Rich or poor, no one can actually afford to get ill while traveling. Planes, trains, automobiles — and the destinations they service — are full of potential health hazards.
Just answering the boarding call and observing the fasten-seatbelt sign raises the risk of death by deep vein thrombosis or a killer flu. Of course, not all health pitfalls while traveling will buy you a one-way ticket to the hereafter. Most will just ruin your vacation. You’ll almost certainly recover, but it may be just in time to endure the plane ride home.
Dr. Joseph Mulvehill, M.D., a New York based physician who specializes in travel medicine, notes that “people often transpose their own healthcare template onto that of the country they’re visiting.” In essence travelers assume things will be quick and easy — this is rarely the case. No one wants to waste precious time seeking out a suitable doctor, followed by hours holed up in a waiting room, just for the sake of an impromptu examination or prescription. “Travelers from comparatively clean countries like the U.S. are far more likely to fall ill,” says Dr. Mulvehill. “We live in a relatively germ free world so, when we travel, our bodies react far quicker to the different bacteria.”
With today’s board meetings just as likely to be held in Calcutta as Cincinnati, it’s no surprise that frequent flyers are increasingly mindful of the world’s more exotic illnesses. Beyond passport control is a host of diseases like yellow fever, rabies and Japanese Encephalitis that we rarely come in contact with on home turf. Occasionally the eradication programs themselves can trip up unwary souls. “Some countries demand a certificate of vaccination against yellow fever before they grant entry,” says Dr. Mulvehill. “If you don’t have it they might force you to be vaccinated right there in immigration.”
A common misconception is the idea that high thread-count and a concierge can protect against Montezuma’s Revenge. “Remember, behind the façade of a luxury hotel, the conditions under which your food it prepared might not be five star,” warns Dr. Wroble M.D.. As team physician for the Columbus Blue Jackets, he’s had a lot of experience keeping elite hockey players performing at their peak. He suggests if you want to be absolutely sure of your stomach, take your own food or only eat American style – but, really, where’s the fun in that?
Even non-athletes need to be on their game on the road. There are unfamiliar cities, timetables to decipher, scams and hustlers and myriad opportunities to slip up. “It’s doubly important for parents to stay alert,” claims Dr. Laura Jana M.D., a pediatrician and co-author of Heading Home With Your Newborn. “As an adult traveling with children, you have to be able to make decisions and be in charge. Sleeping pills may help you nod off but you’re less likely to know if your kids are lost or having an asthma attack or something,” she says. When it comes to children, good planning will reward everyone with greater sanity. “It’s best if the primary care giver plans the trip and packs for the kids. That way they’re more likely to take into account those really small, seemingly insignificant, details. They can become a really big deal when no one no one gets any sleep because babies favorite blanket wasn’t packed,” she says.
In compiling this list of ten health pitfalls we consulted doctors for whom staying healthy while traveling was very much their business. Their advice had the ring of common sense but — like much good advice — these points were exactly the kind of tips most commonly ignored. The ten health pitfalls they identified are not serious buzz kills. No one suggested canceling that skiing holiday or holding back a spontaneous piece of bungee-jumping. After all, travel is about being open to new experiences and taking a few calculated risks. Often the pitfalls they identified seemed small but could snowball into bigger things. For example, breaking a leg on the slopes of Colorado may seem like a fluke accident but, for a skier who lives as sea level, it may have been the altitude difference that marred their judgment and took the pep from their step at that crucial moment.
According to Dr. Michael Coward, an Australia-based travel doctor who overseas the health of many workers heading for remote duties, “People frequently ignore pre-existing conditions. If you’re diabetic you’ll continue to be diabetic. If you’re pregnant you’ll continue to be pregnant. Travel with your condition in mind.”
Our entire panel felt that getting loaded on a plane was a really dumb idea but it wasn’t just for the blinding hangover you’ll face on arrival. Dr. Mulvehill identified dehydration as the most important pitfall that all travelers should avoid. “Kids especially need to be hydrated,” agreed Dr. Jana. “When you get off routine it’s easy to forget to give your kids something to drink and, because they’re smaller, they dehydrate quicker.” For big, small, young and old, avoiding these ten common travel pitfalls will see you making the most of your R&R and you’ll be far less likely to return home medicated to the eyeballs.
SLIDESHOW
1. DON’T STAY STILL
Regardless of which end of the plane you’re in, sleep never comes easily. Dr. Mulvehill suggests avoiding the temptation to overmedicate on sleeping tablets. “Don’t try to sleep for a whole eight hours. If you wake up, walk around to stop the blood pooling in your lower legs or you run an increased risk of deep vain thrombosis. At least wiggle your toes and flex your muscles in your legs.” His advice goes for children too: Dr. Jana claims that, contrary to popular belief, infants are not immune from DVT. For adults, aspirin before, during and after a flight will help thin the blood.
2. DON’T VACCINATE TOO LATE.
“Only about 30 to 40 percent of people who should be immunized actually are, ” states Dr. Coward. Also, don’t forget that many vaccines like hepatitis and yellow fever aren’t active for two weeks or more so don’t ask the doctor for a jab the morning of your flight. “What people need to realize is that most of the basic vaccinations, once you’ve had them, cover you for many years of future travel — yellow fever lasts ten years,” explains Dr. Mulvehill.
3. DON’T AIM HIGH AT HIGH ALTITUDE
Coast dwellers swapping a surfboard for a snowboard should beware of getting dumped. “No one listens,” says Dr. Wroble. “They say, ‘What are you telling me: not to ski?’ If you go from L.A. to Colorado your blood is not used to higher altitude and won’t be able to carry as much oxygen. Particular if you’re older or not in good health, you should take it easy for the first couple of days.”
4. DON’T TEST YOUR MEDS ON THE ROAD.
Using your body as a testing ground for a fistful of unfamiliar medication the moment you board the plane is a recipe for disaster. “In the past one possible side effect of malaria prophylaxis was that it caused terrible nightmares. They were very vivid and sometimes quite horrific nightmares. People couldn’t tolerate them so they stop taking it,” says Dr. Mulvehill. Start taking your meds before you leave so you can seek alternatives if you suffer sideffects.
5. DON’T ADJUST YOUR WATCH FOR SHORT TRIPS.
It takes four to five days for east coasters to adjust to west coast time and vice versa. “Jet lag the biggest travel health pitfall elite athletes face. When they head across time zones for just a couple of days, they don’t even try to adjust,” says Dr. Wroble. Changing routine for short trips can equal exhaustion in both directions. If your stay is brief — and only two or three time zones difference – schedule activities on your own time zone (lest an 8am breakfast meeting actually feel like five in the morning).
6. DON’T IGNORE YOUR MOTHER
At 40,000 feet above the earth you’re sharing recirculated air with 450 fellow passengers. “It’s simply a numbers game — you ‘re more likely to catch cold. Of the fifty people before you who used that moving sidewalk in the airport, twelve probably blew their nose and didn’t wash the hands,” says Dr. Jana. For adults that means don’t touch it – and for kids, don’t touch or lick it. Wash your hands regularly to avoid transferring infection.
7. DON’T DEHYDRATE
“The most overlooked health pitfall while travelling is dehydration,” says Dr. Mulvehill. “In August most New Yorkers only go outside when they have to but tourists walk about all day in the heat. Make sure you drink bottled water, especially if you’re in direct sun like on safari or standing in long lines,” he says, adding that it’s important to crack the seal in suspect countries to make sure the bottle hasn’t just been filled with tap water.
8. DON’T BE TEMPTED BY THE FRUITS OF ANOTHER (COUNTRY).
“After receiving vaccinations, people often make the mistake of feeling bullet proof,” warns Dr. Coward. “I tell people that 20 percent of staying healthy is getting the vaccination and 80 percent is following good food handing techniques.” That means, for travelers heading to at risk destinations, don’t swallow shower water, don’t brush in tap water, no ice in drinks and (according to Dr. Mulvehill) whatever you do, don’t touch the fruit salad. “If you peel it yourself it’s probably clean. It’s its all cut up in a bowl it might easily have been contaminated by dirty knives and cutting board. No one considers the fruit salad a danger but it is”.
9. DON’T FORGET A DOCTOR’S NOTE
By all means decant your meds into a SMTWTFS pillbox but don’t forget a note from your doctor describing exactly what differentiates the blue from the red ones. “If you’re taking Vicodin you had better be ready answer why you have it. If possible, carry the pills in the bottle that has the prescription taped to it along with your physician’s number and address,” recommends Dr. Wroble.
10. DON’T IGNORE THE REAL KILLER
“I probably spend more time convincing people that they don’t need anti-malaria medication than convincing them that they do. For many travelers taking malaria tablets is almost a Rudyard Kipling style rite of passage. In reality people are almost five times more likely to contract dengue fever,” says Dr. Coward, adding, “By far the most likely thing to injure a tourist overseas — and we’re talking 60-70 percent of all injuries and ailments — is a motor vehicle accident. Be very careful of traffic and make sure you’re adequately insured.”
Words by Adam McCulloch. Originally published on ForbesTraveler.com. The format has been altered to suit Tumblr.
