Troubleshooting health issues while traveling

Your health is important and while you might have bought travel health insurance, you might not have to use it as well. Knowing the most common health problems that you might be faced with, as well as how to handle them, is important. You might have some of these problems in your daily life, and you’d follow a similar approach without a second thought.

Getting diarrhea
This is one of the most common problems you’ll be faced when traveling, especially abroad. The number one danger is this happens in a hot climate where you need to stay hydrated. To avoid it, make sure the food is well cooked, preferably in front of you. In many cases, eating street food is a better, cheaper and healthier option than eating at a restaurant.

Get vaccinated
No matter where you travel, it is best to get yourself and everyone else vaccinated against common viruses. You’ll be in close proximity with people from all over the world and you never know who will carry a nasty virus that can compromise your health. Be aware that you won’t even be allowed to travel to some exotic locations without certain vaccines.

Getting blistered
Walking too much can result in tired feet and blisters. Avoiding your feet to get tired is near impossible, but you can minimize and completely forget about blisters. Firstly, make sure you have comfortable footwear, therefore make sure it will fit like a glove, is soft, and has no pressure points. You might even want to break it in by wearing it around the house for a few days, just to be absolutely sure.

Bladder infections or UTIs
This is something that happens more among the female travelers. The most common symptoms are an urgent need to use the bathroom or an impossibility to do so despite many attempts. At times a change in pee color and scent can also be observed. Depending on how serious this gets, fever can also occur. Antibiotics are generally used to treat this. To prevent it, clean underwear, frequent showers, and wiping “front to back” are some of the habits to observe, because UTIs are caused by the E. Coli virus found in feces.

Superficial skin infections
You can cut or scrape yourself at any given time, but it seems the risk is higher when you travel. Mark the area around the injury with a pen to see if the inflammation or redness spreads. Make sure you clean the injury as good as possible and use clean dressing on and around it. If you develop fever or pus discharge, you might want to visit a doctor, though this should happen if your tetanus vaccine is current.

Insect bites
They usually get swollen and they itch, not to mention they are not pretty to look at. Avoid these by getting a good insect repellent product. You might need to use it on your clothes and on your skin for the best possible protection. it would be a good idea to try it out before you travel, to make sure it works: your skin’s chemical composition might not be compatible with some of the products.