Here are some suggestions to help ensure you stay healthy throughout your vacation. These are sources where you can find health tips you need to know for before leaving on a trip, such as which vaccinations you may need, plus tips for staying healthy while on vacation.
1. Learn Potential Health Risks Before Leaving Home
A website managed by the
U.S. Department of Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contains some of the most up-to-date information about diseases, epidemics and other health news in countries around the world.
Click on the region of the world that you are going to visit and you’ll find a wealth of health-related information, including which vaccinations you must have or are recommended, an update on diseases in the region, and tips for staying healthy while you are traveling.
2. Do You Need Any Vaccinations?
Whether you are traveling to Mexico, the Amazon jungle or Cambodia in Southeast Asia, you may need to get vaccinations before leaving home. The
U.S. Department of Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website offers specific information about vaccinations that are required or strongly recommended before visiting various countries.
3. Get Vaccinations Long Before Leaving Home
Don’t wait until a few weeks before leaving to get those vaccinations. Many require time to become effective. Some come in liquid form and you take a specific amount each day for several days. Others might make you feel achy for a few days. A few, such as the yellow fever vaccination, won’t be available at your local doctor’s office. You must find a clinic that specializes in travel medicine.
4. Finding a Clinic for Vaccinations
If your doctor doesn’t know the name of the nearest clinic that specializes in travel medicine, the
U.S. Department of Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has links to state health organizations, where you might find information. This same website has a section on where to get yellow fever vaccinations.
5. Finding a Good Doctor When Traveling Abroad
You never know when you’ll need a doctor while traveling. Savvy travelers heading outside the U.S. take a list of travel medical clinics in the region they are visiting that are members of international organizations whose members may require some vetting. The
International Society of Travel Medicine has information about clinics in nearly 50 countries around the world. The
American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene also has a list of clinics.
6. Be Prepared for Emergencies
If you want to put your own first-aid kit together and learn some fundamentals of first-aid that might help you in a crisis situation while traveling learn how to put together your own
first aid kit. If you want to purchase a first-aid kit go to the
Red Cross website.
7. Get Healthcare Insurance for Adventurous Trips
Travelers going to remote locations or exotic countries should consider a travel insurance policy with a strong healthcare component. If you break a leg while hiking in the Andes and must be airlifted out, for example, some policies will cover the cost. For an additional fee, some policies reimburse you when you send in the bills then contact your healthcare insurance company for their reimbursement. Both
Insure My Trip and
Trip Insurance Store let you compare policies from several companies.
8. AllSafe is a Gateway To Other Countries' Health Warnings
Another source for tips about health problems in countries around the world is
AllSafe.
9. Is the Water Safe to Drink?
Many tourists on adventure trips or visiting foreign countries get ill from drinking water that hasn't been well purified, but it doesn't have to be so.
The
SteriPen water purifier, which is both lightweight and compact, can be used to sterilize water in your hotel room in a foreign country with questionable water, or water you've pulled out of a stream, without creating a chemical taste.
