be traveling for several months, plan on replenishing your supply at some point in your trip, which is easier than lugging several large bottles around.

It’s usually best to leave appliances such as hair dryers and electric razors at home. These items take up extra packing space, and if you’ll be traveling abroad, you’ll also have to mess with electrical converters / adapters so that your appliances will work with foreign electrical sockets and voltages. However, if you’re traveling for business or if you don’t plan on going abroad, go ahead and pack them items if they’ll make life easier.

No matter where your travels take you, it’s a good idea to pack the items listed below.

For Your Protection

• Bug repellent: If you’re headed to a bug-prone area and are sensitive to bites, some type of bug protection is absolutely necessary. You don’t have to use a DEET-based lotion, although it’s very effective at keeping bugs away. Other options include protective clothing such as pants, long-sleeve shirts and headnets. Some natural repellents, such as mosquito coils and citronella candles, are modestly effective defenses.
• Sunscreen: Even if you’re not headed to the beach, pack sunscreen anyway. Reflective surfaces such as snow and water intensify the sun’s rays.
• First-aid kit: For travelers not straying too far off the beaten track, a few basics are all you need. Include a couple of items to take care of minor wounds, stings or bug bites. Also include items to take care of blisters, headaches and allergies. If you’re backpacking or trekking in remote areas, carry a more comprehensive first-aid kit.

To Keep You Clean

Travelers who plan on staying in nice hotels for their entire trip won’t have as much of a need for these items as budget travelers who plan on staying in hostels, huts or campgrounds.

• Antibacterial hand gel: This gel kills germs without water. It comes in handy for those times when you don’t have access to a sink.
• All-purpose soap: An all-natural soap such as Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Soap can be used for shaving, as shampoo or skin bath. It also works for cleaning clothes in a pinch.
• PackTowl: Made by Cascade Designs, these towels are absorbent, dry quickly and pack down small so they’re well-suited for travel.
• Toothbrush/toothpaste: Floss also can be used for emergency repairs on gear if you’re out in the wilderness and you don’t have a sewing or repair kit.

Other Basics

Here are the remaining personal-care items you should pack. Try to leave behind appliances and makeup, unless you absolutely can’t live without them.

• Shampoo
• Deodorant
• Disposable razor
• Contact lens solution (if you wear contacts)
• Prescription drugs in their original containers. Also bring a copy of your prescription.

Women are especially vulnerable during pregnancy and that is why they must take extra care of their bodies during that period of time and up until they are nursing. It is not enough that a pregnant woman stays away from alcohol or smoking, everything that has to do with her body such as eating or even proper personal care habits must be watched vigilantly as it may affect the baby.

In terms of using personal care products, a pregnant woman must place careful scrutiny over the items she chooses for the wrong personal care products might contain substances that could be harmful to her and to the baby as an after-effect. To help mothers-to-be out there who have no idea what personal care products to choose and what they should avoid and what they should look for in a product, here is a break-down of the most commonly used items by pregnant women and the substances they should and shouldn’t contain.

1.) Soap – Soaps are the most commonly used product, not just by pregnant women but by everyone so the contents of the soap we use are especially important. We are exposed to it at least 5 times a week and frequent use of the wrong soap can cause harm to your skin-and to the baby for pregnant women. So what should soaps suited for pregnant women contain? Shea Butter, Palm Oil, Coconut Acid and Evening Primrose Oil or Lavender Oil, are good products to be found on a soap- ingredient list. What it shouldn’t contain are Isoeugenol, Hydroxycitronellal, D&C Violet 2, Linalool, Geraniol, Limonene, Coumarin, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate and Benzone derivatives such as Oxybenzone, or Benzophenone-3, Benzyl alcohol, Paraben chemicals and Eugenol as these chemicals are known contributors to cancer, endocrine and organ system toxicity. One should also stay from soaps with added fragrances as they can contribute to skin irritation.

2.) Toothpaste – For something we put into our mouths daily, toothpaste should be especially safe. Contents like Myrrh, Water, Propolis, a Calcium Carbonate Base are good while Papain, Alumina, Propyene Glycol and Methylparaben can cause allergies, neuro and organ system toxicity as well as developmental and reproductive toxicity, which can be really harmful to the baby.

3.) Shampoo – Even shampoos can be harmful so it is good to also watch out for what you wash your hair with. Calcium Oxide, Sunflower Extract, Cinnamon scent, Rosemary Oil, Provitamin B5, Vitamin F, Wheat Proteins and Lemon are safe ingredients while shampoos containing Parabens such as BUTYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN, METHYLPARABEN and Benzenes and Acids like Lactic acid, Salicylic Acid and Benzoic Acid are harmful to your hair and general health as they can cause the same health hazards such as cellular and biochemical mutation, developmental and reproductive, organ and neuro toxicity as well as certain cancers.

Careful inspection of an over the counter item’s ingredient list is very important whether one is pregnant or not. With this knowledge that you now have on personal care items, you can be sure that you’ll be staying away from all the harmful substances you might be putting on your body.

Buying from a credible store also helps prevent items containing suspicious ingredients from getting into your shopping cart. Make sure you are buying from a trust-worthy store before trying out any product.

As the senior population increases, and many families no longer live with or near their aging parents, for those who need a bit of assistance the personal care home concept has become popular as a small and homelike alternative to the larger and more formally organized assisted living residence.

Depending on where in the country you live, personal care homes can be known as board and care homes, foster homes, residential care facilities, and even – just to add to the confusion – assisted living homes.

In general, a “pc home” looks like any other home in a residential neighborhood. Most have from two to ten residents who each have their own bedroom, or they share with a roommate. Their own personal furnishings decorate their rooms, and they gather in the kitchen or dining room for family style meals and in the den for watching television or other group activities. Living in a personal care home is very similar to living in any private home.

The difference is that these care residences provide varying levels of trained supervision and help with personal care needs (toileting, bathing and grooming, dressing, eating, supervision of medications). Personal care homes are not licensed to provide medical or nursing care.

Most states have some form of licensing or certification for these homes, but not all such homes have gone through the process of becoming licensed or certified. Small pc homes with only two or three residents are often exempt from these requirements. Some authorities believe that as many as half of all care homes are not licensed or certified.

The unlicensed/uncertified personal care homes may be difficult to locate because the regulatory agencies do not include them on their data lists. Word of mouth, local resource booklets, professional advisors, and the Internet are all means of locating personal care homes in your area.

What to Look For in a Personal Care Home:

• Are there enough caregivers? There should be at least one caregiver to three residents.
• Is the home clean and neat? Check out the kitchen and resident bathrooms.
• Are all bathrooms equipped with basic safety devices such as grab rails, hand-held shower wands and shower stools/benches? Is the home free of obstacles, throw rugs, raised thresholds and steps? Are all doorways wide enough for a wheelchair to easily pass through?
• Is the home over-decorated? Some newer homes are showplaces that could easily be featured in a home & garden magazine. That’s lovely for a photo, but is it livable? If the residents must be wary of disturbing or breaking the decor, the home isn’t resident-friendly.
• Who is responsible for administering medications and what training does this person have? Where are medications stored? Who calls the doctor or the pharmacy for refills?
• Are special diets available? Is the kitchen open to the residents at any time for snacks?
• Are there organized activities? Are the residents ever taken out for recreation?
• Are caregivers interacting with residents outside of meals or personal care activities? In a personal care home a caregiver who sits and chats with residents in the common area is providing valuable socialization, particularly if the TV is not on at the same time.
• Does the residence use a physician or nurse practitioner who makes house calls? If not, who takes the resident to the doctor? If they provide this service, how do they report to the family?
• Is there an evacuation plan in case of emergencies? Where will residents go if the home cannot immediately be re-entered?

Visit two or three times, if you can. When you find a residence you like, be sure to carefully review the admission agreement and any other documents. Remember that attachments, handbooks, or other documents may be just as legally binding as the personal care home “agreement.”