Staying healthy while traveling

***REMEMBER TO CONSULT A DOCTOR BEFORE TAKING MEDICATION***

1. Common Sense And Pepto Bismol

You all know the usual about eating cooked foods and peeled fruits as well as drinking bottled or boiled water, but to top it off, chew Pepto Bismol tablets just before each meal. It makes ones stool a little black, but not to worry as that is ok.

2. Beware The Magnesium In Local Water

Also, many areas of travel have high magnesium in their water and so even boiled water can concentrate the magnesium and create a diarrhea situation that is not resulting from “bugs” of any sort. Therefore, limit drinking too much of the local boiled waters (coffee, tea) if the content is high

Carol Scutt

3. A Combination Of Florastor, Tanalbit And Avoiding Street Vendors

When traveling out of the country, in addition to using common sense, we take capsule each morning and evening called Florastor ( a probiotic) made by Biocodex, Inc.

If during or after returning we have gastro problems, at the first sign we begin to take Tanalbit. We make it a practice to rarely patronize street vendors.

David C. Kase

4. “Airborne” To Combat Cold And Flu

After catching a bad cold on a long flight several years ago, (2 passengers near me were sneezing and coughing without making any attempt to keep the germs from spreading) I realized that just having a cold remedy with me was not enough.

A co-worker had been using ‘AirBorne’ when people around him were suffering colds or flu, and he seemed to stay healthy.
I brought a version of that on a trip and when a passenger across the aisle sneezed in my direction, so his companions would not be exposed to his cold, out came my container. A flight attendant brought a glass of water, and I dissolved the tablet in that.

Later in the same trip were other rather rude people, and I used another tablet.

It worked!

I didn’t develop a cold, cough, or any other symptoms, and had a very nice vacation.

J.S. Werner

5. The “Atomic Bomb” Approach To A Suspect Stomach

First once you are ill I feel you should “empty out” before treating. That is very fast. Then using Imodium to stop diarrhoea. I like a combo of cipro and tinadizole, cipro for traveler’s diarrhoea and tinadizole for giardia. I call it my “atomic Bomb” treatment but you are over what ails you in 24-48 hours.

Dr Bill Martin

6. The 5-Point Plan For Third-World Travel

I do two week long medical mission trips to a third world country twice a year, and have never had a problem as long as I:

a) Follow the CDC guidelines: wash, boil, peel or avoid when it comes to fruits and veg. No lettuce, and I also avoid burgers and anything made with ground meat

b) Ice drinks only if the ice is made with bottled water

c) steer clear of buffets and anything sitting out ahead of time

d) Use one of those alcohol based hand cleaners, like Purrell whenever you think of it, and always before you eat.

But Most important:

e) Acidophilus capsules, twice a day- They keep the beneficial bacteria in your bowels happy, and when they’re happy, you’re happy!

Jean Waring

7. Eat Yogurt To Give Yourself Local Bugs

Eat fresh yogurt at the hotel breakfast buffet to stock up on the local bugs. This always works to limit any intestinal distress for me as long as I’m otherwise careful.

Kathleen Kelly

8. How A Mother And Daughter Avoided An Infected Husband And Father

Unfortunately, I got a crash course in illness abroad just last month. My husband, our 11-year-old daughter and I went to London and Paris for her spring break. It was the first time out of the country for both of them.

Although he was completely fine when we boarded in Atlanta, three hours into our flight to London, Influenza A hit my husband like a Mack truck. He threw up endlessly and was so ill by the time we landed I wondered how I’d get him to the hotel.

Somehow we made it there, and we immediately upgraded to a suite so he could have his own space. I had brought Clorox wipes along, and I wiped everything down from the doorknobs to the TV remote. We were in a horrible hotel, but fortunate that it was right in Victoria Station, which not only had a pharmacy but also a walk-in doctor’s office, which we visited twice.

I bought every international type of sanitizing wipe and antibacterial spray I could find, and my daughter and I both washed our hands til they were raw. It was worth it because neither of us contracted what my husband suffered through. The poor man missed all of London, and spent most of Paris in bed in the hotel room too. We learned that French pharmacies can dispense a small amount of controlled drugs without a prescription, and
we got some wonderful cough medicine with codeine that helped a lot.

On our last day, his fever was DOWN to 101, so he came out and saw a few sites with us. The trips to the doctor, room upgrade, medicine, etc. added about $2,000 to our already very expensive trip. But the saddest part was that the morning after we arrived back home, he felt 100% fine. Just in time to go back to work. It was so unfair. But I guess we’ll just have to go again!

Sincerely, Anon

9. Beware Hotel Glasses

Don’t use the glasses in the hotel until You have washed them yourself!! You cannot be certain that they were actually cleaned before you got there.

Donna

10. How A Doctor Looks After Himself

Most cases of Dehli-Belly, Montezuma’s Revenge, The Pharaoh’s Curse, or whatever are caused by different strains of the normal intestinal E. coli bacteria in different parts of the world. Mild fever, diarrhoea, and sometimes cramps are associated symptoms. I carry a few 500 mg ciprofloxacin (“cipro”) tablets whenever I go abroad and take one as soon as those symptoms appear. Usually just a couple of tablets, 12-24 hours apart, will take care of things. Viral infections are more likely to be associated with vomiting, headaches, etc.; they will not respond to cipro but will usually clear fairly quickly with a bland, preferably liquid, diet. The likelihood of getting either type of infection can be reduced by taking great care in what you drink (Purify your water, even if bottled; the new UV lamps are great), eat (no uncooked foods; soups may not have been cooked at high enough temperatures to kill bugs), and touch.&n bsp; Be sure to wash your hands well, or use one of the cleansing tissues, frequently–and especially before eating.

Andrew Myron Johnson, M.D

11. The Secret To 12 Years Of Travel And No Illness

My Doctor gave me some advice many years ago that I still use when traveling. Starting a few days before leaving take 2 chewable Pink Bismuth tablets each morning and one at each meal, then continue for a few days after your return home. I have Crohn’s Disease and have been to 16 countries while doing this the past 12 years and have yet to have any problems.

Rob

12. Stick Vasoline Up Your Nose — You Read It First Here

Learned this one in Ukraine when the flu was going around a few years ago:

After you get ready in the morning and before you head out, take a small amount of vaseline on your pinky or a q-tip and coat the inside of your nostrils with it. You don’t have to go way up, just where the nostrils meet your outer skin. The nasal passages are the #1 way of contracting viruses which make you sick. This provides a barrier to these germs, as we unconsciously touch our face and nose all day with our germy hands. This works so well, I started doing this every day and have had maybe one or two colds over the past several years! Easy and safe.

Paul N.

13. If You Do Get Struckdown, How To Make Sure You Know What You’re Talking

An excellent product for travelers: Kwikpoint’s “medical visual language translator,” which is a very clever and inexpensive small, laminated brochure-like device that allows patient and doctor to communicate in some detail via pictures. Kwikpoint also produces other visual translators that are useful for the traveler. http://www.kwikpoint.com/consumer_translators/medical.html

Staying healthy while traveling is vital and your Mobal World Phone can be a life saver. Knowing that you are only a phone call away from assistance should the worst happen.