Along with losing your passport, being ill can really ruin your holiday. Here are a few tips on staying healthy and happy on holiday.
1. Travel immunisations
If you’re travelling somewhere nice and exotic, you should check whether you need immunisations before you go. Ok, they cost money and aren’t the most pleasant things in the world so why bother? Well almost everyone who comes back with a nasty bug didn’t bother to get the prevention. Whilst the doctors here are really good at treating people, they’re less good at the weird and wonderful nasties you will pick up abroad because they’re not used to dealing with them. Pop down to your local GP surgery and they should be able to sort you out with all the cover you need.
2. Water, bottled water
If you’re going somewhere hot, it’s important to drink lots of water, but make sure it’s bottled. Tap water in some countries, even France, can have different bugs in that we aren’t used to and can give you anything from kidney infections to travellers diarrhoea. If you don’t want to splash out on bottled water, boil up the tap water so it’s safe to drink. Remember ice is water so order your drinks without!
3. Sunscreen
As tempting as it is to leave off the sunscreen, or even lather on the tanning oil so you get the best tan; it’s not good for your skin. Short term you’re likely to get sunburn and looking like a lobster in all your photos isn’t a great thing. Long term you’re increasing your risk of skin cancer or ending up looking like Donatella Versace. Your choice but I choose tanning safely over leather skin.
4. In flight stockings
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) can really spoil your holiday, these clots in the leg can be caused by immobility for just a few hours and can cause clots on your lungs. Any type of travel more than 3 hours, especially flights and car journeys and you need to take precautions, especially girls on the pill as that makes clots more likely. Compression stockings, making sure you drink lots of water and getting up every couple of hours for a quick walk can reduce your risk dramatically.
5. Basic medical kit
You can’t stop every health issue abroad but a little kit of essentials in your suitcase can relieve the stress. The basic capsule should include
- Sunscreen and aftersun lotion
- Insect repellant and bite cream
- Painkillers
- A few plasters
- Hand sanitiser or antiseptic cream
- Sachet of dioralyte for rehydration if you have diarrhoea, although flat cola works just as well
- Any regular medications you take, along with a recent prescription if you have one
- Travel health insurance card and emergency contact details
These tips should help you stay well on your travels… Have a great trip!
