What should I put in my first-aid kit for the Camino de Santiago
(The Way of St. James)?

The Camino de Compostela pilgrimage is a bit like the Tour de France cycling race. You encounter all types of weather, all types of paths, and if you're going for more than a week, it's obvious that you'll need to find the right balance at every level.

What kind of shoes, what weight, what belongings... camping or not, when to leave?

Each human being is different, and it's well known that we are unequal when it comes to effort or resistance to pain. Whatever measures you take, there's no guarantee that you'll avoid little ailments, including those that happen stupidly, like a sprained ankle while calmly going down a flight of stairs... or even a triple fracture (including two of the tibiofibular joint) while walking, feeling hot, on a flat Spanish terrain with 5 cm of mud...

Some pilgrims, even experienced hikers, have had up to 21 blisters in total, or about 4 on each foot at all times... Others have encountered tendinitis even though they have been trekking without problems for several years, and others have had nothing at all!

Beware of overconfidence. The difficulty of this path is the repetition of the same movements over several dozen days, the too long stages repeated, sometimes the heat and lack of sufficient hydration, not to mention some flat stages with a lot of asphalt.

If you are following a treatment, be sure to bring the medications prescribed by your doctor, including a prescription for any renewals in France or Spain. Before you leave, talk to your doctor, or even a physiotherapist, as they are very specialized in ailments like tendinitis. Where a general practitioner may prescribe (perhaps) anti-inflammatory tablets, a specialist practitioner will advise the same type of analgesic product, but in the form of patches to apply directly to the painful area. Very effective and less traumatic for the stomach... For details, see each section in the Health menu.

You're not going to Uzbekistan... There are pharmacies everywhere, in France and Spain. So take what you need to cope for a day or two, or to treat yourself if it happens on a public holiday. If you don't have enough of one product or another, you can buy more when the time comes. Indeed, even with a minimum, your first-aid kit can easily weigh between 400 and 500 grams.

Here is a non-exhaustive list

To be adapted to your case of course (again, check with your doctor or pharmacist, this is not a medical prescription!)

•   5 disinfectant wipes
•   5 Arnica compresses
•   5 Betadine compresses (for blisters)
•   4 or 5 Urgo-type bandages
•   1 box of Paracetamol (effective against headaches, but also aches and pains of all kinds). Check with your doctor, as there may be contraindications...
•   Optional, but sometimes useful in case of a cut with a very sharp knife, cutter, glass, etc., a small sachet of adhesive surgical sutures (these are very adhesive small strips of about 6 mm by 7 cm, which allow the skin to be brought together). This improves healing. Do not take the whole box...
•   1 roll of adhesive tape or equivalent
•   1 roll of anti-blister adhesive (available in the pharmacy section of supermarkets for example)
•   A few Compeed-type bandages (1 small box and 1 medium box). Read the instructions carefully!
•   A few "second skin" bandages (useful when the blister is burst