How to solve and prevent the 9 most common health problems during backpacking, living, studying, traveling or working abroad?

1. Acclimatize

• What ever kind of medicine you take, do keep in mind that for hundreds and hundreds of years people still get ‘tropical frenzy’ (due to food, climate, tiredness, new impressions etc). Take into account that some people just cannot stand tropical conditions. This is something you don’t have to be ashamed about. On your arrival take it easy for a few days, so that you can adjust to the new conditions. Do not start doing heavy duties, make sure that you have a relaxed program.

2. Travel sickness

• Anti-motion sickness pills are usually indispensable in every medical box, even though you think that you might never get nauseous. A bus ride through the mountains of Nepal, a boat ride in a tropical storm or a flight during rough weather can even break the toughest guys. Also the fact that you will be able to read a book on an eight hour bus ride on a winding road will make anti-motion sickness worth carrying with you.

3. Sun, Heat & Dryness

• A basic rule for travelers who are going to travel to the tropics is that you need to drink a lot of water, this way you will avoid a lot of problems.
• Make sure that you urinate enough. This is the best indicator for dehydration. Diarrhea is an important cause for dehydration. A package of Oral Rehydration System (ORS) can create miracles. If you suffer from dry eyes during your flight, bring some cucumber slices and put them on your eyes, or you can buy sleeping glasses/eye mask.

4. Sun allergies & Sun buns

• In countries near the equator, such as Australia and Indonesia, there are very big chances of getting your skin burned. Every skin gets burned if it is exposed too much to the sun. How long it takes for this to happen depends on what kind of skin you have and where you are (in the mountains and around the equator the sun is much more there). The protection factor (Sun Protection Factor) mostly indicators how long you can stay under the sun. You can duplicate the time you would like to stay under the sun by applying more of the sun cream. During the first days your skin will get burned within 5 minutes without sun cream. If you use sun scream factor 15 than you can stay for about 75 minutes without getting burned to much. Do not take a lot of risk when you are traveling, for your own safety make sure you have done enough research. A backpack might not feel very nice when carrying it, if you are burned. When burned you consume more heat.

5. Sun stabs

• This comes around because you are loosing a lot of moisture (without you noticing).

Symptoms:

• Headaches
• Dehydration
• Nauseous / throwing up

Treatment to dizziness

• Get the person out of the sun
• Cool them down by giving them a cold shower.
• Drink a lot, or use ORS.

6. Food

• Do not eat vegetables or fruits that are not washed. You might come across it during your journey. You might consider the possibility of becoming a vegetarian or being very selective with where, when and what kind of meat you eat.
• Make sure that you always have enough food when you are traveling (it can happen that during a slow bus ride, slow boot ride, closed shops or restaurants you find yourself short of food or drinks).

7. Drinking water & water purification

• Purifying water has become less and less necessary. Even in the most remote areas, you can buy bottled water. They might not be cheap but water is some that you do not economize, especially in tropical areas, drinking water is very essential.
• Are you going to the jungle or to mountainous areas, climbing a volcano or are you going to an island where they have limited water supplies, a water purification equipment is the best way to purify tap water.

How can you purify water?

• Sodium is the best way to purify water, but it will make the taste different from normal water. Tincture of iodine (2%, 4 drops in a liter of water, wait for half an hour before you drink it). Note: Sodium for disinfecting water is not suitable for pregnancy. Chlorine purifies water from viruses and bacteria’s, but not from parasites.
• Micro infiltration can be found in equipments where water is very shattered. Here the bacteria’s and parasites are caught. Because there are a lot of viruses that still stay behind in the water, micro infiltration is used to capture the remaining viruses that stay behind. A very popular combination is sodium resin and micro infiltration coal brush where the coal brush takes away the chemicals. With this combination also pregnant women can drink the water.

Tips:

• When you have treated the water, pour it in a cup with a tea bag and let most of the dirt disappear.
• To boil water abroad it is better to use kettle in combination with a cosmic plug. This way you can make a cup of coffee or tea.
• When purchasing bottled water make sure that the seal has not been opened; it happens that people sell water that is refilled or water that is not pure for drinking. Try and buy water that have a seal on them.
• Watch out for local drinks, it can happen that they are diluted with unpurified water.
• If you have a drink that is open make sure that you have it with you at all times. When asking for ice blocks, first ask from what kind of water they have been made from or just ask for a drink without ice blocks. Freezing does not kill any kind of bacteria.

8. Infections, accidents, Wounds

• If you are going on a trip to a remote and primitive area it is very convenient to have a variety of antibiotics with you. Discuss with your doctor which ones are the best to take with you.
• Small skin wounds can grow into a bad infections in the tropics. Treat every wound that you might get very well. Protect infected wounds well from any type of bacteria. If the wound is still there after a couple of days it best to take antibiotics. Watch out for wounds that have been caused by chorister, because this can slowly lead to a very bad infection. Clean it very well and make sure that you get rid of all the chorister that is there.

9. Ticks

• If you are going to travel in Europe, be aware of ticks. Ticks can be found in forests, gardens and on the beach and can bite into your skin. If a tick is long enough on your skin, you can obtain diseases such as the Lyme disease, CEE or RSSE encephalitis, Ehrlichiose and Fièvre boutonneuse.
• You can protect yourself from ticks by wearing long sleeves and pants and by using anti-tick spray on non-covered body parts. Always check yourself after spending a day in the forest or on the beach, as young ticks can only be 1 mm.
• In case you find a tick on your body, remove it with a special tick picker or a tick spoon. Make sure to not damage the tick, as the tick can still inject its poison into your skin. Do not treat the tick with oil or alcohol. However, after you have removed the tick with a picker, you should disinfect your skin with alcohol. If you do not have a tick picker or spoon, you should remove the tick by softly making circles on the tick with a wet finger. After a few minutes the tick will let go of your skin. Make sure to kill the tick between your nails, because the tick is not dead yet.
• If you have removed the tick within 24 hours, without damaging it, the chances for Lyme disease are small. In case a red circle is developing around the bite, or if you are experiencing symptoms of Lyme disease (head ache, stiff neck, fever etc.), you should contact a doctor.
• A vaccin excists against CEE or RSSE encephalitis . In some European countries this is even part of the national vaccination program.