Bug off

Beat holiday bugs before your getaway begins with our step-by-step guide to optimum health.

Everyone counts down the days until their holiday starts, and looks forward to a great time away. Yet so many of us have our longed-for break spoiled by aggravating illness on our hols. What can we do to stave off the problems?

Before you go
Many problems such as coughs and colds etc happen because our immune system is in bad shape before we even set off. Most of us are feeling pretty stressed in the run-up to the holidays, partly because we've been working hard, and partly because the holiday preparations add to the stress levels. So:

Do as much as you can well in advance so that the week before the holiday isn't chaos. Stress and fatigue impair your immunity, so pace yourself. Do things like exchanging currency, stocking up on toiletries, and medicines, laundry and packing as far ahead as you can.
Eat properly in the run-up to the holiday. Don't go on a crash diet in the few weeks before you go, either to look better in that bikini, or to offset the weight you expect to gain on hols. Don't miss meals or eat junk food to save time. Stick to the year-round rule of at least five portions of fruit and veg a day, and plenty of water.
Have a few early nights in the couple of weeks before you go. It's not the best time to party if you want to be on top form for your holidays. At the very least, make sure you get a good night's sleep the night before you travel.
Consider taking a multivitamin/multimineral supplement and a probiotic in the month before the holiday to reduce the effect of stress on the immune system, and to load up on 'friendly bacteria' to reduce the impact of the change of water and diet on holiday.

While travelling
Try not to get dehydrated on the journey. This is particularly important for air travellers as the cabin atmosphere promotes dehydration. Drink lots of water on the journey, and avoid alcohol (even if it's free!). Keep tea and coffee to a minimum as the caffeine also dehydrates.

Once you're there. The whole purpose of a holiday is to break out of the routines, relax, do something different and have fun. On that basis, rules should be kept to a minimum, but maintaining a few commonsense thoughts can help stave off holiday illness without spoiling the fun.

Be careful in the sun. Always use a good sunscreen, and for those whose hols always seem to be blighted by cold sores, use a lip sunscreen too
Drink plenty of non-alcoholic fluids. Enjoy a drink, but try to alternate
Keep going with the supplements and probiotics
Traveller's diarrhoea is the most common health problem to ruin a holiday. So remember food hygiene rules if you're self-catering, and think carefully about what you're eating when you're out and about

Things to take
You can't take your whole medicine cabinet with you, but here are a few things to consider packing for self-treatment purposes:
Paracetamol
Antifungal cream, such as clotrimazole, especially if you're going to a hot, humid place. If you're thrush-prone, take a single tablet treatment such as Diflucan with you
Antihistamine tablets for bites, stings, and allergic reactions
Cymalon, a urinary antiseptic that can abort an attack of cystitis if taken early enough
Indigestion remedy: You are on holiday after all
Diarrhoea remedy such as Loperamide

And for those for whom a holiday romance is a possibility (however remote), don't forget condoms. Some illnesses acquired abroad can have repercussions long after the holiday is over!

Share this Print this