With many people planning vacations during this holiday season, to do lists are being written and tasks are being completed. Many travelers are so preoccupied with packing, booking flights and hotels, finding someone to watch their home, collect their mail, and watch the dog that the last thing that is on their minds is getting sick. Unfortunately, so many of us fall sick either before or during vacation. Here are a few ways to handle the inconvenience of being sick while on holiday.
Prevention
To ensure that you are your healthiest self on vacation, it all starts with preventing illness as much as you can. Planes, airports, and hotels can be a breeding ground for germs. Just remember to practice good hygiene while traveling. Wash your hands regularly (and thoroughly) and pack hand sanitizer. If you are traveling internationally, make sure you are up to date on any shots you may need. As for drinking the water at your travel destination, travel writer Norina Masaki-Joyce, recommends that when it comes to determining the safety of drinking water look to your hotel nightstand. Masaki-Joyce writes “If your hotel has left bottles of water next to the sink, or nightstand, it’s a safe bet that they’d like you to use it rather than the tap water…”. Taking extra precautions like these can help you avoid spending your entire vacation in the bathroom of a thompson hotel san antonio (if that is where you’re staying), and have the chance to explore the outside.
Prepare When You Pack
Even if you are the picture of health before you leave for vacation, you may still want to prep when you pack your luggage in the chance that you or one of your family members could get sick. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests packing a travel health kit. When packing your kit take into consideration all of your family members needs and where you are traveling. For instance, a tropical destination may require aloe, sunscreen and mosquito repellent.
Knowledge Of Resources
Worst case scenarios do happen and travelers do fall sick while on vacation. The bad news is that your family physician is not available to you but luckily, we live in a time when there are several online resources that are available to you in case you are one of the unlucky travelers that become very sick when on vacation. There are many websites that have access to a variety of doctors that provide instant medical advice for any health problems that you may encounter during your travels.
Gearing up for a family holiday is both exciting and stressful. Try not to add to the stress by worrying about getting sick. Try your best to prevent and prepare but know that if you or anyone in your family does fall sick that there are resources to help you heal during your vacation.
