subject: Senior Travel - 5 Tips On How To Stay Healthy While Traveling Abroad [print this page] Seniors can be much happier when they know how to stay healthy while traveling abroad. When anyone travels to another country, there is always a risk of getting sick. As you visit new places, your body needs to get adjusted to the people, different foods, the climate, the altitude, and the water.
Seniors know that it is also possible to get sick while traveling in the United States, too. However, some Third World and developing countries, and other countries in the tropics, present many different diseases that the United States isn't accustomed to on a daily basis. By following these tips on how to stay healthy while traveling abroad, you can reduce your chances of falling ill.
5 Tips on How to Stay Healthy While Traveling Abroad
Jet Lag - When you travel by air to your destination, you are crossing many time zones, and lose or gain hours when you arrive. This can trick your body's inner clock into thinking it is day when it is night, or night when it is day. Common symptoms of jet lag are insomnia, tiredness, headache, and even an upset stomach. On long distance flights, your body usually needs a day or two to adjust to the different time zone, so if you are feeling tired, get a little extra rest, and try to train your body to get sleep with the new time change.
Vaccinations - Most people don't like needles, but vaccinations can prevent you from getting some serious illnesses. Not all countries recommend vaccinations, but there are many that do. There are different diseases for different regions, and some diseases have outbreaks at different times.
You can ask your doctor what vaccinations they recommend for where you are going. Or, better yet, visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They have a special section on vaccinations at:
cdc.gov/travel/page/vaccinations.htm
Remember that some vaccinations require a week or two to be effective, so you should get them in advance of your travel date if needed.
Bring Your Medications - This is really good advice on how to stay healthy while traveling. Bring any medication that is required or suggested by your doctor. If you are taking prescription medicine, make sure you have enough for your journey, because you may not find the same medicine where you are going.
You should also bring a written note from your doctor, stating that the medications you are bringing are prescribed. Some medication might be seen as illegal in some countries and might be confiscated if not declared when you arrive, or if you don't have a prescription for taking it.
Altitude Sickness - High altitudes can make you feel very sick if you are not acclimatized to it. If you are visiting a mountainous region, or high altitude cities, such as Mexico City, Quito Ecuador, La Paz, Bolivia, Kathmandu, Nepal, etc. you can experience altitude sickness.
Some people are affected at levels around 5,000 feet or higher. Altitude sickness causes difficulty breathing, dizziness, confusion, headaches, nose bleeding, and dehydration. The best way to combat altitude sickness is to gradually increase the altitude where you are going. Stay a day or so at a lower altitude and work your way up. If that's not possible, you need to rest and not try to do too many activities for the first few days you arrive at a high altitude destination.
One drug that combats high altitude sickness is Acetazolamide. You should contact your doctor before you visit any high altitude destination about possibly taking this drug, or if you are healthy enough to deal with the altitude.
Diarrhea - Traveler's Diarrhea, also known as Montezuma's Revenge, or other names in different parts of the world, is a result of your digestive system receiving bacteria that it is not accustomed to. The result is diarrhea. It can also come from contaminated water, food, or eating utensils. That means that you can get sick from a contaminated plate, knife, fork, and spoon, as well as from drinking contaminated water or from eating contaminated food.
Many long time travelers will tell you that you are not a real traveler until you get traveler's diarrhea. Just like getting a cold or the flu, it toughens your system up, and makes it less likely that you will continue getting sick from the same bacteria unless it is something more serious.
Diarrhea can also be a sign of cholera or other illnesses. Cholera is a serious issue, and it kills over 100,000 people each year around the world. It is an intestinal bacteria infection that causes severe diarrhea, vomiting and leg cramps. Children, the elderly and other people with weakened immune systems are most at risk, because it can kill within hours, due to dehydration.
Cholera is usually caused by bad sanitation, so you should avoid eating in areas that don't look clean. Cholera can be treated by oral rehydration solutions. You can also get oral vaccinations to help prevent the disease, and it is suggested that you do, if you are visiting many parts of the world.
Probably the best prevention is to not drink any water unless you know it has been boiled, or is bottled water. The same goes for eating ice. Some ice in many countries is made from unclean water, which can cause cholera, too. In addition, don't eat uncooked food, or eat raw vegetables, or fruits that haven't been peeled.
How to Stay Healthy While Traveling Abroad - Conclusion
Seniors shouldn't allow travel health to stop them from going where they want. However, they need to know how to stay healthy while traveling abroad so they don't end up with any serious illnesses, which could have been prevented.
Seniors should always take traveler's health seriously, and spend as much time planning to stay healthy as they would in preparing any other part of their journey.
by:Carrie Roberts
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