General Travel Information

Don't waste your holiday being sick

Spring is here and many of us are thinking about booking flights, arranging accommodation, renewing passports and picking out wardrobes for travel this summer. However, if you're like the majority of travellers caught up in the excitement of taking a long-awaited trip, you may not be thinking about one very important step – protecting your health while you're away.

Canadians spend a lot of money on their vacations. A recent survey found that one-third of those surveyed spend between $2,000 and $3,000 per person on a single trip and some even spend up to $10,000. If proper precautions aren't taken to protect yourself against travel-related diseases, you could be spending your hard-earned vacation in bed, or worse, in the hospital – wasting hundreds of dollars per day.

The most common ailments facing travellers are food and waterborne diseases, which are illnesses that you can contract from eating improperly prepared foods or drinking contaminated water. Countries that pose a high risk include Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Eastern or Southern Europe. Common examples of these types of illnesses are Travellers' Diarrhea, Hepatitis A and Typhoid Fever. There are ways to protect yourself from these illnesses and by following a few simple tips, you can ensure a healthy and happy trip:

• Plan ahead. At least four to six weeks before travelling, make an appointment to visit your doctor or a travel health clinic for an assessment to determine necessary vaccinations and regional health risks. Keep in mind that most vaccinations need at least two weeks to take full effect.

• Take preventative measures. Talk to your doctor about how to protect yourself against food and waterborne diseases. Dukoral is the only oral vaccine available to help prevent against Travellers' Diarrhea and for prevention against both Hepatitis A and Typhoid Fever, Vivaxim offers dual protection with a single shot.

• Boil it, Cook it, Peel it or Forget it. Avoid eating foods from street vendors. Unpasteurized dairy products, and raw or uncooked food, especially seafood, can cause an unwanted illness. Drink only commercially prepared bottled water and carbonated beverages. Avoid ice and use bottled water for brushing your teeth.

• Practise good sanitation. Good sanitation is important wherever you are. Always make sure to wash your hands with hot soapy water for at least 20 seconds before eating or drinking.

Source: www.newscanada.com