How to Travel Happily and Healthily

Illness and problems during your holiday is the last thing you want to think about, however this is life, and such things do occasionally happen. The key is to remain calm, but even more key, is avoiding problems wherever possible.

pern sick while on holiday

Illness can often be brought on by being run down and over-tired, which makes you susceptible to picking up nasty bugs. Make sure you stock-pile your sleep before you jet off, especially if you’re travelling long haul. If you have an early flight, certainly consider booking a night at an airport hotel before you travel, as this will mean less stress and a better night’s sleep as a result. Another service I also make sure I have booked before I travel is my airport parking with BCP. This again is another massive way to ease the stress and the often shock of huge prices on the car park gates if you were to just turn up. Especially if you’re travelling from one of the busiest airports, for example Gatwick Airport parking can be expensive unless booked in advance. By doing a little research you can find some great deals.

Speaking of stress, this is another of those conditions that leads to feeling exhausting, run down, and makes you open to all sorts of nastiness. Cut the stress while traveling wherever possible and you’ll feel much better as a result. Being fully informed of where you need to be and when will help here. Prior to my flight, I regularly check real-time, up to date information on airport departures, so I know where I need to be, when, and what I can do whilst I’m waiting. Staying fully updated means no need to worry about the unexpected.

Cutting out the stress is half the battle.

You need to give some pre-flight thought, well before your departure date, on whether you need any immunisations for your destination. This will depend on where you’re going, and won’t be necessary for many regular holiday resorts, however some, do require some inoculations, and/or malaria tablets.

Of course, you need to be in good general health, so make sure your regular immunisations, such as tetanus and polio are up to date, and check out any problems or niggles pre-flight.

When you’re in your resort remember never to drink the tap water, and to be careful of ice cubes made with tap water. In large tourist resorts ice cubes will generally be made with bottled water anyway, but in more rural areas you need to be a little careful, as well as with any salads and fruit washed in tap water. You will more than likely get an upset stomach that will put a dampener on your holiday if you don’t heed this advice! Another one that most people forget about is alcohol – take it steady! Measures can be larger overseas.

Which leads me smoothly onto the famous upset stomach bug. You might get it, you might not, but if you do there is one key thing to remember – drink plenty of bottled water to stay hydrated. If it goes on for longer than a couple of days then get some medical attention, and if it is particularly severe, seek help sooner. A regular stomach upset should pass relatively soon however.

Sun! Yes, that lovely thing we all jet off to find, yet it has its dangers. Be UVA/UVB smart and always wear sun-lotion and a hat. Drink plenty of bottled water, and stay out of the sun during peak hours. Sun-stroke is not pleasant, believe me.

Heed this general advice, and you should have a happy, safe and healthy holiday.