You’ve booked the holiday of a life time, or you’re following your dreams and travelling around the world. For whatever reason you’re hopping on a plane, the last thing that anyone who’s about to hit the road wants, is a sudden bout of sickness. Or even worse, falling ill whilst you’re thousands of miles from home.
When you’re travelling, you have to be prepared for anything whether that’s extreme weather, incredible photo opportunities – check out hellocanvas.co.uk for the latest photo printing inspiration – to working out how to make your money last and making a ton of new friends. But, are you prepared for the high risk of illness that could haunt you out there? Don’t worry, as long as you’re prepared you should be able to keep illness at bay!
Read on for 3 travel tips that will help you stay fit and healthy whilst you’re away from home.
Wash your hands
It’s true that the most effective advice is often the simplest. Washing our hands is a habit that we’re all familiar with, however when you’re travelling abroad you might want to step it up a gear. Bacteria and illness such as gastro flu, diarrhoea and salmonella can be easily transferred from dirty surfaces to your hands and in turn your mouth. So be smart, about to sit down for a meal? Wash your hands. Handled money? Wash your hands. Standing on the bus and holding the rail? Wash your hands. When travelling, hand washing facilities might not be available or they might be questionable, so many travellers take a small bottle of hand sanitiser with them wherever they go – better to be safe than sorry!
Avoid tap water
Purity of local water varies, and even if you see locals drinking tap water without issue you need to bear in mind that their immune systems are probably used to it. If you’re unsure of the sanitation where you are, it’s safer to drink bottled water. Therefore avoid ice in your drinks and also any foods that might have been washed in the local water too. If you’re conscious about the effect of single use plastics on the planet (and let’s face it, we all should be) then consider investing in a reusable bottle with a filtration system. It’ll save you money too.
Food safety
As far as food safety is concerned, you just need to exercise a little caution and some common sense. If you’re heading to a food market then be smart and take a look at which stalls are clearly popular with other tourists. Make sure that the stall and cooking area has a good overall standard of cleanliness and that the vendor is exercising good food hygiene practices. Such as washing their hands – especially after handling money, using gloves, keeping raw meat away from cooked produce and using clean utensils. Make sure any food you consume is piping hot and freshly cooked!
It’s also a good idea to avoid buffets and any food that has been left out for long periods or shared.
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