Lack of compassion, information and inattention can easily transform any holidays into a nightmare, doctors say. Experts offer some tips to have a quiet holiday, away from the health problems that appear frequent in crowded tourist places.
Holidays can be ruined by shutterstock photo health problems
There is a summer month and the Romanians take full advantage of it. Whether it is stays in Romania or we are talking about travelers abroad, especially in exotic lands, the success of the holiday is in our hands, say doctors. The way we prepare and behave on leave can make the difference between a holiday full of beautiful memories and a completely missed. But doctors have a number of tips.
The enemies of dream leave
When we go on vacation we expect total fun or relaxation. Everything can be over the head because of microscopic enemies. These are the bacteria and viruses around us. They are waiting for the first negligence to enter the body and to overcome all the holidays. “During this period there are very common cases of digestive, gastrointestinal infections”says infectious doctor Cristi Prepliuc. The most common are enterocolitis and food poisoning. Enterocolitis is an intestinal disorder that can be caused by viruses, parasites or fungi. The condition is manifested by acute diarrheal episodes accompanied by abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting and, in certain situations, generally altered condition due to hydro-electrolytic imbalances.
Food poisoning, on the other side, is caused by foods contaminated with bacteria capable of synthesizing enterotoxins and which manifests within six hours from the consumption of contaminated products. It manifests itself by feeling nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps. The golden staphylococcus is most commonly involved in food poisoning and is favored by the consumption of meat and prepared with altered sauces. Obviously, all symptoms become a nightmare during leave, as they can last up to a week.
“We want to visit beautiful places, not toilets”
Doctors say they have to be very rigorous with personal hygiene. Let’s wash our hands, disinfect ourselves and especially not let ourselves go and eat only from authorized places, which present confidence. We should also consume bottled water, taken from authorized, sealed stores, precisely to avoid contaminated drinking water sources.
“We must take care of where we eat, consume correct foods, from safe sources. We have to be very demanding in this chapter and not to discount. Experiments or inattention can cost us holidays.”says epidemiologist Irina Alecul. At the same time, the epidemiologist says we need to know our sensitivities well and automatically avoid foods that could trigger our enterocolitis, episodes of severe diarrhea or constipation. Last but not least, those with chronic diseases must be even more cautious. That is, water and food only from very safe sources.
“The digestive problems give big headaches. They are unpleasant, they dischard us, they keep us in bed. The problem is complicated if we have other background diseases. For example, a hypertensive, a diabetic will have additional problems. That is why rigorous personal hygiene is holy but also attention to water sources and food” “says Irina Alecu. At the same time, we must be very careful about respiratory diseases. Even if it is summer, the flu does not bypass anyone. Especially if we talk about crowded beaches, airports, stations or other dense population tourist facilities. And the solution is the same: clean hands, disinfection.
“We have to be aware that we have a lot of pathologies, including respirators, which are circulating all year long. There is no surprise to have the flu during the summer, especially in people who go and visit, to tourists who have in their travel area, airports, stations, bus, where the density of the population is high and the density is high and the density is high and strictly the hygiene rules.adds the epidemiologist.
Exotic places, problems as exotic
Doctors draw attention to travel in exotic places. They say we have to be aware that our microbiome is different from that of the area in which we go and problems may occur. In particular, the “diarrhea of the traveler”, caused by differences in time, by the stress of the trip, of fatigue, but also by these differences of temperature and microbiom. We need to be very well informed of the area we go in, doctors say. Let us make all the necessary vaccines and be prepared for any gastrointestinal disorder. All the more so, we have to pay attention to hygiene.
“Fortunately, tourism today allows us to visit various regions of the globe. But for these regions our microbom is not adapted. We must be careful and think very well where we go and respect the basic hygiene rules. If we go to exotic locations with another microbiome, to make rigorous because there is that diarrhea of the traveler in which the people who go to the new areas in terms of the microbial area make a transient diarrhea ”says Irina Alecu. In addition, adds the epidemiologist, we must try to refrain from culinary experiences with potential risky, from other cultures, if we know that we have an increased sensitivity at the gastrointestinal level.
“We must be aware that it might, even if the food is correctly prepared according to the standards of the country we go in, especially in the exotic areas, our body may not be adapted to that normality there.adds Alecu.
Sea water a problem for those with low immunity
Infectious doctors say that the water of the sea itself can become a vector of transmission of some bacteria to those with the weakened immune system. These can be chosen with skin or digestive infections only by swimming through the sea and swallowing water. “It is possible to contaminate ourselves from the sea water. Now, in general, in Romania, the sea water is tested by the DSP to see the bacterial level. But when we have low immunity, skin or digestive infections can occur anyway.”says the infectious Cristi Prepeliuc.
When we go to the mountain, we have to take care of the ticks. “We know very well that the ticks are transmitted to the pathogen of Lyme’s disease. Therefore, even if it is summer, it is good to wear long pants. But also repellents against insects to protect us from mosquitoes.”adds Cristi Prepeliuc. The infectious doctor says that in the mountains we should protect ourselves from animal bites that can transmit serious health problems, including rabia.
No meat in blood and food excesses
To have a quiet vacation, it is recommended to avoid “blood” foods, precisely because they can keep pathogens. We must no longer consume foods that have already stayed in the sun for more than an hour or more than two hours at room temperature. Raw fruits and vegetables should be peeled or washed very well before consumption. Specialists teach us to avoid the consumption of canned, both meat and vegetables, because there is a risk of contamination with Clostridium botulinum, an anaerobic bacterium that synthesizes neurotoxins. When we are thirsty, we must resort to bottled water.
Doctors say that food excesses and excessive alcohol consumption should be avoided. If we happen to get sick, but it is an easy condition, we need to call the family doctor and not take medicines behind the ear. “Let us not take something that could delay a diagnosis. Even at a trivial diarrheic disease, a medicine taken without a doctor’s opinion can actually aggravate the disease. We reduce the symptoms but the cause do not treat it correctly.”says doctor Irina Alecu. If the situation worsens, we must introduce ourselves to a medical unit.
