A Traveler’s Guide to Preventing Sickness

If you are long-term traveling, getting sick is pretty much a guarantee. While you can try to avoid it, frequent changes in location, weather, and germs has a massive impact on your immune system. That’s a big reason why health is such a major component of traveling, and needs to be well taken care of before and especially during the trip. 

People aren’t talking about it enough, but your health is your life and you need to keep that in check to make long-term travel possible without putting your body through the wringer.

I am writing this as someone who wore herself out in the first 2 weeks of traveling, which caused me to get sick almost immediately. Its uncomfortable to be sick anywhere, but its a step worse when you’re somewhere unfamiliar, without access to your typical health products.

That first illness was nowhere near the last. I’ve been traveling for 4 months, and I’ve gotten properly sick 3 separate times. One time was a stomach infection so bad that I was fully out of commission, unable to eat for more than 5 days while in the midst of a road trip. I even developed a lactose intolerance as a result.

First off, yes you actually do need Travel Insurance

For this reason and a million others, I’m so glad that I have travel insurance.

For my most recent illness, it was definitely bad enough to require a doctor. It was great to not have to worry about going broke as a result of a doctor’s visit. I would recommend using Safety Wing Insurance.

Safety Wing‘s doctor recommendations seriously come in handy (you don’t even understand how hard it is to find a reputable doctor abroad who speaks your language). If you find a doctor you like, you can use them too, but the hardest part for me was finding a doctor myself.

Luckily, sick visits are covered with no deductible, and it didn’t warrant a hospital stay or anything, so that was quite helpful and took away most of my stress. I already procrastinate escalating things like going to the doctor when I’m home and it’s easy, adding the hurdle of being abroad for an undefined period of time makes it so much harder.

If you’re wondering about other travel insurances, I would like to mention another company that I used to explain why I am recommending Safety Wing.

I used Genki in the past, and they had good coverage but they lacked a lot of information, made it hard to find a doctor, and claims took over a month to get reimbursed. It also cost me a $50 deductible for everything, including regular sick visits, which would be my most frequent need while traveling. They also don’t cover travel issues that aren’t health related, like lost luggage, passport, travel delays, etc.

Take it from me, I’ve been sick and unprepared in a hostel 3 times this year, you want to make things as easy as possible for you.

Let’s talk about preventing travel sickness

Are there things you take all the time to prevent sickness? Or things you take to help relieve your symptoms? I know that you have limited space in your suitcase, but you’re going to be thanking yourself for adding just a few more things… even if you have to leave behind those shoes or that dress you love. Trust me, it’s worth it.

That space is going to come in handy for your travel-size sick kit. For me, I’d need echinacea, elderberry, lozenges, vitamin c, multi-vitamins, etc. Keep in mind, everything needs to be travel size, so if that means switching from a liquid to a solid (like a gummy/pill), make sure to bring whatever is the easiest to include.

I would suggest having 2 weeks worth of supplies for every 3 months traveling. Every country is going to have products for sickness, but you won’t know what works for you or if they’re going to have what you need easily accessible in a pharmacy. 

I can’t determine what exactly you need to keep your body healthy, but I’d recommend including a small pack of bandaids/first aid kit (that’s the one thing I remembered for this trip). You will probably remember pain relievers, but I have to mention them of course. The CDC recommends things like antacid, sleep aid, decongestant, and more. Check out the full list for more ideas.

I don’t know about you, but there is not enough information about getting sick abroad, besides the obvious response “go to the doctor.” Having these prevention tools will relieve a lot of stress and make your trip so much better.

Don’t just ask locals, ask travelers

Things like water affect people differently. While most countries have safe drinking water, it doesn’t mean that it’ll affect locals the same way it’ll affect you. I experienced this firsthand in downtown Sofia, Bulgaria (at least I’m pretty positive this is what caused my traveler’s tummy).

I was drinking tap water for a month in Bansko, Bulgaria, and I asked a local about the water in Sofia. She said that she drinks it all the time and hasn’t had a problem. I filled up my water bottle one time, and it resulted in a downpour of awful symptoms.

I have learned that I am not a local. I should’ve just gotten a bottle of water, it would’ve saved me from experiencing the worst sickness of my life ~while I was in a car~. On that note, ask travelers when you can. Or better yet, take the safe route if you don’t have anyone else to ask. Here is a map on where water is safe to drink from the tap.

Why I love European pharmacists

Very unlike the US, European pharmacists are insanely helpful. They aren’t just there to fill your prescription, they help so much more than that. If you have some symptoms or issues, and you ask them to remedy them, they always seem to know exactly what you need.

My friend had a cut on his foot, and they went as far as making him remove his shoes and bandaging it for him. The language barrier has never been an issue either. That’s not to say that most pharmacists speak English (although I was lucky to meet many who did). All of the ones I visited (at least 10) spoke enough English to help me with my problem.

Last resort: It’s time to kick some of those bad habits 

If you really want to protect your health, you might want to consider cleaning up some unhealthy habits. I’m talking about the obvious, smoking and drinking. Obviously, cutting those out is unrealistic. Just consider how your habits are affecting other elements that make it hard for your immune system to recover.

All at once would probably be impossible even if you did want to, but drinking especially can become a spiral when you’re traveling. If you can limit your binge drinking to 1-2 days a week or less, your body will thank you. Every day can feel like a party when you’re traveling, but long-term travel is already hard on the body, long-term partying is a recipe for disaster.

One more habit that might seem a little easier to straighten out is sleep. I know you want to explore, and party all night and you want all the time in the world, but getting 8 hours helps you to do that long-term, not just for a few weeks.

Finally, I have to mention eating habits. I am SOOO guilty of saying “when in Rome” while traveling, but I’ve learned that balance is just as important while traveling as it is at home. It just isn’t sustainable to eat pizza and pasta for every meal in Italy or eat copious amounts of cheese in France.

It’s a step harder if you don’t have access to a kitchen, but not impossible. It’s so easy to forget vegetables. Make them a priority. Jeez, I sound like I’m nagging you, but I’ll be working on being healthier right alongside you.

Stay Healthy My Lovely Travelers <3

If you want more information on what to do if you get sick while traveling, check out this other article.

Have any questions? Comment below or message me at @LizsGreatPerhaps on Instagram!

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Travel Insurance (SafetyWing)
• Make a Sick Kit
• Check about drinkable water
• Try to kick some bad habits (and implement some good ones)