After months of planning a family holiday, the last thing you want is to get sick while travelling. Don’t let the flu or an upset stomach ruin your next holiday. There are simple ways you can do to avoid getting sick. Take the time to research the country you will be visiting and think about your family’s health.
We find that being disciplined as parents and generally being fit makes family travelling much easier physically. It does not mean you have to be a fitness fanatic and eat plain food. Simply keep to the basics of eating well, do regular exercise and getting enough sleep – these will go a long way.
Here is our 10 Simple Ways to Avoid Getting Sick While You Travel:
1. In all the lands, wash your hands
Keeping everyone’s hands clean is essential to stop the spread of germs and can dramatically reduce your chances of food poisoning. Make it a habit to wash hands regularly especially before meal times. If you can’t wash your hands, carry hand sanitizer as an alternative to soap and water. Something so simple but this can go a long way in helping your family to avoid getting sick while travelling.
2. Don’t eat everything you see
Slow down! Resist the temptation to eat all the local street food you’ve been dreaming about on day one. Give your family a couple of days to get used to the local cuisine. If you have a weak stomach, there is no shame in starting a holiday by eating familiar food.
Steaming hot food is your family’s safest option. In developing countries, avoid raw foods, fruits and salads (good excuse for your children to skip eating vegetables during holidays?!)
3. Drink plenty of (bottled) water
It is important to always keep your family well hydrated. Remember not to wait for your kids to tell you they’re thirsty before offering them water. While tap water in most Western countries are fine to drink, in most other places it is best to stick with bottled water. Avoid ice cubes from street vendors and if you want to be extra safe: wash your teeth with bottled water.
4. Keep Fit
One of the best ways to stay fit and healthy is: exercise. You can’t expect to switch from being generally inactive at home to days of 8 hours sightseeing on the other side of the world while carrying your children. In the weeks leading to the holiday, you can go for walks at the local park or go on short hikes with your little one. Increasing your cardio exercise before your family holiday will improve your stamina and makes for happier travel!
5. Get enough sleep
Are you famous for being grumpy and irritable during family travels? Lack of sleep can be the cause. Enough sleep will also help maintain a healthy immune system. Try to get at least 7 hours of sleep each day. Invest in good ear plugs if your hotel’s sound proofing is not the best (or if your spouse snores loudly).
6. Get vaccinations
Make sure your children’s immunisations and your vaccinations are all up to date. Vaccinations are not always required for every trip. A lot will depend on vaccinations you already have and places you are visiting. Consult your doctor and checkout websites like www.smarttraveller.gov.au
7. Bring basic medications from home
When travelling overseas, buying something simple as Panadol can be difficult because of language barriers and availability.
Also pack your child’s usual meds like: Panadol, Nurofen, antihistamine (Claratyne), probiotic, gastrolyte, Fes nasal spray, nasal aspirator and Eukyrub. Although these medications or their equivalent may be available at your destination, your child may not respond to them because of different formula. So stick with the brands you know and trust.
8. Prevent mosquito bites
Mosquito bites can be painful and itchy, but they can also cause serious diseases like dengue fever. South East Asia is relatively mosquito prone so do use a good insect repellent and reapply every few hours. For our Nepal and Bali trips, we used Parakito mosquito band for our son and he did not get a single bite over the course of 2 weeks!
9. Avoid sunburns
If you’re going out in the sun cover up with a hat, light clothing and apply sunscreen every couple of hours. We got very badly sunburnt a few years ago in Pamukkale, Turkey after forgetting to bring sunscreen! Needless to say we looked very red in all the photos.
10. Avoid touching stray animals
Your children might want to pat a seemingly friendly stray animal. Don’t let them.
For places we have visited, Checkout our website’s travel Destinations section. We buy of our travel essentials online via Ebay
