Health
Throughout this blog I tell you to seek expert advice if you are in any doubt about anything. Due to varying states of health, allergies, complications and circumstances, it is almost impossible to give general medical advice. In health matters, you should always seek expert medical assistance immediately. If you are caught in the jungle or on a mountain slope, miles from assistance, I offer some advice that could help to keep you alive. Before travelling, check with: your doctor to make sure that the general advice given here is relevant to you and youi medical condition and history
International Travel Health Guide Photo Gallery
When abroad, no matter where you are, you should be particularly careful with your health for a number of reasons.
• UK citizens are becoming increasingly adventurous, arranging to travel to ever more exotic and remote locations.
• Around the world there are any number of deadly diseases and conditions that can easily kill you or make you very ill.
• You can pick up infections that you can carry and pass on at home.
• There is a potential lack of decent, effective and available medical care at your holiday destination.
• Local medical costs can be exorbitant.
• Treatment may be refused unless you agree to pay medical fees in advance in cash, or unless you can prove that you have insurance that will cover those potentially huge medical fees.
About 50% of UK citizens have now abandoned the traditional package tour to a Spanish beach, preferring to arrange personalised holidays to increasingly exotic locations. UK tourists are now likely to be on a trek through the Himalayas, or on a jungle safari in search of rare orchids or animals. The following advice on holiday health will educate you and prepare you for the new health challenges that foreign holidays can bring.
This advice is designed to bring risks to your attention and to highlight hidden health dangers associated with travelling off the beaten track (or on that Mediterranean beach). I have included descriptions of common symptoms, to help you recognise the possible onset of a potentially fatal disease. I have also included potential countermeasures you might use to avoid contracting those diseases or to apply emergency treatment if necessary. Whatever you do, as soon as possible seek expert medical advice and treatment.
