The reason this article was submitted late is because I’ve been sick in bed for a couple of days. Not very pleasant. But it got me thinking about being sick on the road or in a foreign country, which can be ten times worse.
While in Orlando, my sister and I both got food poisoning from popcorn. She weathered the storm well, with only an upset stomach while I suffered from horrible cramps, vomiting and the runs. On a vacation in Hawaii, several years back, I had the flu and spent the first three days puking. As a result, I don’t particularily like Hawaii and have pretty lousy memories of that vacation.
Being sick while travelling is awful. You’re in unfamiliar surroundings, often alone or with people you don’t know very well, and depending on the country, you may not even have a toilet of your own to hang over. How can you minimize the chances of getting sick and make your travels illness-free?
Some people are more likely than others to catch things while abroad. Even within the same country, food differences, changes in water and elevation can turn sensitive people green. If you tend to get queasy whenever you leave home, even if its just a week long trip to camp, you may have problems when travelling farther away. Here are some tips to keep your stomach calm, although you can’t always escape illness.
• Get all necessary immunizations before heading out. If you’re going to an area that is known to have malaria, make sure you take your medication as directed.
• Wash all fruit and vegetables thoroughly in boiled water or peel them. Better yet, avoid fresh fruit and vegetables completely for the first week or so of your stay in a new place. This will allow your stomach to adjust to new bacteria before introducing a potentially sickening organism.
• Avoid eating meat in underdeveloped and hot countries. Use common sense, if you see slabs of meat lying in the sun with flies all over, don’t eat the meat. If you can watch meat being cooked up and then eat it while it’s still hot, you’re probably safe.
• Wash your hands frequently, after touching animals, smoking, or going to the bathroom. It is always a good idea to buy a bottle of that waterless antibacterial hand cleaner to take along. You can transfer it to a smaller container if needs be.
• Bring along a couple granola bars or other small snack foods. They will provide a familiar food that your stomach knows how to deal with if you find yourself feeling ill.
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