Weekend scorcher ahead...just be careful you don’t get burnt!
LOOKING forward to your holiday? We all like to break away from our routine to ‘chill out’ somewhere different. Deciding where to go, searching the internet for where to stay and what to see, all add to the excitement.
Part of that planning is deciding what to take with you. Your destination will influence this, but there are some ‘must haves’ that I recommend you consider.
The main thing is to take enough of any regular prescribed medication to last during your break. So, remember to request your medication in good time and avoid a last-minute panic!
Next on the list – are you/all good travellers? Motion sickness can be a nightmare and feeling sick when you are travelling isn’t a great start to your holiday.
However, you can do things to prevent it, such as minimising motion (ie sit in the front of a car or middle of a boat), looking ahead to the horizon, breathing fresh, cool air and avoid reading or using electronic devices or having a big meal before starting out.
For ‘bad travellers’ your pharmacist can help you with travel sickness medication.
This can be in the form of tablets, dissolvable tablets, syrup, or acupressure bands.
The choice will depend on age, what’s worked in the past, and on any prescribed medication you take. Side-effects are usually around drowsiness and having a dry mouth, but you can avoid this with the bands – although these don’t work for everyone.
Once you’ve arrived at your destination you are going to want to explore. Make sure you have applied sunscreen properly (i.e. use at least factor 30 sunscreen and apply according to directions) and spend time in the shade between 11am and 3pm. Also, make sure you never burn, cover up with suitable clothing, wear sunglasses and take extra care with children.
After-sun preparations can soothe irritated skin, but prevention is much better than cure as the damage will have already been done.
One of the fun parts of being on holiday is the food and drink. You get to try new, possibly exotic, dishes and probably eat a lot more than
you normally would. This can present quite a challenge to your stomach, which means indigestion could be a problem for you. Aren’t you glad you packed those indigestion tablets!
There’s also the possibility of diarrhoea, so make sure you have anti-diarrhoeal remedies as well, because these can quickly control symptoms, although not the root cause, such as food poisoning.
Remember – never give antidiarrhoea medications to children under 12.
In case the worst does occur then oral rehydration salts are an essential item to take with you. They help restore the body’s natural electrolyte balance, which can help with fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and help your recovery.
They won’t fight the cause of your illness, such as a virus or bacteria, but they will help you feel a whole lot better and stop you from getting dehydrated.
What else might you need? Well painkillers for a start, such as aspirin, paracetamol or ibuprofen. These will help with headaches, fever and relieving minor aches and pains.
All that extra activity can play havoc with your body, especially when you are more used to taking it easy at home, unless, of course, beach volleyball is how you normally spend your time.
Then there are all those new insects that want to bite you. Antihistamines are available as tablets, syrups or creams and are really useful for dealing with allergies and insect bites.
If you have been cut, bitten or stung you will need to make sure the wound is clean, so here you will need antiseptic wipes, antiseptic cream and possibly plasters (waterproof if possible).
If you are going to a far-flung destination you may need to be aware of health matters specific to the country (e.g. infectious diseases and malaria). Therefore, as part of your Internet holiday research, check out what vaccinations you need and whether or not you need to take antimalarial medication.
By now you should have quite a list of holiday essentials. Fortunately, your holiday first-aid kit won’t take up much room in your suitcase.
There will be plenty of room for your toothbrush and a few T-shirts. Bon voyage!