Travel Health Useful medical information for good health before, during and after the trip

Travel Health Useful medical information for good health before, during and after the trip The diseases most commonly seen in travelers are diarrhea, malaria (if you are traveling in a malaria-infested area), Accidents (when traveling by car or swimming pool), wound infections and sexually transmitted diseases .-- The diarrhea is caused by contaminated food and drinking water. You must be cautious when traveling under poor hygienic conditions .-- Malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes, the first thing to do is protect yourself against these mosquitoes .-- In order to prevent accidents during the trip, you should apply the same precautions such as those adopted home.In also is very important that all injuries must be thoroughly disinfected to prevent infection. TRAVELER? S DIARRHOEAMany infections are caused by intestinal infections taken by mouth or hands. With a little 'more attention These diseases can be avoided. Hepatitis A, typhoid, cholera, poliomyelitis, and continue to occur in poor countries hygiene, but these diseases are easily prevented.However, the possibility is very great that it is always a light and / or nondangerous form of traveler's diarrhea. Traveler's diarrhea usually clears spontaneously after a few days, but can be irritating. It is a risk for all your travel health.In first place, and must be taken against dehydration. Similarly, treatment of symptoms should be considered to reduce the number of stools and relieve other symptoms such as fever, vomiting and stomach cramps. Sometimes a more serious form of diarrhea can occur, for which treatment with antibiotics is indicated or if hospitalization or replacement fluid unavoidable.It is only a couple of preventive measures as a basis for making your trip a success: Total prevention of traveler's diarrhea impossible, and it is obvious that preventive measures can seldom be strictly followed at all times. But following preventive measures do not significantly reduce the risk of severe diarrhea: To maintain a healthy Travel wash their hands before eating and avoid (if possible): - raw vegetables and fruit that you have not peeled yourself - uncooked or unpasteurized milk products - products of insufficiently cooked sea (+ Hepatitis A! ) and the meat -? Local food? that did not smell fresh - ice cream bought from street merchants (industrial directly from the block of ice is probably safe). Cooked meals should be served hot. The place where you eat is important. A meal taken from a stall presents a an increased risk of a meal in a restaurant. Avoid restaurants where there are many insects. Avoid tap water and ice. Bottled water and soft drinks are safe. Watch corks for bottles that have already been used.It is very important to disinfect drinking water in adventure travel. Total sterilization of drinking water is impossible. The following measures considerably reduce the risk of contamination and safeguard the health of travel: - boiling water is very effective .-- A good alteative is chemical disinfection with chlorine drops (eg Hadex?, Drinkwell chloor? Available sports shops specializing in outdoor activities) or chlorine tablets (Certisil Combinations? chloramine tablets, available at Pharmacy). Their effect can be improved with the water before filtering blur. Silver salts (MicroPure?, Silver Certisil?) I not very suitable to disinfect water, but keep disinfected water germ-free for a long adventurous jouey time.For Travel health conscious, it is better to buy a portable water filter. The use of antibiotics to prevent diarrhea before it occurs can be dangerous + Also the use of other preventive medications is not Recommended .. How to treat diarrhea? It 'very important to consume enough fluids and salt to avoid dehydration. You can do it by taking salt solutions, but tea with lemon, broth, soft drinks and fruit juices, crackers are full of tasty salt. Commercial salt products are available on the market (a solution of oral rehydration salts). Taking an anti-diarrhea preparation (loperamide, eg Imodium?) Can significantly reduce the number of feces, with a significant reduction in the number of complaints as a result. Imodium? It can be used only by adults and older children, and only ordinary for the treatment of watery diarrhea: 1 capsule after each wave of movement, with a maximum of 4 per day.Antibiotics are: 1. If blood, mucus and pus are present in stools.2. If after 24 to 48 hours, there was no sign of improvement, and diarrhea accompanied by fever (above 38.5 C) or severe abdominal cramps, or if there is more than six stools per 24 hours, especially when these occur A night.3. Or, if the circumstances of the trip, for a quick solution is absolutely desirable. Antibiotics are only To be used on doctor? s prescription? Sexually transmitted DISEASESCasual sexual contacts tend to be higher during holidays abroad. Sexually transmitted diseases, particularly AIDS, the shape therefore a significant risk to travelers. Quite often unintentional and no sexual contact takes place under the influence of alcohol. Prevention on holiday abroad is no different, the precautions to be taken home. Proper use of condoms, purchased, rather than at home, it is absolutely essential. Only a water-soluble lubricant should be used, but only offers Partial guarantee (eg KY gel). Vaccination against hepatitis B is recommended. Always consult your doctor if you think you are at risk, even when there are No symptoms. MALARIA (swamp fever, malaria) Malaria is an infectious disease caused by a parasite (called Plasmodium) transmitted by the bite of the Anopheles mosquito. There are four types of malaria falciparum, which is the most dangerous and most widespread. The incubation period? the time between a bite of infection and the onset of the disease? varies from four to ten days Weeks (rarely several months). The symptoms include attacks of fever, at first, but it can be very similar to the flu. If adequate treatment is not started on time, an attack in May sometimes lead to death within a few days .. Where is malaria? Malaria only occurs in areas where there are mosquitoes Anopheles: in the tropics and in many Subtropical areas. At a height of 1,500 to 2,500 m, depending on the temperature and climate, Anopheles mosquitoes are rare or non existent.In largest city, there is little or no risk of infection at all, except in Africa where a real risk exists.Risk also exists in the suburbs of large cities in Asia (eg India). In a number of areas, the risk varies depending Of the season .. How can malaria be prevented? It 'very important for the travel health to avoid mosquito bites of the Anopheles mosquito only bites between sunrise and sunset, is rather low and is not the noise .-- At night, wear light-colored clothing that covers arms and legs as possible. Apply repellent cream with a DEET basis (20 to 50% for children and pregnant women preferably 20 to 30%) for the discovery of the body. Repeat every four to six hours (not protect you all night). Repellents containing DEET were less examined; Autan Active-Mosegor are excellent and safe products .-- sleep in rooms that leave no access to mosquitoes (mosquito nets on the sills, electrically-warmed anti-mosquito plates, air conditioning) or sleep under a mosquito net impregnated with permethrin or deltamethrin hung on the bed of edges located under the mattress.If these measures are carried out properly, the risk of malaria will be reduced from 80 to 90% Travel and health is maintained. Taking drugs preventionThere that is not effective enough to prevent malaria 100%, which means that very often a combination of measures is Preferable. The drugs used have changed over the years. Furthermore, the advantages and disadvantages of drugs should be considered against the risk of malaria infection. These risks are boe by the countries visited, and the region, season, length of stay and type trip.Some people may be worried about side effects, taking antimalarial drugs. These are usually mild and are not always a reason to stop taking the pill. Sometimes, you may need to switch to another type of medication due to intestinal problems, allergic reactions or intolerance symptoms.Therefore others, is the best doctor who can decide for each individual from the use of drugs. This explains why people the same group at the end of May drugs.Finally different light, because no drug is 100% effective in preventing malaria, it is important that if an attack of fever occurs in first three months after retuing from the tropics, a malaria infection should be considered as a possibility, although proper use of medications prescribed.However, it's reassuring to know that malaria, provided it is recognized in time, it is easy to handle without danger of Recurrent attacks. The belief that "once malaria always malaria" is totally untrue.You can find even more travel health advice in the following pages: DISEASES FOR WHICH VACCINATIONS ARE AVAILABLEMORE TRAVEL HEALTH TIPSCAUTION: The information provided here should not be used during a medical emergency or for the diagnosis or Treatment of a medical condition. A doctor should be consulted for any medical conditions. 911 for all calls for medical assistance emergencies.Eddy De Vos is the owner of Travel sites and Spain. Contains tips for your next trip, whether in Spain or elsewhere in the world. Of course, if you are planning a trip to Spain there is no better place to start that holiday in Spain