Tips to stay healthy when traveling
Minnesotans are on the move. Many head north during the summer months, while a significant number also travel abroad during the winter and throughout the year, seeking adventure. Ridgeview’s Infectious Disease specialist, Roberto Patron, MD, offers advice on balancing your adventurous spirit while being mindful of special health concerns when traveling. “The primary health concerns when traveling are food and water safety, hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette and avoiding mosquitoes,” Dr. Patron shared.
Preventing travel illnesses
“Respiratory infections and diarrhea are the most common travel illnesses,” Dr. Patron said. Both are frequently contracted on the plane while traveling to your destination and could derail your vacation before you even arrive.
Dr. Patron suggests wearing a mask during airline travel, even when they are not required, and especially during the most vulnerable portions of the flight — the boarding and exiting processes. “Although airplanes safely circulate and filter air while cruising, when they’re parked waiting for takeoff, or as they land, the air filtration is turned off and you are at a much greater risk of infections during that time,” Dr. Patron explained.
Other safety measures depend on where you are traveling, but food and water precautions are always a priority. Drink only bottled or purified water. Avoid drinking water from a faucet or using ice in beverages. Avoid eating food from street vendors, as well as undercooked food and fresh fruit and vegetables (unless you are certain they have been washed).
Although less common and dependent on where you are traveling, another risk is developing a disease contracted by insect or mosquito bites, such as malaria.
Weighing risk verses reward
Dr. Patron suggests scheduling an appointment with your primary care provider, a travel medicine clinic or an infectious disease provider at least four weeks prior to international travel, particularly when traveling to a developing country. Higher-risk individuals should meet with their provider even before booking a vacation. “Your provider can evaluate travel risk based on the destination, your age, health history and whether you are immunocompromised,” Dr. Patron explained. “We can also help you navigate travel requirements specific to your destination, such as vaccines."
Dr. Patron also recommends visiting the Travelers’ Health page on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at cdc.gov/travel. This site allows you to select your travel destination and view current health notices, required vaccines, insects or animals to avoid, and specific food and water safety information. It also offers suggested packing lists by country.
