Key Health Issued You Need To Be Aware Of When Travelling

Travelling is a great way to see a huge swathe of the world in a few months. You can make great memories and friends, and see things that’ll quite literally change your perspective of the world. However, when travelling across many borders there are hundreds of nasty diseases and health issues you need to be aware of, we outline a few here.

Tetanus

You can contract tetanus from many countries, but it’s the highest number of reported incidences are in asia and central Africa. If you contract this whilst traveling it can end your trip early, so it’s best to be prepared and have a jab before leaving.

Hepatitis

You’ve probably heard of the A and B variants, each an extremely nasty disease to contract, but C can also be caught through various means like cross needle contamination or receiving a tattoo from an unclean device. If you contract hepatitis it can seriously damage your liver, potentially leading to cancer. There are ways to combat this, if you catch it abroad seek out a form of medical tourism, places often offer lower prices to attract people from abroad, so they can literally be a lifesaver.

Malaria

Malaria is a tough disease to deal with if contracted abroad, this is primarily because the medication needs to be taken into your trip and also after trip. Make sure you plan accordingly and take the medication to offset the disease. It is usually transmitted through a mosquito bite. The symptoms for Malaria are fever and flu, it can kill in rare circumstances. Experts are still trying to formulate a vaccine against Malaria, which will be a great boost to all travelers. For now, take the prescribed course to offset the effects and use all measures to deter mosquitoes, e.g. nets and spray.

Cholera

Cholera has a vaccine, but experts only predict its 50% effective. Its prevalent in Africa and Asia but you could contract it from anywhere where there’s bad sanitation. The symptoms are debilitating, including vomiting, fever and diarrhea. It can also be fatal if not properly treated. You can pick it up from contaminated food and water, so only drink from bottled water and try to avoid uncooked food.

Yellow Fever

Yellow fever luckily has an effective vaccination which only needs to be administered a week or so before travel, so don’t skip on it before you leave. The fever is carried via mosquito and again transmitted through a bite. It’s known as yellow fever due to victims developing jaundice shortly after contact. The disease is mostly contracted in South America and Saharan Africa. It’s not as dangerous as some of the other diseases but can still ruin your trip abroad.

No one wants their trip spoiled by one of these awful diseases, to avoid them you need to be prepared, take the relevant medication and use careful caution whilst abroad. Use all preventative measures for deterring mosquitoes and endeavor to source food and water form reputable sources.