Traveling to new places may introduce you to environments which put new stresses on you physically, from altitude, temperature, humidity, air pollution, new allergens, and so on. This post will discuss the various environmental stressors and how you can minimize their negative impact on your health. Altitude Sickness At altitudes over 4000-5000’, many people experience … [Read more...]
Staying Healthy While Traveling , Part 2 – Eating and Drinking
Making sure you eat and drink safely is one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy while traveling and probably the most difficult to do. Avoiding "the runs" is nearly impossible If you travel for long periods of time, no matter how careful you are, at some point you are probably going to get hit with traveler’s diarrhea. Your goal is to “minimize” your … [Read more...]
Health preparations before your trip
Traveling on long trips can present you with challenges to your health as well as your current health plan coverage. Here are some things you need to do to prepare yourself medically for your next trip. Get any recommended vaccinations. Be advised that some vaccinations require more than one shot, received several weeks or even months apart, and that the vaccine may not be … [Read more...]
What to pack in your travel medical kit
The following list contains items you may consider having in your travel medical kit. If you are traveling light, you will want to pare down the list considerably. Remember that, other than prescription medications, most of these items can be purchase (often more cheaply) in any decent-size town in the country you are visiting. Prescription medications you usually take … [Read more...]
Staying Healthy While Traveling , Part 1 – Avoiding Diseases
Traveling in other countries, especially third world countries where standards of air and water quality, food handling, as well as local disease vaccination rates and vector control, may be lower (or poorly enforced) compared to the U.S., can make staying healthy a challenge. This post will discuss the various aspects you should be concerned with to prevent getting infectious … [Read more...]