|
By
Dr David Delvin.
|
Travelling abroad can be a bit dangerous for the health! Please remember
that before you set off for foreign parts.
There's simply no question about this. Going abroad is usually fun - but a
substantial proportion of travellers do get sick and have to consult
doctors when they come home. Fortunately, you can cut down the risk of
illness by sensible preparation for your holiday.
And, it's very important to make your preparations well before you go!
Each summer, I'm always astonished by the number of folk who turn up in
the surgery shortly before they depart - needing all sorts of jabs which
there really isn't enough time to arrange.
So, if you're going abroad this summer, start preparing now. There
are three main areas, which you need to look at:
1.
Medical Insurance
2.
Having Jabs
3.
Taking medication with you
MEDICAL INSURANCE
These days, to travel abroad without medical insurance is crazy. Remember,
the NHS stops at the British coast.
Fortunately, in EU countries you have a certain amount of 'health cover' -
provided that you remember to get a Form E111 before you go. Your local
Post Office will fix you up with this. But even if you're only going to
Europe, it's wise to have some private medical cover as well.
If you're heading for somewhere outside Europe, then it's lunacy to
travel without medical insurance. Such cover is particularly vital on
trips to the USA. Let's say that you went to Florida and then had a heart
attack; you could rapidly find yourself with medical bills totalling a
million dollars!
Fortunately, it's very easy to arrange medical insurance these days - for
instance, through your tour operator or your bank. One important point:
don't forget to declare any medical conditions you already have.
Otherwise, the insurance company might not pay up.
IMMUNISATIONS,
ETC
There are about 160 countries in the world these days, and in the majority
of them there are health risks against which you should be immunised. I'm
talking about diseases like:
* Typhoid
* Polio
* Yellow Fever
* Hepatitis
* Encephalitis
I cannot stress strongly enough that you cannot rely on your travel
agent or tour operator to give you adequate, up-to-date information about
these risks. I've found that they simply do not do it. They don't have the
expertise to advise you about jabs.
So who does? Well, your GP's surgery receives accurate weekly lists of
what jabs are currently needed for each country in the world. So the
doctor or nurse at your own practice should be able to give you correct
and up-to-the-minute advice.
Other very good sources of impartial information include:
* British Airways Travel Clinics - Tel: 01276 685040
* MASTA - the Medical Advisory Service for Travellers - Tel: 0207 837 5540
MALARIA
There
is NO jab against malaria. But hundreds of British
travellers come home with it each year.
So, if you're going to a malarial country, it's vital that you protect
yourself against it, by:
* Doing your best to avoid mosquito bites
* Taking anti-malaria pills
Again, your GP's surgery, or British Airways Travels Clinics, or MASTA
(see above) will give you specific advice for the area that you're going
to.
TAKING MEDICATION
WITH YOU
Many people over the age of about 45 are taking regular medication
prescribed by a doctor. Unfortunately, it's easy to forget to take it with
you!
If this happens, it may be very difficult (and quite costly) to get hold
of your regular medication in a foreign country - or on a cruise ship.
So please go to your doc in plenty of time, and get a prescription, which
will last you, till well after you get back.
PILLS FOR THINGS
THAT MIGHT HAPPEN
Unfortunately, the NHS does not supply travellers with
medication for things, which might happen abroad. People sometimes come to
doctors' surgeries and ask for antibiotics and other pills in case one of
the party gets sick in foreign parts. However, it's actually illegal for a
doctor to write an NHS prescription for this sort of thing.
So basically, if you get ill while abroad, you need to consult a doctor
abroad.
However, it is a good idea to stock up with basic medications for 'traveller's
diarrhoea', sunburn, and any other problems, which you are likely to
encounter. Your local pharmacist will be delighted to sell you whatever's
necessary, so that you can take it with you when you go.
Happy holidays!
Q. RE TRAVELLING
ABROAD: Could
you suggest some basic medical/first aid stuff to include in your luggage,
as a precautionary measure before travelling abroad?
A. This depends a great deal on where you're going. For example, you
need next to nothing if you're going to France - but you need an awful lot
if you're going to central Africa!
In general, it's best to be guided by your local pharmacist - who has all
the necessary items on his premises. But for travelling anywhere outside
northern Europe, I'd recommend that at the very least you take with you:
* Dioralyte or other anti-diarrhoea medication
* Sunscreen
* Insect repellent
* Pain killers
* Antiseptic cream, such as Germolene
* Sticking plasters
* One or two bandages, plus safety pins and a small pair of scissors
* Possibly anti-histamine tablets - in case of allergy.
Q. RE EXERCISE
FOR THE OVER 50s: Would
you consider gentle riding a good way to keep joints loose! I advocate
that riding exercises more muscles than any other sport, and as it is a
social activity, is good for body and soul!
A. Well, riding is indeed very good exercise - for the horse. Good luck
to anyone who enjoys equestrianism - because it certainly does exercise a
lot of muscles.
However, I would urge visitors to this site to remember that riding does
of course carry a risk of accidents - some of them very serious. So take
care!
Q.
Do you have any views about the use of magneto therapy for improving
general health, and for pain control in arthritis and general ailments?
I have used Bioflow CRP magnet for the last three
years, and have found it to be very effective. Do you know of any
contra-indications to magneto therapy?
A. I'm afraid that orthodox medicine has rather neglected magnetic therapy
for the last 200 years. It was very popular in the late 1700's, and a chap
called Dr Mesmer (the founder of 'Mesmerism' or hypnotism) claimed to use
it with great success.
However, these days the fact is that it does not even appear in any
standard medical textbooks. So the medical profession has more or less
abandoned it.
This is partly because of the fact that basically magnetism only works on
IRON. And there is astonishingly little iron in the human body - only
about the amount in a large iron nail.
Nonetheless, doctors may be wrong about this, and it is possible that
magneto therapy may turn out to be helpful. Certainly, it should be very
free of side-effects, compared with the powerful drugs we prescribe.
Q. I use a TENS
machine for very painful sciatica. I have heard of a machine called a
PENS, which is supposed to have more success in managing pain. Do you have
any information regarding this?
A. Sorry to hear about your sciatica. TENS machines are pretty good at
helping to ease long-term pain. For other 'visitors' who do not know about
them, they are little electrical devices, which you strap on your skin.
They give you little bursts of electrical energy, which make pains more
bearable.
Many people get them through the NHS Pain Clinics, and a lot of other folk
buy them from pharmacies. They tend to cost around £70. A good tip is
this: if you can get your GP to write a private prescription for the
machine, you won't have to pay the VAT!
A PENS machine is simply a development of a TENS machine, but with a
variable PULSE, which you are able to control. Some people like this added
control, but I wouldn't describe it as a 'miraculous breakthrough'.
I suggest that you try one out at a Pain Clinic before going to the
expense of buying one.
Good luck.
© 2000, 2001 Dr David Delvin/Retirement
Matters Ltd. All rights reserved.
to view the GP forum archive of previous
articles.
Please ensure that you have
read the Retirement-matters full Terms
and Conditions & Privacy statement. We regret that the Doctor
will not be able to reply personally, and replies to queries which may be
published on the website, as well as articles appearing on the website,
are general in content. Please consult your own medical practitioner for
advice specific to yourself. Please do not act on advice given or implied,
as your own practitioner should be consulted.
Click
here to go back
|
