Advice on Holiday Health

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Holiday Health
Perfect Planning
Medicine Matters
Common Complaints
Prevention Policy

Sunshine… soft sand… warm sea… Time to wake up now! Holiday dreams are great - but holiday nightmares often start with the kids getting travel sick and end with the whole family queuing for the toilet! So if you could use some help to prevent, or deal with, the sort of problems that can ruin your fun in the sun, just follow our traveller's guide – it's your passport to holiday health!

Perfect Planning

Before choosing a holiday, consider any potential health risks, especially if you are going abroad. Remember, the more exotic the destination, the more unusual the health risks are likely to be, so find out about any vaccinations, anti-malarial tablets or special first aid items you may need – ask your pharmacist what's recommended for where you're going.

Medicine Matters

If you take a medicine prescribed by your doctor, make sure you have enough for your time away and write down the name and the dose you take. This will help medical staff if you lose your medicine, or are taken ill while you are away. Keep a supply in your hand luggage so that you can get to it if your journey is delayed. And if you're going abroad, check if there are any restrictions on medicines – for example, the painkiller codeine can't be taken into Greece.

Common Complaints

Travel sickness
Feeling sick on the journey can ruin a holiday before it starts, but a number of remedies are available including traditional travel sickness medicines, homeopathic remedies and elasticated wrist bands (which work on the acupuncture principle). Not all travel sickness medicines are suitable for everyone, so talk to your pharmacist before you use any of them.

Diarrhoea
Most holiday diarrhoea is caused by a change in diet or poor hygiene standards, so choose your food carefully. Remember the rules – cook it, peel it, or forget it. Eat food that is well cooked, fruit that you can peel and avoid anything raw. Drink bottled water and avoid ice cream and ice cubes in drinks. If diarrhoea strikes, adults should drink plenty of fluids (but not milk) to prevent dehydration and it's a good idea to take a rehydration solution containing replacement salts and glucose. A fast acting medicine such as loperamide will help stop the diarrhoea. Don't give anti-diarrhoea medicine to children or babies – give more fluid and rehydration solutions instead - and if the diarrhoea hasn't started to clear within 48 hours or if your child develops a temperature, seek medical advice.

Bites and stings
Insect bites and stings can really irritate, so to reduce the risk of being bitten, cover up when you're out after dusk and use an insect repellent on any exposed skin. If you do get bitten or stung, there are creams, sprays and antihistamine tablets available that can help to relieve any pain, itching or swelling - your pharmacist can give you more information about these products.

Some people can suffer a severe allergic reaction to bee and wasp stings – symptoms include nausea, breathlessness and facial swelling – if you or someone you are with reacts in this way, seek medical help immediately.
Prevention Policy

Malaria
If you are going to a country where there is a risk of catching malaria, then protection is vital because malaria is a disease that can kill. Different types of anti-malarial tablets are recommended for different areas and your pharmacist will tell you which ones you need. Start taking the recommended tablets one or two weeks before you leave for your destination (or earlier if recommended by your doctor or pharmacist) and continue to take them while you are away and for at least four weeks after leaving the malarial area. Some anti-malarial tablets can cause side effects such as nausea, diarrhoea, skin rashes, a sore throat or blurred vision. If you suffer any side effects, ask your pharmacist or doctor for advice. While you are away make sure you use a mosquito net, keep your skin covered up in the evening and at night and use insect repellent on any exposed skin. If you develop any 'flu-like symptoms during the 12 months after you return from a country where malaria is a known risk, consult your doctor immediately.

Safe Sex
Your holiday should be carefree - except when it comes to unprotected sex. An unplanned pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease is not the sort of souvenir that anyone wants to bring home! There are many reliable forms of contraception, and although condoms offer the best protection against sexually transmitted diseases, they are not totally effective. So, if you think you might have sex with a new partner make sure you have a supply of condoms – and more importantly - make sure that you use them!

Sun care
Enjoy the sun, but respect it. To avoid sunburn and heat-stroke increase the amount of time spent in the sun gradually, starting at 15 minutes a day. And stay in the shade when the sun is hottest – between 11am and 3pm. Use a sunscreen with a sun protection factor of 15 or higher (25 or higher for children) and apply it frequently and generously – use a waterproof product if you or your children like to be in the water. Keep babies out of the sun altogether and keep toddlers in the shade and covered up with a T-shirt and a hat as much as possible.
Read our Sun Care feature for more advice.