We all want our vacations to be memorable, right? After saving up for dream vacations for months or sometimes years, we want to create memories on our vacations that will last a lifetime. We imagine lounging on the beach, eating delicious food, going on adventures and sharing laughs with family and friends. That’s what vacations should be like, right? Absolutely! As we all know, sometimes things don’t go as planned. There are some things we can’t control like delayed flights, bad weather and lost luggage but we can help prevent some illnesses. No one wants to spend their holidays in the bathroom instead of on the beach!
I’ve had my share of illnesses on vacation and I can promise you that it isn’t fun at all. Suffering from heat stroke in the Dominican Republic isn’t the kind of memory I was hoping to make on my vacation. I thought I was being careful on the trip with drinking bottled water, watching the types of foods I ate and staying out of the sun but one hot afternoon of zip lining without a plan to stay cool & hydrated was enough to limit me to the bathroom for almost 24 hours. That is not an experience I want to repeat!
I was in Thailand about 15 years ago and I wasn’t as safe as I should be with food & drinks. It was my first big international trip and I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I did get vaccinations, I took medications with me and I only drank bottled water but I wasn’t as safe with the food I ate. We spent a lot of time on an island where restaurants were really limited so I didn’t really have a choice in where I ate. I spent two weeks in Thailand – I LOVED it – but the day I came home I got really sick so instead of going back to work, I had to extend my vacation days by a week because I was limited to my bed and bathroom. It’s a good thing I had sick days at work because I couldn’t afford a week off of work on top of the expenses from a two week vacation!
Did you know that 98% of travellers will make a dietary or beverage mistake within the first three days of vacation, increasing their risk of contracting E. coli? That’s a really high percentage!
Planning for Healthy Travels:
There are steps you can take to help prevent illness on vacation like vaccinations, medications and safety plans. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist to find out what’s right for you. When making your packing list for vacation, don’t forget the medications you need to help keep you healthy on vacation so you can spend more time making positive memories! Everyone is going to want to see your vacation photos so make sure you have more photos on the beach than in the bathroom!
*Disclosure: I was compensated for this post; however, all opinions expressed here are my own.