Travelling Overseas - Staying Healthy

Each year, millions of people visit developing countries. Of these, many are business people searching for new opportunities.

With an assortment of development potential available from the Asian region, business people are flocking overseas so as to get in at the ground floor. Many travel to these areas on a regular basis, exposing themselves to ailments which range from differing strains of hepatitis to typhoid and polio.

Unfortunately, a number of these diseases aren't discriminating - they can be captured even when remaining in 5-star accommodation. Also, a number of them need long convalescent periods. By way of instance, hepatitis A can indicate an absence from work of up to 8 weeks, depending on the intensity of the attack.

The issue facing business people and travelers is that often they have never been exposed to a broad range of infections. This means they have little if any natural immunity to diseases common in different areas of the world.

By way of instance, even if staying at resort-standard resorts in areas like Taiwan, the traveller still has a 1 in 300 chance of developing hepatitis A. Budget travellers increase their risk by as many as six times.

The sensible solution is to be sure that you get the recommended vaccinations for any foreign country you go to. It's essential, however, to realize that for many vaccines to be wholly successful, a series of doses over a protracted period of time are required. By way of instance, hepatitis B vaccines usually call for a few months until they reach their full effectiveness.

Vaccination isn't the only precaution that needs to be taken when travelling in a developed nation. Many diseases are transmitted through food that has been managed by a carrier of this disease. It follows that uncooked vegetables, salads, raw meat, shellfish, and beverages made with ice or water are all possible health hazards, and must be approached with care.

Other things which needs to be observed are the overall cleanliness of the restaurant or food prep area. A restaurant with no power, meat covered in flies hanging on hooks and possibly a few stray animals wandering around is hardly likely to be a fantastic risk!

There are also the dangers which may be avoided far more easily. These include casual sexual contact, intravenous drug use and other skin piercing activities like tattooing and ear-piercing.

It's also important that you mention to a physician that you've been travelling overseas to developed nations if you develop any symptoms like nausea, lethargy, fever or jaundice following your return. These can frequently be categorised as a flu or common virus, when in fact they are symptoms of a sinus disease. With complete travel details, the physician will be able to generate a proper diagnosis and indicate necessary further testing.

With nearly all wellness issues, the trick to disease free overseas travel is common sense. If you're going to be seeing a growing area, take some time to ensure you get the necessary vaccinations in a lot of time to your journey. After all, that little quantity of forethought may stop a lot of trouble in the future.