How To Keep Healthy While Travelling Abroad

If you are planning a holiday or adventure soon, don’t forget to consider how to protect your health and stay safe while abroad. Book in today with one of our travel pharmacists to discuss how we can help you.

At Northern Clinics, we would be delighted to help you prepare for your travels and keep you and your family safe and well. We pride ourselves in offering a first-class travel service, including pre-travel advice and vaccine administration, as well as a wide range of essential holiday supplies and post-travel health testing.

Before you go

Research your destination

Your first port of call should be to check the GOV.UK foreign travel advice website for up-to-date information on your destination country. Another great resource is the Travel Health Pro website which has all the latest information including an A-Z list of travel destinations.

Get travel insurance

As much as we want to focus on all of the fun and adventures to be had when travelling, it’s essential to plan for unexpected health issues. When picking an insurance plan, it’s a good idea to check that it will cover you for emergency medical evacuation, especially if you are travelling to a remote area. If you are travelling in Europe, don’t forget to apply for your free GHIC card which might cover you for emergency medical care (depending on the country).

Check if you need vaccinations or malaria treatments

It’s important to check if your travel destination has any risk of malaria, vaccination requirements or other disease outbreaks. In Europe, there has been a recent rise in measles cases, so remember to check that you are up-to-date with your MMR (mumps, measles and rubella) vaccinations.

Book in for a travel health consultation

To make sure you have considered all the different ways to protect your health while travelling, we highly recommend booking in for a consultation with one of our travel pharmacists. Don’t leave it to the last minute though—it’s best to schedule your appointment at least six to eight weeks before you travel to allow enough time for vaccinations. If you are travelling sooner than this, then do still get in touch as we will do our best to advise you on how to protect yourself and your family.

Pack a travel health kit

Check out our wide range of holiday essentials in our Northern Clinic stores when you visit for your travel consultation. Remember to pack a first aid kit, over-the-counter medicines (such as painkillers and rehydration sachets), prescription medications, insect repellent, sun cream, after sun and alcohol hand sanitiser.

During your trip

Practice sun safety

Seek shade between 11 am and 3 pm when the sun is strongest and make sure to apply plenty of sunscreen (reapplying every 2 hours or after swimming). The NHS recommends a minimum of SPF 30 with at least a 4-star UVA protection. When you’re packing, don’t forget to include a wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses and coverups for extra protection.

Prepare food and water safely

Check out the latest advice from ‘Fit for Travel’ to ensure water and food at your destination is safe to eat and drink. For example, it is best to stay away from street food vendors and avoid raw seafood. You should also check if tap water is safe to drink in the area you are going to and if not, make sure you drink bottled water and brush your teeth with this too. Fruit and vegetables may also be safer to eat if peeled or washed in bottled water.

Protect yourself from insect bites

It’s important to know what to do if you get bitten whilst travelling, as diseases like malaria, yellow fever, zika and dengue can all be spread by bug bites. We’d recommend packing a 50% DEET insect repellent spray, as well as bite/sting creams and antihistamines (check with our pharmacist first to make sure these are safe for you to use). Mosquito nets, clothing repellent sprays and clothing that covers your legs, arms and neck are also a must for some travel destinations.

Take care with water activities

Check out the advice from the Royal Life Saving Society for how to stay safe in or near water. This includes avoiding inflatables in open water, swimming only in lifeguarded beaches and avoiding entering the water if drinking alcohol or taking drugs.

When you get home

We are also here to support you once you arrive home safely from your travels. At Northern Clinics we are pleased to offer post-travel consultations, including a range of health tests for tropical diseases such as malaria and Zika virus. Following travel abroad, it’s really important to report any flu-like illness, rashes or diarrhoea to a healthcare professional to ensure you get prompt treatment and advice.

We look forward to welcoming you into our travel clinic soon. Book an appointment today to make sure you are fully prepared for a healthy and safe adventure.

Resources