Travel

Staying Healthy Whilst Travelling

– SPONSORED COLLABORATION –

Our recent holiday to Morocco was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. We had so much fun and not to mention Sam proposing to me on the first evening. Our day out to Marrakesh was an eye opener and it was quite an intensive day, especially the travelling aspect to and from Marrakesh. Watching over the medina and getting a fully immersive experience of the souk was something I’ll never forget.

MarrakeshMedina of Marrakesh

Unfortunately though, we managed to catch Traveller’s Belly (and no this isn’t a made up illness – it’s a thing), which is caused by bacteria and we think in our case, not washing our hands thoroughly. 

I had been pretty prepared for our holiday, packing a First Aid Kit – which granted only had the bare essentials – but was a lot more health conscious than other holidays I’ve been on before.  Getting Travellers Belly was unexpected though extremely common with a lot of travellers who visit parts of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Mexico and Central and South America. It’s an infection that unfortunately is pretty easy to get. So it got me thinking, what tips could I recommend for staying healthy whilst travelling?  

 

Take plenty of tablets for various symptoms

We took one pack of paracetamol. A basic, Tesco’s branded pack of 16 at 500mg. Of course, it says on the pack that it treats moderate pain of varying symptoms such as headaches, migraines and fever but I’ve found that different pain relief including nurofen and ibuprofen have all worked better on specific symptoms.

 

Drink plenty of water but avoid having it by the tap

Tap water and ice are two common causes of getting Travellers Belly so try and avoid these if you can. Myself and Sam were downing cocktails filled with ice on a daily basis, not thinking that this could have been a probable cause of the infection. Stick to bottled water and say no to ice in your drink.

Marrakesh Garden

Use alcohol wipes or hand sanitiser gel before meals

Why did I not take any hand sanitising products?! The thought never even crossed my mind to take alcohol wipes or gel. One thing you’ll find in Marrakesh is the lack of soap and clean water in the bathrooms. Most of the building’s bathrooms aren’t well kept so don’t expect to find hand pumps filled with soap or nifty 10-second hand dryers in there. 

On top of this, we had both our lunch and evening meal in Marrakesh, which meant we didn’t wash our hands enough between meals. Particularly when going out on day trips and taking part in outdoor activities.

 

Have a good balance when it comes to food and drink

We definitely indulged ourselves when it came to the all-inclusive option we opted into. And saying that, I think we overdid it on a number of occasions. Although it is tempting to just gorge out on food and drink, make sure to maintain a healthy balance of what you are eating. We managed to get a lot of fruit and vegetables onto our plates during breakfast, lunch and dinner which I think helped us when we were ill. 

 

Avoid uncooked food

Which leads me onto my last point, avoid uncooked food. Food like salad may be washed via tap water and therefore may have the bacteria needed to give you an upset tummy. As much as we all love our salads (said no one ever), it’s best to just avoid.

What tips would you recommend to stay healthy whilst travelling? Let me know in the comments below.


*Disclaimer – This is a collaborative post with The Independent Pharmacy. All words are my own.


Signature for Natalie

 

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