HEALTH Tips for staying well on your travels

Staying well on your travels


Ask the pharmacist
James Geraghty

If you have booked yourself a holiday abroad, the last thing you need is to feel unwell when you finally get to your destination.
Sunburn, mosquito bites, sickness, diarrhoea, parasites, jet lag, stress or even Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) can all turn a holiday in paradise into a holiday from hell.
But it doesn’t have to be that way; there are plenty of natural remedies to help stave off the most common holiday maladies. Avoid all the usual holiday ailments with this natural remedy count-down...

Top travel tips
Around three or four weeks before a long haul flight, consider taking horse chestnut or Pycnogenol capsules to help prevent DVT. Pycnogenol, an extract from pine bark, helps to thin the blood and keep veins healthy.
Two weeks before you head off, start taking Rhodiola rosea.
Rhodiola, an adaptogenic herb, can help with jet lag and variations in altitude and temperature.
It is also an effective anti-stress herb and so will help you deal with any holiday tantrums from your family or delayed flights; it can even be supportive to those with a fear of flying.
Around this time you should also think about taking a vitamin B1 supplement.
B1 or thiamine can help to fend off unwanted attention from mosquitoes by making your skin smell unpleasant – but thankfully only to insects; there’ll be no perceptible smell to humans!
One week before you set off start taking a supplement that contains beta carotene and grape seed extract to help strengthen your skin against sunburn.
There are specific formulas available, such as SPF Skin Pro-Factors Capsules, which include a complex of skin-strengthening nutrients. Remember though that these useful products do not replace the need for an appropriate sunscreen lotion or cream.
Once on holiday, supplement daily with grapefruit seed extract and acidophilus capsules to prevent parasitic infestation and holiday tum.
Watch your water. Only drink bottled or canned drinks, and don’t assume the tap water in your hotel is safe to drink. Ice too, if made from frozen, contaminated water, can also cause an upset tummy.
Take care not to eat any food that looks undercooked or raw and avoid buffet food that has been kept luke-warm.
If you do get caught out by the sun, the Ultimate Beauty Organic Skin Repair Oil from Viridian Nutrition is an excellent all-round after-sun lotion.
And if despite your best efforts you do fall ill, drink plenty of water (bottled) so as to avoid dehydration. A top tip is to replace lost fluids with an isotonic solution, one that contains the same salt concentrations as normal body fluids.
Children with diarrhoea must consult a healthcare professional and medical advice must always be sought if symptoms do not improve within 24 to 36 hours, or if diarrhoea is accompanied by severe pain, vomiting, fever or loss of blood.