How to make a Glastonbury first aid kit

Glastonbury - which is one of the world’s most famous music festivals - is getting underway near Pilton in Somerset. Our colleague James Tytko is currently there and we thought it might be an idea for him to ask GP and author Adam Staten what he should be taking with him to Worthy Farm…

Adam - I suppose we don't often cope with um, hot weather and sunny weather much in this country. So people are often not very well prepared for it. Dehydration is a big factor, especially when you're active all day and out in the sunshine, out in the heat. You know, I suppose the waste dealt with, it's pretty straightforward. It's just to make sure you're keeping a good intake of fluid up. We'd normally say drink about three litres of fluid or a day like that, but if you're going to be outside all day and gonna be particularly active, even four or five litres, it's probably a good idea. The other thing to bear in mind, obviously that goes hand in hand with these sort of music festivals, is alcohol intake and obviously the alcohol can add to dehydration. So it's a good idea to try to intersperse any alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic drinks to keep your fluid levels up.

James - I will do my best. I can't promise that I won't be enjoying a few beers though over the course of the weekend, so be good to up my water intake, no doubt. Another thing, I have quite pasty white skin.

Adam - I think most of us have probably experienced sunburn at some time or another. I mean, obviously it ranges from being fairly mild to pretty severe. It's fairly easily avoided if you pay attention and think about what you're doing. Simple things to do is wear things like a hat. Obviously use a high factor sun cream and just try and stay in the shade, particularly in those hottest parts of the day from about 11 in the morning till three in the afternoon when the sun's really out high and strong.

James - The final prong of this triple threat of sunny weather for someone like me is pollen count.

Adam - Anybody that suffers with hay fever, it's worth just making sure you're taking antihistamine every day. Ideally a sort of once daily non-drowsy one. Just take that each day in anticipation. It would also help defend you a little bit against the nasty reactions you might get from any insect bites. If you're unlucky enough to get bitten, it will stop those flaring up so badly. And obviously you might want to think about things like nasal sprays and eye drops if those are particularly troublesome symptoms for yourself.

James - Long days out in the sun, I'll be on my feet for the majority of it dancing a lot too. Hopefully. A problem that I've experienced in the past is my feet getting really sore, especially when you're compounding this over a few days.

Adam - Best thing is to wear some sort of comfortable, well-fitted footwear that's not going to rub and not going to put unusual pressure points on your feet. If you are unlucky enough to get things like blisters, then there are some good blister plasters you can get over the counter from most pharmacies probably in the evening. If you're sat down somewhere for a while, it might be worth taking shoes and socks off and getting some air so they're not sort of sweaty and damp throughout the evening.

James - Yeah, I mean, I can't think of a much easier way to ruin my weekend than a severe bout of athlete's foot. Another inevitability will be loud music being sound systems potentially at points you might find yourself quite close to big speakers.

Adam - Prolonged loud noises can damage your hearing. In the context of a festival. The damage you're likely to be hearing is going to be short term really. You might be left with some ringing ears and slightly muffled hearing for a few days, but that should recover. Obviously if it's something that happens really regularly or it's happening on a prolonged basis, then that can lead to long-term hearing problems. If you're someone that's gonna go to a lot of music festivals and a lot of gigs and things, then some kind of ear defence is probably not a bad idea.

James - The last thing I wanted to get your opinion on going to festivals, the toilets are infamous and some people may decide, you know what, I just don't want to go through that experience. It's too arrowing. I know there are drug treatments out there to kind of b yourself up for the duration of a festival to wait till you get home to do your business. Are those advisable in that context?

Adam - Yeah, you're right. There are brands like Imodium, which is generically called loperamide and Anti-diarrhoea Medicine, and it'll slow you down and tend to constipate you. I mean, it's a bit of a personal choice really, but the downside to it is you take away the diarrhoea, it can make you quite constipated, which then might give you the other problem when you get home with pain and difficulty getting going. So, I would have to leave that in your hands, James, to decide if you feel that's worth it. But I suppose it is an option.

James - On that note Adam, thank you so much for all your advice. I'm going to go to the pharmacy now, armed with the knowledge and I think I'll probably be leaving Imodium on the shelf in that instance. Thank you so much for speaking with me.