Going on holiday’s your chance to get away from life’s stresses and strains, but while vacations offer the perfect chance to relax, there are some practicalities to consider – and the most important of these is your health and wellbeing. If you’re not careful, you could suffer anything from sunburn to severe sickness while you’re away from home. To help you avoid harm, here are three tips for staying healthy while on holiday.
- Plan ahead
Your holiday planning shouldn’t stop once you’ve booked your travel and accommodation. There are other essentials to think about too. For example, you’ll need to make sure you have suitable travel health insurance for your trip in case you’re injured or become ill while away. Depending on where you’re going, you might also need to arrange to have certain vaccinations before you set off. From typhoid and hepatitis to cholera and rabies, there are a variety of vaccinations available and you can get advice from your doctor about which you may need. If you’re going to an area where malaria is a risk, you might also be advised to get a prescription for tablets to protect you from this disease. Pharmacies such as Online Doctor LloydsPharmacy offer Doxycycline, which is one of the most effective anti-malarial medicines available.
You should aim to get advice about preventative treatments like these at least eight weeks before you set off. This is because some injections or medicines need to be given in advance if they’re to work properly.
- Be safe in the sun
It’s no secret that the sun can burn your skin and increase your risk of getting skin cancer, but it’s easy to get complacent when you’re unwinding on vacation. To ensure you don’t fall into this trap, it pays to use a sunscreen that protects you from both UVA and UVB rays, and if you’ve had your bottle for a while, check that it’s still in date. Most of these creams have a shelf life of two to three years. Apply lots of sunscreen too, and regularly. If you take a dip in a pool or the sea, reapply your sunscreen immediately afterwards, even if it says it’s water resistant.
If possible, try to stay out of the sun when it’s at its hottest, which is usually between around 11am and 3pm, and cover up with loose clothes when you are out and about.
To avoid dehydration, make sure you drink lots of hydrating fluids too. It’s always a good idea to take a bottle of water with you when you leave your hotel or apartment.
- Pay attention to what you eat and drink
If you’re a food lover, enjoying the local cuisine might be one of the highlights of your holiday. However, there are some basic hygiene points to bear in mind. For example, if you’re travelling to a country with poor sanitation, don’t drink tap water – and don’t even brush your teeth with it. Always use bottle, boiled or chemically treated water instead. Avoid getting ice in your drinks too.
In these areas, you should steer clear of salads and uncooked fruit and vegetables too, as well as food that’s been allowed to stand at room temperature. You should also avoid unpasteurised dairy products, as well as undercooked or raw seafood. As a general rule, try to stick to freshly prepared food that’s hot when served.
As long as you pay attention to health tips like these, you should be able to enjoy your break without experiencing any medical mishaps.