Portable Pharmacy

I carry a portable pharmacy when I run. This consists of a small plastic film canister filled with a few important pills. I generally use an APS film canister, but 35mm will work well. You can get these from most places that process film. I put a little packing foam in the bottom, and then use another 'plug' of packing foam at the top. This foam prevents the pills rattling and breaking apart. In the film pot I have:

• Electrolyte Capsules. I don't use these very often, but they are useful if there are no other electrolytes available.
• Antacid tablets. Some foods can acidify the stomach, especially coke.
• Gas-x. Any gas can cause real pain when running, and it's hard to predict what will cause it.
• Ibuprofen. This is the strongest and the most dangerous of the pills I carry. I will post an entry specifically on Ibuprofen.
• Caffeine. Caffeine improves performance in endurance running, and is one of the most widely used recreational drugs in the world, with nearly three of every four elite athletes take caffeine when competing.
• Katadyn MicroPUR MP1. Having water purification tablets can be handy at times, especially on long trail runs. These are the smallest and most reliable on the market. http://tinyurl.com/yfkpar2
• Antihistamine (not shown). I carry this just in case of a reaction to an insect sting.
• Lancet (not shown). A Lancet can be used to burst a blister in an emergency. A lancet is small enough to fit in the canister.

From left to right: Foam plug, MicroPUR (foil), Antacid (green), Gas-X (pink), ibuprofen (red), electrolyte capsules, caffeine (yellow).