Planning a healthy and enjoyable travel – Take care of your health while packing your bags.
Everyone knows that the start of an enjoyable trip is meticulous planning of where to go, where to stay, what to bring, how to get around, and etc. However, if you do not have a health plan, a pleasant trip may turn into a bumpy road. Let’s take a look at what you need to pack to have an enjoyable overseas trip, from before you leave until you return.
What you need to prepare for a healthy travel
If you have a medical condition, the number one thing to pack in your bag is to get a checkup from your doctor in advance before heading out on a long journey and prepare personal medicine. You should know that it is not easy to obtain the same medicine you are taking locally.
If you are in the first three or last months of pregnancy, you should avoid traveling even to nearby places. This is because the vibration of a car or the stress of traveling, which has no effect on the general public, can be dangerous to the fetus. Long-distance travel is prohibited even during the second trimester of pregnancy. Economy class syndrome, which occurs when sitting in a narrow seat for a long period of time, interferes with blood circulation in pregnant women, increasing the risk of miscarriage. If travel is unavoidable, you should consult with a specialist and know how to respond to emergency situations.
Even healthy people must prepare in advance when traveling abroad because there is a risk of various endemic diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, sleeping sickness, typhoid fever, cholera, and dysentery. In addition, since various diseases occur every year, it is a good idea to research in advance what diseases are currently prevalent in the place you are traveling and prepare for them.
Be especially careful about what you eat while traveling
The most important thing to watch out for in unfamiliar places is traveler’s diarrhea. This commonly occurs in about 1 in 3 to 4 travelers to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Central and South America, and more than 80% of cases are bacterial enteritis caused by bacteria. In most cases, diarrhea lasts for about 3 to 4 days and then gets better. However, children and the elderly must be careful to avoid dehydration, and if other symptoms such as abdominal pain or fever are present, it is advisable to visit a nearby hospital.
To prevent diarrhea, do not drink water that has not been boiled, do not eat ice that may have been frozen from tap water, avoid eating street food if possible, and wash fruits and vegetables yourself before eating them. If you have suffered from diarrhea whenever you travel, you may want to consult a specialist and take antibiotics in advance. Since many diseases are transmitted by being bitten by bugs or insects, it is a good idea to reduce skin exposure by wearing long clothes even when it is hot. Lastly, you need to be careful about traveler traffic accidents, which is one of the things that many people neglect. This is because there is a high risk of an accident due to an unfamiliar transportation system which can cause confusion.
It is best to take at least a day of rest to overcome jet lag.
No matter how enjoyable your trip may be, if you don’t finish it well, only painful memories will remain. In order to relieve the fatigue accumulated while traveling, sufficient rest is more important than anything else. To this end, rather than traveling during a full vacation period, it is better to plan in advance so that you can return to work after a day or two of rest.
For long-distance overseas travel, it is recommended to drink plenty of water to overcome jet lag. Coffee and alcohol should be avoided as they interfere with sound sleep. Since the disease may be incubating for a month or two after returning from a trip, carefully observe whether symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, jaundice, or skin rash appear. When these symptoms appear, you should quickly visit a specialist, explain the area you traveled to, and receive a diagnosis.
Isn’t the wish of everyone who goes on vacation to escape the monotonous daily life and regain vitality through new experiences? Let’s plan a truly relaxing vacation with a fun trip that is beneficial to your health.
Hanyang University Medical Centre
Professor of Infectious Diseases Bae Hyeon-ju
Click here to go to the website of Hanyang University Medical Centre.
