General advice
Staying healthy on the road is a combination of good preparation and common sense. A good place to start is Dr Jane Wilson Howarth’s checklist of 13 health-related things to do before you go. From checking that your immunisations are up-to-date to giving your first aid kit a through spring clean, it’s your first step towards staying healthy on the road.
Dr Jane also nominates her 50 tips for travel health, busts a few travel health myths and reveals how staying happy can keep you healthy too. She also explains the different travel health needs of men and women and urges women to ‘know their own bodies’ before they travel.
And because Wanderlust readers are more adventurous than most, Dr Jane explains how to stay healthy in emerging destinations.
More information
13 travel health resolutions – Dr Jane Wilson-Howarth
Travel health: Fact or Fiction?
6 tips for travel health happiness
Men vs Women: Different health issues
Health in emerging destinations
Before you go
It’s very easy to leave your travel health needs to the last moment. The trouble is, that could cause all manner of complications further down the line. Your destination may require a course of vaccinations that need to be administered months apart. And chances are, your local pharmacy doesn’t carry the particular anti-malarial you need.
Fear not. Our resident travel health expert Dr Jane Wilson-Howarth has put together a time-line for you to follow, listing the major travel health ‘events’ and how long before your trip you need to deal with them. She warns you what your biggest travel health costs will be and how to save money on them. She also offers detailed advice on the two biggest travel health ‘investments’ you can make – insurance and a well-equipped first aid kit.
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Health: The big countdown – Dr Jane Wilson-Howarth
10 biggest travel health expenses
A good investment: travel healthcare
On the road
Each place you travel will throw up their own travel health issues. They could be caused by the climate, the local food or the endemic insects.
Our series of travel health advice articles have most of them covered, from staying safe in the sun and out in the cold, through to dodging Delhi Belly. We have tips on travelling with special dietary requirements and dealing with diabetes as well as looking after your eyes as you travel.
We also have advice particular to the type of travel you’ll be doing, with tips on staying healthy around animals or while you are hiking.
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Staying safe in the sun – Dr Jane Wilson-Howarth
Tips for travelling with special dietary requirements – Wanderlust Team
Dodging Delhi Belly and other health risks in India
Staying safe around wild animals
Keep your eyes healthy while travelling
The most common ailments
Of course, you’re just as likely to pick up a sniffle at home as on the road. But there are particular diseases that you won’t have had exposure to that you need to be prepared for. With that in mind we have created a series of guides that will advise you on the vaccinations, prophylactics and precautions you need to take to counter diseases like malaria, rabies, yellow fever and more. There is also advice on peculiar rashes and skin complaints as well as staying healthy on long haul travel.
Professor Larry Goodyer also distinguishes between the facts and fictions spread about Ebola. It’s extremely unlikely you’ll need to call upon his advice, but as with everything, forearmed is forewarned.
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Malaria: questions and answers for travellers – Dr Jane Wilson-Howarth
Rabies: the real facts – Becky Swadling
Yellow Fever: know the facts – Dr Jane Wilson-Howarth
Long haul health questions answered
Ebola: fact vs fiction – Professor Larry Goodyer
Help on the road
Should you get ill on your travels, Dr Jane Wilson-Howarth reveals what you need to know about healthcare abroad and advises caution should you be considering local herbs and remedies to cure all that ails you.
And, just in case you’re considering travelling without insurance, Susie Maggie Thorne has put together some examples of the eye-watering costs you could incur should something happen to you while you are overseas.
More information
Healthcare abroad: What you need to know – Dr Jane Wilson-Howarth
Healing herbs and local remedies
Eye-watering overseas costs without travel insurance – Susie Maggie Thorne
Save money on travel health with Wanderlust
Our partner, Nomad Travel Stores and Clinics, offer a 10% discount to Wanderlust readers, redeemable on gear and some health products.
Similarly, InsureAndGo offer Wanderlust subscribers and readers a a discount of up to 10% on travel insurance too.
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