Keeping Healthy When You Travel

This page is dedicated to helping you to keep healthy when you travel. We are busy people and at times, the last thing on our minds when we travel is our health. On these pages, I’ll try to help you with travel health tips and resources.

I’d also like to hear from you with your own tips and what you’d like to see me cover on these pages. Just leave a comment below please.

What To Take With You

There are things I take with me as I never know when I’ll need them. Watch the video to find out.

Country Health Requirements

You can always check the airlines with whom you are traveling for health requirements for the country you’re visiting. Don’t take this for granted. Do it before you leave.

Some countries such as Ghana will give you a yellow fever injection as you arrive if you don’t have one; you have no choice. Others monitor your body’s temperature and have you walk on a disinfected mat when you arrive. You may not notice it, but it happens right before your eyes. Check on arriving in Hong Kong the next time.

You’re most times too busy to notice as you’re rushing when you arrive, but a lot is done to keep us safe when we travel.

Can I Drink The Water?

In most places you can drink the water from the tap. However, ask first to make sure its O.K. Oftentimes, its O.K. for the locals, but your stomach is different and you may have issues.

I had an mazing meal in Beijing once and on my way back to the U.S. the next day, I spent most of the flight in the toilet. I was fine once I landed :-). But it was not a fun flight.

On another trip to Mexico, I had some street food; it was really good; some sort of stew beef and it was not a good experience that night. I was fine the next day.

So just be careful out there.

Medicine

It’s good to talk to your Doctor before you travel, especially if you have specialized medicine. Oftentimes the medicine is different in its name, but the ingredients are the same.

One thing too is to ensure that you read the dosage. I was in Berlin once and had a high fever. My friend had  some Panadol which contains ibuprofen so its like taking Advil or Tylenol in the U.S. I normally take two in the U.S., so I took two. Well, I felt really groovy after and fell asleep.

Once I awoke, I was feeling much better and wondered what was the dosage. It was 500mg each! In the U.S. it would be 250mg each!

I had travel insurance and was ready to invoke it had I not gotten better.

Travel Insurance

Most people I know don’t buy travel insurance as they think its a rip off. However, its not. It’s a way for you to have peace of mind.

If you get sick on a trip, it can be quite expensive to get treatment locally. That’s where your travel insurance kicks in. They usually have a hotline you can call and get help.

Also, if you have to be flown out to another place to get more advanced help, you have it. This is perhaps the best part of travel insurance.

I have a whole page dedicated to travel insurance. Check it out.

I do not leave home without it; you should too.

Pharmacies

Pharmacies come with different names when you travel. Try to learn the local word for pharmacy as it will help you. Usually there’s a big green and white plus sign to tell you :-).

However, they are usually not open 24 hours or past 5p or so.

Homemade Remedies

I was in the beach town of Mancora, Peru with two friends a few years ago. We all went out and had some local food at a restaurant. The next day one of them got sick.

So calling on my grandmother’s teaching, I went in search of some ginger so I could make some ginger tea for him. I did not know the word for ginger nor market in Spanish, so it was a fun exercise, plus I had no time to dilly dally.

I stopped by the pharmacy and wanted to see what they had for stomach aches. They actually had peptobismal on the counter as well as Andrews which is a tablet you put in water, it fizzes and you drink it. Very good for upset stomach. Its used in British countries widely. Not so in the U.S.

I asked them where is the market as I wanted ginger. I remember having to show them a photo on my phone.

Immediately they recognized it and pointed me to the mercado (yeah, I learned the Spanish word for market). I took a little scooter transport thingy and was there in no time.

Now to find ginger. I walked around and looked until I found it. Bought some. Got back on the scooter thingy and back to the cottage on the beach.

There, I asked the front desk folks to use the kitchen, which they allowed. So I washed the ginger, cut it up in fine pieces ad I had nothing to pound it with and boiled some tea.

About an hour later, my friend was good to go again.

Additional resources:

The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia USA

The U.S. State Department Health Information

IATA’s Web site (this will take you to an external Website)

More information to come… What say you?