Nothing turns a vacation into a pitty party faster than a bug of mild moderate or intense unpleasant variety, wheter it produces tummy upset, flu like symptoms or worse an illness drains precious hours from beach and sight seing time. but knowing the risks and exercising cation can go a long a way toward mazimizing holiday health travel especially by air travel, is exhausting. avoid caffeine, alcohol and heavy meals. when flying can minimize the effects of jet lag. another risk from those holidaying in tropical climates is the sun. though its common knowledge that UV rays damage skin, travellers may not realize how searing the tropical sun can be the index in popular vaction spots such as cuba and mexico ranges from 10 to 12 at the hottest times of year-"very high" to "extreme", accdg to the world health orga. skin can burn in minutes so be sure repeatedly slather on sunscreen minimum spf 15 limit direct sun exposure betwwen ten am to 4 pm. and make a relazed fashion statement with sunglasses and a floppy hat. stomach upsets and diarrhea are two other common travel health complaints. each year an estimated 10 million people come down with travellers diarrhea, accd to canadian center for disease control and prevention. a few common sense practices aid in prevention, purchase brand name bottled water ensuring the original seal is still in place, instead of drinking from the tap, and avoid beverages with ice cubes, raw shellfish, undercooked meat and already peeled fruits should be redflagged as well. take special care with foods purchased from teh street vendors and know that hot freshly cooked food is the safe bet. destination is a factor in such health hazards . the continental US, scandinavian, australian, and much europe boast canadian standards for drinking water, however anyone headed in mexico, southeast asia, south america, central america and africa or india should drop into a travel health clinic four weeks ahead of departure. there is always a risk of some usually mild and temporary health issue cropping up while one is on holiday but as one anonymously sage famously noted the rewards of journey far outweigh the risk of leaving the harbor.
