5 Tips for Healthy Overseas Travel

1. Check Out the Risks:
Click here to check the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website to find out if you will need to be vaccinated as well as to discover the known health risks for the area where you will be traveling. If you are not American, you can check the WHO (World Health Organization) website by clicking here to locate travel health related websites for your country. According to the CDC website, you should also make an appointment with a travel specialist doctor (whenever possible) 4-6 weeks prior to your departure.

2. Prepare A Travel First Aid Kit
You can start with a pre-made first aid kit, but you will need to supplement it with different things depending on where you will travel. Consider packing the following items:
Prescription medications. Prescriptions can be hard to fill overseas so pack more of prescription medication than you will need. Keep your spare prescription medication separately in case of baggage left or loss. You should bring a copy of your prescription and your doctor's phone number in case of an emergency.
Over the counter medication to treat headaches, body aches, diarrhea, indigestion, constipation and motion sickness.
Water purification pills.
Insect repellent. Mosquitoes and other stinging insects can transmit a variety of not-so serious to life-threatening diseases.

Take a look at the thorough travel first aid kit created by the Mayabelize website by clicking here.

3. Stay Hydrated and Beware of the Water
When traveling, it is easy to become dehydrated. Especially combined with too much sun, not only will you feel terrible, but you may have to miss out on some planned fun until you can get rehydrated. In extreme cases, you can be at risk of serious illness or even death. So be sure that drink plenty of water. That being said, it is difficult to know for sure if the tap water is safe in many countries. So if you don't know for sure, don't drink it. Even if you see the locals doing it! The locals may have developed immunity to the pathogens in the same water that will make YOU very sick. If you are cooking, don't rinse your vegetables or fruit with tap water unless you have boiled it first. Carry water purification tablets in case you can't boil the water or find bottled water.

4. Watch the Food You Eat
Eating different foods with different spices than you are used to can be the highlight or low point of your trip overseas. So use caution when choosing your food. This is especially true when visiting developing countries which often don't have the same standards regarding freshness or refrigeration as developed countries. Cooked foods may be left standing without being refrigerated or reheated and that can pose health risks to you. Make sure the food you eat is being freshly prepared and in a sanitary location. Meats should be thoroughly cooked.

If you, like me, are eager to try many different types of new foods while traveling, you may have trouble with some the recommendations on the CDC website such as staying away from uncooked foods or street foods. As a lover of raw fish such as sashimi in Japan and kinilaw in the Philippines, I haven't been able to stay away but I have learned to take precautions. In Japan, this is quite easy as normally you will see the sashimi you want to eat sitting on bed of fresh ice. If not, don't eat it. As for the Filipino dish, kinilaw, you need to check that it is regularly being cooled with fresh ice especially when eating at a buffet or cafeteria style restaurant. Kinilaw is not simply raw fish; it is a dish that includes raw fish, vinegar, onions, ginger, lemon juice, salt and chili peppers. You should not eat kinilaw on an empty stomach or without a carbonated drink or a beer as it is harder for your stomach to digest than sashimi. This is common knowledge among Filipinos but I learned the hard way.

Street foods can also be very difficult to avoid as the smells and prices are very attractive. In some countries, it's also a part of the culture I want to experience and enjoy. So I have devised my own checklist before purchasing street foods because I am not willing to give them up 100%. The first thing I check is to see if the food is covered. Then I will peek inside to see if looks and smells fresh. I also observe if the work area is clean and that items such as BBQ sticks are not being reused. If I am in doubt about any of these things, I skip it.

If you can, it's also a good idea as well as interesting to ask the locals how they choose their street foods and what they recommend you to avoid. They often know what your stomach won't be able to take versus that of a native. They may also give you some advice such as which foods to avoid on an empty stomach or in combination with other foods.

If you are going for a short trip, it is probably easier and safer for you to follow the strict guidelines for travelers that the CDC website provides. If you are going to stay for a longer period, you may have to evaluate the risks and decide which, if any, of the risks you are willing to take. The key is to know the risks you are taking and minimize them as much as possible.

5. Get Enough Sleep
Make sure to get plenty of sleep before you begin your overseas journey. If you will be making a dramatic time zone change for your trip, sleeping on the flight over can be a big help in combating jet lag. Plan a relaxing, no-pressure day for the first day in your new destination. Traveling requires extra energy. You have a limited time and feel pressured to rush around to see and experience everything but even so it is important to set aside time each day to relax and reflect on your new experiences. Recharge your battery each night by getting a good night's sleep. Lack of sleep affects your memory so if you exhaust yourself seeing all the sights, you may cover a lot but your memories might not be so "memorable".