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Prevention Tips to Avoid Tropical Disease

When planning your vacation to a foreign country, you are coordinating flight schedules, rental cars and booking hotels. The logistics of the trip as well as the activities you have planned are what usually consume your attention. However, what you should also be thinking about is how to stay healthy. After all, you don't want to bring home an unintended infectious souvenir that will leave you down for the count in bed!

Your first line of defense against tropical diseases and other maladies is protecting yourself. There are three main ways that disease is spread, particularly in third world or developing countries. Contamination of food is one way and contaminated water is another. Bites from mosquitoes, flies, ticks, fleas and other insects are the third way that illness is spread. Before packing proper clothing and repellents and such, you should consult with a doctor specializing in travel medicine who will be informed through the Center for Disease Control on the latest health hazards like malaria outbreaks in countries all over the world.

Preventing Disease-Causing Insect Bites

Six to eight weeks prior to departure, check with your travel agency as well as the Center for Disease Control to determine what current health risks may be at hand in your destination. You may have to get a prescription for anti-malarial drugs or even get vaccinations for hepatitis, typhoid or even yellow fever as a precaution.

During your stay, avoid rural areas as well as anyplace where sanitation and hygiene are not readily present. If you cannot totally avoid these areas, make sure that you are properly clothed to avoid bug bites. Wear long-sleeved clothing along with long pants. The shirt should be tucked in to the pants while the pants should be tucked into socks and/or boots. Ensure there is a tight fit around the wrist and neck so that mosquitoes or other insects cannot get to your skin through these areas.

Treat your clothing, bedding and even protective mosquito netting with an insecticide called permethrin as it will repel many insects for an indefinite period of time. Also, use DEET-based insect repellents for the skin and apply after sunscreen. When possible, sleep in air conditioned or screened in rooms with proper ventilation and screen protection. The mosquito netting used should have tightly weaved holes so that insects cannot squeeze through or penetrate them.

Taking Care with your Food and Water

Always avoid wading in native waters as they could be contaminated with viruses, parasites and bacteria. Drink bottled water with tightly sealed caps. Never order drinks with ice as the ice may have been made with the local water, which could be contaminated. When bottled water is not available, boil your drinking water for about 1 to 3 minutes and allow cooling to room temperature before drinking it.

Do not eat any raw or undercooked meats, fruits and vegetables. They may have been raised near contaminated water sources or food workers may not always take care with preparations of raw foods.

It is unfortunately that you have to take so many precautions when traveling to other countries. However, not everyone is blessed with the resources that the United States has in maintaining clean water facilities as well as proper waste management and medical care. By following the prevention tips, you should have a healthy, fun trip.