Guide On How To Stay Healthy When You Travel To A Foreign Land

Effect of Travel on health

We all travel from time to time to different places for different reasons. Travel can be within a country, a continent, or outside to a foreign land using various means of transportation.

Staying healthy during the trip is another day’s discussion. Here, we will discuss how to remain healthy when you travel to a foreign land to enjoy good health.

Staying healthy in your new location is not a thing you start a discussion when you have to arrive your destination. Moreover, it is not all that complex thing. It usually starts from the day you planned the trip to when you come back. The following guidelines should help you in having a healthy successful stay.

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Before You Travel To That Foreign Land

Proper Research: This has to do with a lot of personal research using all available resources at your disposal. To start with, the following information is necessary

• Prevalent disease in the area
• Methods of treatments
• Environment conditions like temperature, relative humidity, altitude, etc.
• Availability of the medications

Some of this information can be obtained online, but it is advisable you contact your doctor and if possible, the Foreign Common Office (F.C.O) of the country you are to visit if it is abroad. They all should have a better idea of the situations of things of your destination. Take for example the period of Ebola. Visit affected countries usually require lectures on risk and safety measures by various countries. This should be done weeks before your scheduled travel date. This helps to prepare all necessary information for you and if possible, enough time for vaccination.

Treat And Immunise: Protect yourself against possible infection in the host environment by taking some medications before you travel. Some drugs do prevent disease before contracting it why immunisation for some disease also works. It should be noted that some immunisation takes weeks before they become effective.

Taking Medicines And Other Necessary Things: Some medications may not be available in
your host community. This is because some drugs are race specific. In such a case, it is important to know those drugs why taking them along as the host community may not have the type that works best for your kind of person. Medications for disease conditions a patient is suffering from that is not in that country will not be available. Also, do not forget to go along with materials such as mosquito net if the area is prone to it and may not be locally available to you as a foreigner.

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During Your Stay

Healthy living: At the point of arrival, start strict hygiene that is not against local custom. Since it is difficult to carry along food that may last for a long time, follow the rules to have a better health:

• Get information from the locals. Ask them the kind of disease disturbing them and what they do to prevent and treat them.
• Consult a doctor for special advice with all the necessary information you can give for best result
• Always wash your hand with soap and running water before and after food and after using the toilet
• Eat only hot well-cooked food  as you avoid raw foods including salads and eggs
• Avoid fruits that do not require peeling before eating. e.g. apple fruits
• Avoid bush meat to the core. Monkey is believed to be the carrier of Ebola virus and as such monkeys from Ebola prone communities are to be avoided
• Drink can water or disinfected water that has been boiled and cooled
• Avoid regular activities that may seem harmless to those that are indigenous to the area like swimming in either swimming pool or a river.
• Avoid pet’s animals to the core, as your immune system may not be able to resist disease from it. The locals may not be getting an infection from it because they have their immunity to it already. This does not mean that it is safe
• Use clothing that suits your new environment. This is because a change of environment from cold to heat environment may lead to a serious condition if there was no protection. Like the use of screen protection for both eyes and body and light or heavy clothing in hot or cold environment respectively.
• Treat yourself properly in case of any illness by contacting your nearest hospital. Visitor’s conditions are usually worse and highly unpredictable when a local illness strikes them down which is unlike the locals.

Some people do not go back home for years as they may intend to stay for a long time. In such cases, gradually living the lives style of the locals over time will yield benefits as the immune system will start to adapt to it. Food born is one of the most common diseases abroad.

Getting Back Home

Going home after a successful trip is not the end of it as some people can be carriers of different types of diseases without symptoms. For that reason, the best thing to do immediately is getting medical attention. Visit your doctor for a check-up. It is better to explain any treatment carried out during the period of stay as well as methods used in treating them.

Travelling abroad could be fun and interesting, but staying healthy is of utmost importance. Having bad health during the period of stay can rob one of the joys of travel. Please, lets us learn to stay healthy not just when we travel but at all times.

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