Medical

In some ways, staying healthy is more of a challenge as you’re traveling.

We’re moving between environments and our bodies have to adjust or don’t have time to. We’re up early, or not. We’re out late and the air changes but we’re new to a place so we don’t know that and aren’t prepared for that change. We’re suddenly staying in places full of cigarette smoke. And so on.

So how do we deal with these changes? I hope to share tips on how to stay healthy.

And what happens when we don’t succeed and we need medical care? I’m collecting info about that here as well. To read any full post, click it’s header.

Travel in health -Books for health

 in Deb's Travels / Food / Medical / Packing

Getting sick is especially bothersome when you’re traveling. But of course, illness happens and there are plenty of good, easy ways to deal with that. For now, let’s talk about ways to prevent illness. This page covers some online info and books that I know to be excellent and helpful. Each comes as an ebook too, so you can take it with you as you travel. Hint: Everything pretty much comes down to eating real food over fast and processed foods. This is often called Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB). This sets you and your body up for its best health so you can minimize illness and maximize opportunities for great adventures.  I don’t give medical advice so don’t take my words that way, but I and others know that as you learn what’s in these books it’s possible to balance local experiences and enjoy the local cuisines of the places […]

How Not To Die book cover

Possibly drugged – even when with her husband

 in Medical / Safety / Theft

This event happened to a woman who was traveling with her husband in Peru. As you will see it was in a very respectable and well-liked place. She shared this and is allowing me to share it to remind us that we all need to remember to trust our instincts. This post is all her own words. Drugged, or a freak drug interaction… My husband and I, both in our mid-40s, were in Lima, Peru. We met up with a friend of mine, a Peruvian man in his mid-50s, for lunch. At the restaurant, Punto Azul, which is known to have an excellent reputation, I ordered a Pisco Sour. At the last minute I changed my mind and ordered a bottle of Rose wine. My friend decided to drink my Pisco Sour. As lunch wore on, he started really slurring his words. He apologized profusely and said he hadn’t really […]

Yoel drinking water from the high-up fountain at the sculpture in Split.

Water equals wellness when you wander 2

 in Food / Medical

Water equals wellness when you wander.

You may cringe at the word “hydrated” because it’s so overused in recent years, but water isn’t just important; it’s critical to us.

Here’s what water does for us, why we need it— and need it even more while we’re traveling.

Bananas are great travel food 1

 in Food / Medical

While we’re on the road, busy with experiencing new and different foods, we also want to stay healthy. We may not eat well every day. We may become too tired. We many try too many sweets… But it appears that bananas can help us compensate for that kind of lifestyle, helping to keep us healthy.

You may not be able to purchase bananas everywhere you travel, but they are available almost everywhere — and in many places, they aren’t expensive.

Bananas are an easy travel food as well as being good for most people’s health, so I have some info about bananas for you, as well as a Bright Side video to share with you.

Best deodorant for travel – Crystal 2

 in Medical / Packing

The Crystal Body Deodorant Stick is the perfect deodorant to take traveling! It is small, pure, long-lasting and doesn’t contain anything that can clog or otherwise damage your body.

Images of my Crystal Body Deodorant Stick over time shows this is a top choice for deodorant for travel.

2018: Sprouts now has a mineral salt stick that’s just as good!

Natural help for burns — raw egg membrane! 2

 in Medical

We all know the feeling: the pain of the burn, then the blister. Then the pain as the blister pops and the new raw skin is exposed before it’s ready. And the possible pain and infection if the new skin becomes irritated, opens or becomes infected.

What if you didn’t have to go through that pain again?

And the solution is simply a discarded part of a raw egg!

A thought about packing light and carrying medications

 in Medical / Packing

The other day my friend Rachel called me. She was staying at Ascent as was my backpack (while I traveled more of Israel) and she wanted to know if I had any cold medicine. “Yes, I do!” I replied excitedly. “It’s yours, actually. It’s the same package that you bought me the week we met and you wanted to help me get over being sick. It’s in the original box. You should be able to find it in…” You may wonder why I was so excited that she was asking if I had this. There are several reasons why: 1) I love that I had something to help a friend. 2) I love that something she bought for me turned out to be able to help her or to help her help someone else. 3) There will be two fewer items in my backpack. No matter how light or how small something […]

Tetanus & Travel

 in Medical / Packing

Tetanus is not necessarily a required vaccine, but I personally think it can be a wise decision to get one. I did, for Central America. Here’s an article that may help you decide for yourself. How Dangerous Is Tetanus Really? 10 FAQs by James Hubbard, MD, MPH — The Survival Doctor. This article about Tetanus and the debate about getting a Tetanus shot — and many more that may be of help to you are on his website, The Survival Doctor. His survival-medicine website, as he says: “provides general information, not individual advice. Most scenarios assume the victim cannot get expert medical help.”

Fire knife handy on your travels

 in Medical / Packing

If you’re traveling to places where you want to ensure that you have fire, you might love this Swedish FireKnife. One of the best knife companies, Mora of Sweden, teamed with the Swedish company, Light My Fire, to create this handy  3.4 oz. (94 g) knife that ensures you’ll always be able to start a fire — as long as you have something to burn. You’ll find it, and other useful travel items here, at Industrial Revolution.

My travel SteriPen will now help a child have safe water

 in Central America / Food / Medical / Packing / Panama / Traveling with Technology

The morning before I left the good people of the tiny village of Pueblo Nuevo, I used my SteriPEN UV light water purifier one last time as I purified one more bottle of water for my trip back to Panama City.

I got good use out of this SteriPEN but as I go back to Los Angeles, where I am lucky enough to have healthy, safe water, emergencies aside, I know my trusty SteriPEN can be put to much better use here. It will now be used to purify water for the newest baby in the village.

Excellent Medical clinic in Roatan

 in Central America / Deb in Honduras / Deb's Travels / Honduras / Medical

Here is a great clinic I want to share with not just backpackers and travelers who may come to Roatan, but with all people who like to see or support good deeds. Clinica Esperanza – an excellent project doing much good in Sandy Bay on Roatan. You can read all about it on their site, ClinicaEsperanza.com but first I must add my own personal kudos to them. I have been there and seem the excellent way they treat their patients. There is even a great play set to entertain the children as they wait as you can see in this photo of the clinic. Play things like this are not at all common for the people of Roatan. Here is a photo taken on the main road so you know what to look for. The clinic is a short way up the hill so you need to watch for the […]

Packing list: Dental floss

 in Medical / Packing

I highly recommend packing dental floss for your extended travels or backpacking. Get the largest roll in the smallest package that you can find — and like. (If you don’t like the feel and use of your floss you won’t use it.) Flossing removes the plaque from your teeth, keeping you and your teeth and gums healthier, but there’s more. You can use it to scrape your tongue. I know, some toothbrushes have a tongue scraper on them, but you should be taking a travel toothbrush or taking the smallest, lightest toothbrush you can find. Plus, the supply and style of toothbrushes vary between countries and you may travel longer than is good for one toothbrush. I have heard of people using floss in lieu of string as well. NOTE: I wrote this May 2012, before I knew about Cocofloss. Now, although I wish the Cocofloss container was smaller, I no […]