Taking the aches and pains out of travel

Press, 29 June 1988, Page 8 (Supplement)

Taking the aches and pains out of travel

All too often travellers take their health for granted and the trip of a life-time deteriorates into selfinflicted punishment seemingly as interminable and joyless as a lifesentence.

In strange environments such banal ailments as insect bites, fatigue, sunburn, dehydration, toothache, headache, diarrhoea and constipation can have devastating effects, especially when the dictates of a high-pressured itinerary must be obeyed. It is easy enough to take a few simple precautions to avoid such a plight; but easier in the top-of-the-world euphoria preceding an overseas trip to overlook a quick visit to the doctor, dentist and chemist.

I once paid dearly for over-confidence on a trip to Mexico. As usual, the preflight routine included dental check-up, travel insurance purchase and brief stop at the chemist. However, I wrongly

assumed that my defence against Montezuma’s revenge would protect me as it had on previous journeys to Mexico: diet was restricted to cooked foods and bottled water — strictly no ice. Unfortunately, like the majority of delegates at the conference I was attending, I fell ill, and lost several valuable days in bed, too weak even to crawl over to the window and bawl at the mariachi band playing at hideously full volume day and night by the pool. Whatever the cause of the problem — probably the unhygienic preparation of bulk quantities of food for conference buffets and banquets — I could not forgive myself for not having at hand medication prescribed by my family doctor.

Before a trip to the tropics, it is advisable to consult a doctor, allowing plenty of time for immunisation and vaccination if these are recommended. Usually, if your itinerary includes only resorts and luxury hotels, such precau-

tions are considered superfluous, but discretion is the better part of valour if you intend to leave the beaten track. Regardless of your planned route, be sure to ask the doctor for medication to allay stomach and bowel upsets. Ideally, good health care begins as soon as you leave home. It is theoretically best, but in practice unrealistic, to start your overseas journey feeling relaxed. Personally, I never do. The demands of career, household, family, pets, lawns, and correspondence always seem to ensure that the act of leaving New Zealand is one of the most stressful imaginable. However, one should always make the most of a long flight overseas as the perfect opportunity to unwind. To avoid the dehydration that occurs as a result of the dry air pumped into the aircraft cabin, drink plenty of non-alcoholic, noncarbonated fluids. Wear loose-fitting clothes and shoes and walk up and down the cabin from

time to time. Try not to indulge in too much food or alcohol. Mentally prepare yourself to adjust slowly to your destination. If you are making a brief stop-over at an exciting city such as Honolulu or Hong Kong, resist the temptation to rush around in a shopping, exploring and tasting frenzy. Take it easy and be sure to have a good sleep or rest. The most cautious medical advice estimates that one full day of recovery is needed for each five-hour time change. Alter your diet as gradually as possible, refusing the fresh fruit and spicy dishes for a few days until your body is acclimatised. If the hotel provides bottled or flasked water, use it for cleaning your teeth as well as for drinking. These are just a few of the guidelines to follow at the start of an overseas trip. The state of one’s health in the early stages determines whether or not the long-awaited travel becomes one long travail. -LES BLOXHAM