Among the greatest concerns many travelers have is how to stay healthy while in a foreign land. If you’ve ever experienced an illness that came on abruptly, you know precisely why it’s problematic when you’re away from home. Out of reach of your primary care physician, you’re reliant on unfamiliar medical systems and professionals to make you well enough to travel home.
Maintaining Good Health as a Traveler
If you don’t want to have an illness impede upon your plans, there are things you can do to prevent it from happening on every leg of your trip. Also, buying travel insurance keeps you from losing money on cancellations. If you do find yourself too sick to continue traveling, you won’t be charged for things you no longer can enjoy.
The tips listed below help you avoid illness while traveling solo.
Tip #1: Get all recommended vaccinations prior to traveling out of the country. Use the CDC’s website to get a list of illnesses and diseases to protect yourself against. Heed all warnings issued by the governmental agency. That way, you’re not stuck finding out the hard way how dangerous it can be to travel to foreign countries without immunizations.
Tip #2: Make sure to carry a small first aid kit and all prescribed medication with you. Keep meds in their original labeled pill bottles bearing your name. Make sure that the kit you have is well stocked with things such as aspirin, pain reliever, and antacids. Having a couple of hard candy peppermints in the kit works well, too, to relieve symptoms such as nausea.
Tip #3: Drink plenty of water and bank extra sleep while you’re at home. The last thing you want to do is arrive at your destination dehydrated and sleep-deprived. Doing so makes it very hard to concentrate and even enjoy your surroundings. Make it a habit to drink lots of water prior to your trip and rest as often as you can so you’re ready to explore.
Tip #4: Avoid eating foods you know nothing about. If possible, carry a card in the language of your choice to restaurants that note any food allergies you might have. If you can’t speak the language and communicate your needs to the wait staff, you’ll have a written request available for them to read. That way, you’re not taking a chance of putting yourself in the hospital because of an allergic reaction.
This is just a few of the ways that you can promote good health while traveling. By being cautious in your actions, you’re able to travel alone for long periods of time without getting sick. As always, try to maintain a routine and slowly introduce new things into your schedule to see how your body reacts to them while on your trip.
Make Caution the Theme of Your Trip as You Journey Alone
Don’t let illness ruin your trip. Follow the advice above for best results. You’d be surprised just how easy it is to stay healthy with advance preparation. Err on the side of caution in the things that you do away from home so you can avoid disturbing problems such as Montezuma’s Revenge or experiencing a food allergy because you’re not familiar with the language of the land.
