{"id":2559,"date":"2012-11-05T11:23:11","date_gmt":"2012-11-05T11:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alchealth.com\/news\/?p=2559"},"modified":"2013-02-16T16:26:40","modified_gmt":"2013-02-16T16:26:40","slug":"ten-commandments-of-basic-travel-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alchealth.com\/news\/ten-commandments-of-basic-travel-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten Commandments of Basic Travel Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m guessing we agree \u2013 travel is great. But then again, travel can be exhausting, dirty, and just downright unhealthy. A survey earlier this year showed that 63 percent of travelers report that they or their travel companion\u00a0got sick while traveling<\/a>\u00a0advises\u00a0\u00a0John Miller<\/a>\u00a0of healthytravelblog.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, there are simple precautions you can take before traveling abroad which could help ensure that you\u2019re not part of that unlucky 63 percent.<\/p>\n

Follow these commandments, and they shall set you free. Or at least make your trip healthier and therefore more fun:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Research your destination<\/strong>. It\u2019s important to understand what you\u2019re walking into. At a bare minimum, check out the\u00a0Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website<\/a>, the\u00a0State Department website<\/a>, and monitor international news so that you have an understanding of the conditions in your destination.<\/li>\n
  2. Sign up for\u00a0mPassport<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0If you do get sick or injured while traveling, mPassport can help you navigate the healthcare system in a foreign land. With mPassport, you won\u2019t be guessing which doctor or hospital is going to give you better medical care.<\/li>\n
  3. Get appropriate vaccinations<\/strong>. Contact your family doctor and set up a vaccination schedule. Find out if your destination country requires proof of vaccination.<\/li>\n
  4. Drink bottled water<\/strong>. Depending on your destination, the water might not be truly potable, and that can wreck a trip faster than just about anything. It\u2019s also smart to avoid ice cubes. You could also use water purifiers or tablets.<\/li>\n
  5. Wash your hands. A lot.<\/strong>\u00a0Most germs are passed along via hand contact, whether it\u2019s touching various objects, or simply shaking hands with a lot of people. You should wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water several times a day, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.<\/li>\n
  6. Eat \u201csafe\u201d foods.<\/strong>\u00a0I know you\u2019ve always dreamed of trying fugu, and that\u2019s fine, but there are plenty of seemingly innocuous foods that could leave you writhing on the floor if they aren\u2019t properly cleaned and prepared. For instance it\u2019s best to stick with thick-skinned fruits that you can peel yourself, such as oranges and bananas. And try to eat well-cooked food while it\u2019s still hot.<\/li>\n
  7. Drive safe.<\/strong>\u00a0If you\u2019re doing the driving, know the local rules of the road \u2013 you know, things like being on the proper side of the road. Use a GPS if it\u2019s available. And always wear seat belts in vehicles and a helmet when riding a bicycle, moped, or motorcycle.<\/li>\n
  8. Get some sleep<\/strong>. This is not always easy to do if you\u2019ve crossed a couple of time zones. Jet lag is one of the great scourges of international travel, but\u00a0there are ways to fight it<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  9. Pack a travel health kit<\/strong>. Include things such as a pain reliever (ibuprofen or acetaminophen), eye drops, sunscreen, Band-aids, decongestants, antacid, cough drops and any prescription medications you need.<\/li>\n
  10. Bring some workout gear<\/strong>. It\u2019s a good idea to hit the gym if you\u2019re gone for more than couple of days, or at least bang out some pushups and sit-ups in your hotel room. If you go for a run, make sure the route you choose is a safe one.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Follow these commandments, and you\u2019ll improve the odds that you\u2019ll have a healthy trip \u2013 and a happy return home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I\u2019m guessing we agree \u2013 travel is great. But then again, travel can be exhausting, dirty, and just downright unhealthy. A survey earlier this year showed that 63 percent of travelers report that they or their travel companion\u00a0got sick while traveling\u00a0advises\u00a0\u00a0John Miller\u00a0of healthytravelblog.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alc-health-news","category-alc-travel-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alchealth.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alchealth.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alchealth.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchealth.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchealth.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchealth.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2559\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alchealth.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchealth.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchealth.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}