Ministry offers health pointers to travellers
DUBAI: The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) would like to provide some health advice and tips related to travel destinations. The ministry, accordingly, recommends travellers to visit Travellers Health Clinics ahead of their departure.
Jet lag: Travellers might experience the biological clock disorder during long trips, especially those who travel to distant countries, where the change is to adjust the internal timing of the human body. Its most common symptoms are sleeping disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, lack of concentration, fatigue and general weakness.
MOHAP recommends taking adequate sleep, rest during long trips, drinking plenty of fluids, avoiding drinking coffee, tea and other stimulants, and eating healthy food.
Motion or travel sickness: Travel sickness is caused by disturbance in human senses and excess movement. Its most common symptoms are dizziness, tiredness, nausea, headache and vomiting. To relieve symptoms of travel sickness, MOHAP recommends changing the place of siting in the aircraft, choosing a suitable place such as the front of the plane or at the wing. Also, the ministry recommends avoiding eating immediately at the beginning of the trip, chewing gum or mint candy, and to consult your doctor to prescribe a drug that relieves the symptoms of vertigo.
Disturbance of the cardiovascular system: Sitting for long periods of time causes a disturbance of the cardiovascular system, which might lead to deep vein thrombosis (DVT). DVT is one of the factors that can lead to blood cloting in deep veins, especially in legs. MOHAP advises travellers to walk almost every 3 hours or do chair exercises on a regular basis and wear loose clothing.
There are also health risks associated with the environment, including health disorders associated with high altitudes, represented in a number of symptoms that appear when climbing into the highlands. Its symptoms are fatigue, headache, nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, loss of appetite and others.
MOHAP advises travellers to consult a doctor, especially those suffering from heart or respiratory diseases, taking into account drinking plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration and also avoid smoking and alcohol.
Diseases caused by mosquito bites, insects or infected animals: Curiosity oten drives travellers to touch animals, which may be infected with many diseases. Therefore, MOHAP recommends avoiding direct contact with animals, especially in places where rabies is prevalent.