Healthy on the go - Gesund Unterwegs

Illness while traveling is usually unpleasant and can make it impossible to continue your journey. Certainly you are never safe from it, but with a few measures you can reduce the risks of a serious illness. This article is intended to provide assistance and an introduction to the topic. However, it is not a substitute for specialist advice from an experienced doctor. This article thematically includes the articles First aid and travel pharmacy, as well as the article Tropical diseases.

First of all, it should be remembered that on a trip, not only diseases that lurk in an exotic country pose a danger, but also diseases that every traveler brings with them from home (even if it is difficult, clean drinking water to take Having the morning blood pressure tablet to hand or adhering to the diabetes diet) can cause problems under the circumstances in a travel destination. In addition, there is the increased risk of overloading (you can move from the office desk to the "Kili"), of accidents (with the rented scooter like fifty years ago in the teenage years on bumpy roads with huge potholes) and of casual sexual contacts, since the inhibitions fall far away from the domestic social control ...

Prior to travel

Before each trip you should think about your own state of health and inquiries about particular health risks in the travel countries should be made.

This does not only apply to trips to tropical countries. There are also unknown health risks and illnesses for Central Europeans in the closer European countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, which can strike travelers unprepared. If you already have complaints before the trip, these should be examined and, if necessary, treated before the trip begins (e.g. toothache, which can only get worse). For the chronically ill, it is always advisable to discuss the planned trip with a trusted doctor so that the necessary medication can be procured in sufficient quantities (e.g. insulin for diabetics, thyroid medication, etc.) and, if necessary, an English-language confirmation that you are taking along Medicines in hand luggage can be prepared.

papers

Boarding school Vaccination card

Often neglected, but then sorely missed abroad, are personal health records. In any case, it is advisable to carry a vaccination card with you, which any doctor can issue; in non-European countries it is advisable to issue a yellow one International vaccination card. All vaccinations required and carried out are documented here in several languages. This avoids unnecessary double vaccinations and makes diagnostics easier.

Allergy sufferers should always have their allergy passport with them, especially if there are allergies to medication, iodine and X-ray contrast media.

Recommended: Similar to the passport, send a copy of all important documents to your own email address so that you can refer to them in an emergency; because if Papers gone - mostly all gone, not just the passport.

  • (international) vaccination certificate
  • Allergy pass
  • Pacemaker pass, possibly heart valve / implant pass (metal detector at the airport)
  • Certificate of anti-cogulant treatment ("blood thinners")
  • List of regularly taken drugs with generic names (internationally understandable name of the active substance)

Caution, when traveling to certain Muslim countries it is forbidden to take painkillers containing opiates (not only from the narcotic class) with you; the same applies to drugs for the substitution of drug addiction (methadone) in many countries around the world. Drug tests carried out upon entry can lead to serious complications, including refusal of entry.

Vaccinations

The vaccination status should be checked at least 30 days before a planned trip. On the websites Safetravel.ch (The official recommendations of the Swiss Expert Committee for Travel Medicine are updated by the University of Geneva on behalf of the federal government) or the Robert Koch Institute, you can get an overview of the vaccinations in the travel area.

This should be followed by a discussion with a doctor who is experienced in travel medicine, it is best to take information about the planned travel route with you, as the recommendations, for example on malaria prophylaxis, can also differ within countries and must be adapted according to the route and length of stay. Since the time to take effect is at least 14-30 days, preparations must be made early.

In principle, the vaccinations recommended by the permanent vaccination commission of the Robert Koch Institute (STIKO) or Safetravel should be up to date for everyone. In adults, these are primarily tetanus and diphtheria, in non-European countries viral hepatitis A. In certain countries vaccinations are mandatory; in the worst case, entry may be refused if vaccinations are missing (e.g. yellow fever vaccination).

travel pharmacy

The compilation of a travel pharmacy is certainly not that easy. Some people tend not to take anything with them except alcoholic herbal extracts, while others would like to have an instant hospital with them. The right way can be found with the help of some logical considerations. In addition to the expected medical care, the shelf life and storage conditions of the medication should also play a role.

  1. Where am i going
  2. How long have i been away?
  3. How do I move around on site? (Hotels and limousine or tent / hostel and bush taxi)
  4. How is the medical care on site?
  5. What medication do I need regularly?

You can use it to roughly estimate what you need, in the family doctor's practice or the pharmacy you can easily get advice about the contents of a first-aid kit.

By the way: A first aid course is certainly an ideal addition to a first-aid kit. After all, what good is a lot of bandages if you can't use them?

Foreign health insurance

→ Main Products: Travel insurance

For tourist stays, it is advisable to take out a foreign health insurance. Most tariffs are valid for trips of up to 8 weeks, whereby the prices for this are usually around 15 € per year.

A foreign health insurance is also recommended for studying or internship abroad, which covers the entire stay of several months. For expats, we recommend international health insurance for a period of up to 5 years. Emigrants or long-term travelers longer than 5 years should take out international health insurance. This also makes sense for expats who already know that they have been abroad for more than 5 years. As always with insurance, it is important to compare price and performance.

During the travel

to eat and drink

Cook it, peel it or forget it.(in German: Boil it, peel it, or forget it.).

This old travel rule helps the dreaded in many places Montezuma's revenge (also as Montezuma's Revenge known name of traveler's diarrhea). Every trip is much more fun when you get to know other things than just the toilets of the host country. If it does get you in spite of all that, hydration is the alpha and omega of recovery. The classics are cola and pretzel sticks, a third solution of a third black tea, a third orange juice and a third mineral water, plus a few sachets of sugar and possibly a pinch of salt, but you can also use tea, mineral water from the bottle or the like.

eat

"Doctor, I don't understand, I only ate in the hotel." – "Just!"

Even if this statement sounds a little strange, there is some truth behind it: it says that you are nowhere safe from bad food. In particular, the popular buffets, which spend several hours in the hotel, can literally hit you on the stomach. On the other hand, the fast food on the roadside, where the ingredients (except meat) go fresh into the pan, may be less of a problem. At the seaside you can have fresh fish grilled on site and voilà - in addition to contact with the locals, you also have an excellent meal.

Self-caterers should pay attention to freshness when shopping. Frozen food is not always unproblematic (rotten meat), it is better to point to the sheep and ask for the leg. Here, and especially with poultry, thorough roasting and hand washing after cooking is the order of the day, as this also kills possible pathogens.

Drink

The supply of clean drinking water is one of the biggest problems worldwide.

While you just turn on the tap and drink in this country, this is not possible in many popular holiday and travel destinations outside the western hemisphere. Here it is advisable to either boil the water or to treat it chemically (so-called disinfection tablets). The pure filtering via appropriate travel filters with ceramic and carbon elements also protects as much as possible, but in contrast to chemical treatment does not increase the shelf life (keyword: re-germination), but is only worthwhile for self-sufficient people on longer tours away from civilization due to the effort.

A viable alternative is the water supply via purchased mineral water bottles; The price of the water bottles should not be an obstacle in relation to the total flight and travel costs. If you forego spending on bottled water for reasons of cost, we recommend that you save a little longer for your travel budget before you go. In emerging countries, when buying water bottles or cans, make sure that the closures are intact, as used bottles are recycled in some places. Sometimes the bottom is opened and glued again.

What applies to water, of course, also applies to water products, especially the popular ice cubes made from tap water. You buy a drink in a bottle and are happy to have shown the germ the long nose in order to then invite it back to the fiesta in the intestine via ice cubes. So be careful with ice cubes.

Likewise, all dishes that come uncooked on the table can become a threat when washed with fecal-contaminated water - so if the salad is washed in a bad broth in a plastic bucket, it is better to keep your distance.

Light and shadow

This is about health problems from exposure to sunlight and cold. In other words, diseases such as sunstroke, heat stroke and frostbite.

The sun burns

In addition to the well-known sunburn caused by UV radiation, there are a number of other diseases, some of which are life-threatening, due to excessive UV and thermal radiation. This can be countered with simple measures. This means, on the one hand, protection from short-wave UV radiation and, on the other hand, from long-wave heat radiation.

"A Roman to the Romans, a Greek to the Greeks." This sentence of the Apostle Paul can be applied directly to what has been said above. In short, the locals have certainly learned to deal with the climate and have developed appropriate behaviors.

  • If the locals cannot be seen at lunchtime (as in many southern countries), this may be due to the immense midday heat. So it's best to do the same and find a shady spot with plenty of liquid (no, no alcohol).
  • If desert dwellers don't walk around in shorts and tank tops, there will be a reason too. Loose, airy clothing protects against UV radiation and allows the wind to cool down. Proper headgear is particularly important (ideally with neck protection).

In addition, the use of sunscreens (especially the bridge of the nose and ears) is of great importance on the uncovered areas of the skin. The back of the foot can also suffer severe sunburn if you are sitting in the shade but your feet are in the sun. Afterwards, wearing shoes is no fun for a few days (the first author knows what he is talking about).

Another important point is that Hydration. For many, the hot climate is unfamiliar and our organism has not yet adapted. This means that we lose a lot more fluids than people who are adapted to the climate. It must be refilled accordingly. Drinking 3 liters is the minimum, depending on the level of exertion. Water or tea is ideal here. Alcohol should be avoided in the heat, as it accelerates dehydration (alcohol stimulates the excretion of fluids - Meadows-Visitors know).

Danger: Children need a special degree of sun protection !!! Their adaptive abilities are significantly weaker than those of an adult.

Diseases
  • Sunburn - UV radiation
  • Sunstroke - thermal radiation
  • Heat stroke - thermal radiation
  • Dehydration - thermal radiation
  • Snow blindness - UV radiation

Caught cold

Frostbite and hypothermia are also quite common. You don't have to be part of a high mountain expedition to get hypothermic; an excursion into the snow or too long in cold water is enough.

  • Cold feet
  • Chilblains
  • Wind chill

ups and downs

Trekking in Nepal in the Annapurna region is beautiful, but on such trekking tours there have been more deaths from altitude sickness than on 8000m ascent. An extensive diving holiday on the Maldives. But here, too, many people have collapsed convulsively on their flight home on the plane. If you were at 50 m the day before take-off and 12 hours later fly at 10,000 m, that's clumsy. However, this can be avoided with the help of a few small measures (see diving illness).

Altitude sickness

There are people who show signs of altitude sickness under alpine conditions at altitudes above 2000 m. The danger must not be underestimated.

Mild forms manifest themselves in headache, nausea and drowsiness. In severe cases, brain edema (swelling of the brain) causes confusion and loss of consciousness, and pulmonary edema (water in the lungs) causes breathing difficulties. If in mild forms the intake of plenty of fluids and rest is sufficient, in the case of more severe symptoms an immediate descent / transport to deeper regions is the only solution. Travelers who have suffered altitude sickness can discuss any prophylactic measures with their family doctor or travel doctor.

As mentioned elsewhere, a strategy for prevention can also be developed with logical thinking.

The best prevention is a sufficiently long acclimatization period. In addition, you should drink plenty of fluids, as the body consumes more fluids at high altitudes.

For more detailed information on adapting to altitude and on how to behave in the acclimatization phase at high altitudes, see the corresponding section in the article Rockclimbing.

Diving disease

Diver's disease or Caisson's disease is one of the decompression sicknesses. In simple terms, this is an outgassing of respiratory gases dissolved in the blood. A carbonated mineral water bottle that you pack in the valley and quickly open on the summit can serve as a picture. You mostly get wet because the gas suddenly expands and outgassed.

Something similar happens when surfacing too quickly during a dive. The mild form leads to tingling skin and joint pain due to gas bubbles in these organs / parts of the body. In the severe form, blood vessels are blocked by gas bubbles, the so-called gas embolisms. These can lead to unconsciousness, paraplegia and even death.

The most important prevention is the absolute adherence to the decompression times as well as the self-critical examination of your own fitness.

A day of rest is scheduled after heavy tobacco and / or alcohol consumption as well as severe fluid loss (e.g. diarrhea and vomiting), colds, fever and fatigue. No diving should be undertaken at least 24 hours before a planned flight.

Before a diving holiday, the diving medical examination must be carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the relevant national societies (e.g. the Switzerland. Society for Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine) can already be carried out at home with a suitably experienced doctor. Due to communication difficulties, the quality of a diving certificate obtained on site at the diving center can leave something to be desired.

Break a leg

On the other hand, there is usually no herb. True to the sentence: if it happens, good advice is expensive.

If an extremity breaks, the vacation is usually over. A rib fracture hurts, whether you are at home or on the go - you will usually visit the doctor on site and, if necessary, discuss the proposed treatment with your family doctor by telephone.

Before traveling, it is advisable to clarify whether the travel insurance will cover the costs for treatment in the host country and whether any repatriation is financially covered.
The basic insurance of the Swiss health insurance companies covers the treatment costs for emergency treatment abroad up to the amount that would be incurred in Switzerland, only for countries with extremely high treatment costs (e.g. United States We recommend additional travel insurance).

What is crawling there?

Unwelcome bedfellows like fleas or uninvited visitors like mosquitoes are the most well-known insects that transmit disease, but there are others that are also responsible for disease. Chemicals (DEET - containing repellants) and the tried and tested net help against mosquitoes and mosquitoes. Against fleas and bed bugs sometimes fresh, clean bed linen, but the little beasts often live in the mattress. In developing countries, bed bugs are not uncommon, even in good hotels, and there is practically no remedy. Tip: change bed if possible, do not scratch your bites, do not put luggage and clothes on the bed so as not to take anything home with you, if that does happen, wash everything that the cattle might have crawled to at at least 60 degrees, Put anything that is not washable (e.g. backpack) in the sun in a black garbage bag.

Mosquitoes

Culex, Aedes, Anopheles and Co are loyal companions of people worldwide. Unfortunately, they are also vectors (vectors) of some unpleasant diseases. The anopheles mosquito has gained fame as a carrier of the various forms of malaria, while the aedes mosquitoes transmit yellow and dengue fever, among other things. The culex mosquito often bugs us here and is rather harmless. In more tropical regions it can also transmit diseases.

Above all, three things offer protection: repellants (e.g. Autan, Antibrumm, Nobite or similar - not every agent helps in every region), clothing and a mosquito net, knowledge.

The most important element is certainly the knowledge of these vectors and their behavior. If you know that Aedes and Culex are diurnal and that Anopheles look for their victims especially at dusk, you also know that a mosquito net is of little use against the first two (unless you spend your journey in bed).

After the journey

Some diseases have a long incubation period (the time from the actual infection to the onset of the disease), which means that the symptoms can only appear after you return home. Therefore, in the first few weeks after a trip abroad, one should also think about a return problem and inform the attending doctor about the travel route (not everyone asks about it).

See also

Helpful web links

Usable articleThis is a useful article. There are still some places where information is missing. If you have something to add be brave and complete them.