Rest must be healthy

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

To get sick during a long-awaited vacation, and even in another country - what could be more offensive ?! But catching an infection in foreign lands is much easier than at home: changing time zones and difficulties in acclimatization weaken the body, and an aggressive "microenvironment" coupled with unsanitary conditions in hotels and eateries can knock anyone down. However, protecting yourself and your family is not difficult: just a little preparation before the trip and very little caution during the holidays.

Before the trip

In each country, alas, not only the original culture and nature, but also its own specific infections, for contact with which your body may not be ready. Therefore, before going to rest in distant countries, it is necessary to get the appropriate vaccinations, so that later you do not remember this vacation with regret about the money spent and undermined health.

So, if you are going to relax in the countries of Africa or South America, then you need to be vaccinated against yellow fever - a terrible viral disease transmitted through mosquito bites. If you are traveling to Saudi Arabia, you must get vaccinated against meningococcal infection. The vaccine for Japanese encephalitis is given to everyone who travels to Vietnam, China, Nepal or Laos.

Vaccinations should not be neglected, even if you are going to closer countries: for example, in southern Italy the risk of contracting hepatitis A is eight times higher than in Germany, and in Turkey this risk increases 50 times! If you want to wander through the forests of central Europe, then you need to protect yourself from tick-borne encephalitis.

However, vaccination will not save you from all misfortunes. And if insurance can save you from severe cases, then you will have to cope with such things as an upset stomach or a cold on your own. So that they do not spoil your rest, you need to pack with you on the road:

• General pain relievers (such as analgin or tempalgin).
• Anti-cold kit. Usually, this is paracetamol or aspirin plus some kind of complex symptomatic drug that you trust.
• Gastric kit. This may include enterosgel, festal, or other enzyme preparations. Activated carbon never hurts. You can take an imodium or its analogue with you, but you need to use it only as a last resort, for example, if you need to endure the flight. It would be nice to grab something for motion sickness if you are going to travel by water or by bus - for example, cerucal.
• Trauma kit. There will be no unnecessary packaging of plasters (especially when new sandals begin to rub your foot!), As well as sterile cotton wool and bandages. Iodine or brilliant green in a pencil, as well as hydrogen peroxide, are suitable for treating scratches and cuts.
• Sunburn cream.
• If you are prone to allergies, take those anti-allergic drugs that you trust. You should not look for suitable medicines right on the spot: firstly, it will be difficult to find exactly what you need in a foreign country, and secondly, during an allergy attack there will be no time for this!
• Antibacterial hand products. Their timely use can save you from many diseases: for example, hepatitis A, mentioned above, is transmitted through unwashed vegetables and fruits and is a direct result of careless attitude to hygiene. Therefore, when water is not available, use antibacterial hand wipes or hand gel. We can recommend the Dettol brand products, which kill 99.9% of bacteria! Many other medicines may not be needed if these products are used conscientiously.

Hotel room, food and water

Hotel rooms, despite their apparent cleanliness, can in fact turn out to be a storehouse of infections. It must be remembered that dozens, if not hundreds of people use them a year and the germs of each of the previous visitors may be on you.

More recently, microbiologists from the University of Houston conducted a comprehensive study of the cleanliness of hotel rooms. It turned out that bacterial contamination in hotel rooms exceeds the sanitary standards of hospitals by 2-10 times! Among the "dirtiest" places in the room, the TV remote control, hotel phone buttons and all kinds of switches are in the lead. However, these items are significantly inferior to the bucket, mop and gloves of the maid, who not only cleans the room, but also transfers bacteria from one room to another. So you can politely ask the maid to change gloves before cleaning your room, and also to change the water in the bucket.

In addition, it is known that one of the dirtiest things in public places is the button on devices with liquid soap. After all, everyone uses it many times a day! If you are on a vacation with children and sometimes find it difficult to get them to wash their hands, take the Dettol No-Touch System with a spare block of antibacterial soap with you. When using it, you do not need to press any buttons, you just need to move your hand under the sensor to get the right dose of soap - children love it so much!

Dettol Liquid Soap kills 99.9% of bacteria, including E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus *. The No-Touch system is lightweight and compact, does not take up much space when carrying, and now both adults and children will like washing their hands.

Keep in mind that in many hotels in developing countries, washed linens and clean towels are far from taken for granted. If you are placed in a room with dirty bedding, be sure to ask to change it to clean one. If you have the slightest doubts about cleanliness, do not use a hotel towel, it is better to buy a new one - good, it is quite inexpensive.

In addition, you should not trust the local tap water (and remember that ice for cocktails in the nearest eatery is also made from it!) Whenever possible, it should be replaced with bottled or boiled water - and this applies not only to drinking, but also, for example water for washing fruit. By the way, all fruits must not only be washed well, but also peeled before eating.

You should also avoid eating junk food that contains mayonnaise, butter or other perishable foods - this is especially true in hot countries. If you order meat, then only well thermally processed - fried or baked. Before and after meals, if it is not possible to wash your hands with soap and water, you should use germicidal wipes, which you should always have with you.