Getting sick whilst travelling

When planning for my trip to Southeast Asia I was looking for blogs that were openly honest with things to expect whilst travelling, and a lot of the time I found blogs that didn’t really do the trick. My friends always tell me that I am extremely up front with things, so I thought why not bring that in to my blog posts. Hopefully you find the travel lessons series insightful and helpful for your next trip!

Lets get stuck in to a few things about getting ill whilst on the road (and far away from your parents). During my time in Vietnam and Laos I fell sick twice, Laos being the worst, landing me in a doctor's office. Shortly after my bad spell in Laos those in my travel group became sick too. If you are travelling for long, chances are there will be at least one time that you get under the weather.

When travelling you are thrown into completely amazing and strange circumstances. Being sick so far from home is definitely not an easy thing to deal with, especially with so much going on and to take in around you. It definitely makes you appreciate a lot of things, and yes I may have had a few dramatic thoughts of how it could have panned out, but luckily I went to a great doctor in Luang Prabang who spoke English really well and helped.

Here are five things to do to help prevent sickness as much as you can:

1- You may have heard this so many times throughout your life but trust me you need to drink plenty of water, especially when in a hot country. This was my saviour whilst sick. If you saw the amount of 1.5L bottles that were in the bin and around my room every day you would be surprised someone could consume that much water. Also do not drink tap water, or use ice cubes in your drinks. Water can be contaminated with bacteria and other bodies that your immune system may not be able to handle.

2- Watch where you eat. This isn’t always the easiest rule to apply as you can’t see the kitchen where they cook your food every single time, but this is totally applicable to eating from food carts. Make sure they are cleaning regularly, and most importantly using clean water to do so. Take a look at them preparing food before you order, and if you give it the go ahead become their best friend and visit them often.

3- Eat healthily. If you are like me and love adventure, you will constantly be looking for activities to do that needs energy and health. Alongside regular drinks of water, have some fruit and vegetables to keep you going!

4- Toilets. Oh the squat toilets. Many of the squat toilets I encountered had a ‘you are gonna flush this away yourself’ mechanism, also known as a big barrel of water and a small bucket which you need to use to pour water down and get rid of what you just released in the toilet (disgusting details I know, but honesty is the best policy). Who knows what germs are in that barrel of water where you need to fish out your bucket to flush. Scrub those hands after, I beg you. Also, sleeper train toilets. This is what led me to getting ill in Vietnam. Always make sure you have toilet rolls in your backpack/suitcase and some wet wipes, I ran out of both and obviously the consequences were not great for me.

5- Ok, so this one may only be applicable to me.. If you are jumping in a lagoon (like I did the day before I became ill) make sure your mouth is closed! I can hear you all laughing in the distance, but trust me if you are jumping in a lake that has slimey water, fish swimming around and other things that could be living there don’t go for the nose hold, make sure your mouth is closed tightly (refer back to number 1).

I would also invest in travel insurance because you never know the costs of medical expenses, and/or other situations. Just make sure you remember to look out for yourself, take a day off from hectic activities and exploring, and do more in terms of having a healthy lifestyle than you would back home.

Safe travels, T.

#travellessons #southeastasia #vietnam #laos #luangprabang #health #sleepertrain