So Long! Be Safe!
- Know your travel schedule (length of flights, stopover, etc.). Carry extra food and water with you to help prevent you from getting low on energy or dehydrated from long travel.
- Keep your medicines with you, not in your suitcase. Keep them in your backpack or carry-on bag, so that you can get them easily if you need to while traveling to your destination. Check the embassy Web site for medication restrictions. Discuss possible need for a letter listing prescription medications with your doctor.
- Keep your passport in a safe place on your person, such as in a security pocket or belt, when you travel. Before traveling, scan your passport and your International Certificate of Vaccination card into your computer and make two copies (the page showing your picture and passport number).
- Carry one copy with you on the trip along with two extra passport pictures (separate from your passport), in your carry-on bag or with a travel companion, and leave one copy at home with a relative or friend (leaving a copy of your travel itinerary is a good idea, too).
- Take only the credit cards that you will be using. Leave a copy of your card numbers and card cancellation number at home with a relative or friend. If you lose your credit cards, have them canceled at once.
- Be cautious about showing money or jewelry in public places.
- Look both ways before crossing a street. Traffic may be coming from an unexpected direction.
- Wear seat belts when riding in cars. Lock car doors. When possible, avoid traveling on unfamiliar rural roads after dark. Travel accidents are a leading cause of mortality.
- Make new friends while being aware of situations that may include unsafe sex, alcohol, drugs, and personal safety (especially at night or when alone). All travelers should consider including condoms in their first aid kit. Women may consider bringing emergency contraception in their first aid kit. Schedule a post-trip medical appointment if you had sex abroad. 24/7 Sexual Assault Support is available.
- Avoid contact with any mammals, especially dogs.
- Sitting longer than four hours increases risk of blood clots, especially for women on hormonal contraception.
Be Healthy!
- Be current on recommended immunizations. Some immunizations are recommended for regular health maintenance, and some recommended for travel to specific countries.
- Protect yourself from the sun. Use sunscreen with SPF 15 to 30. Wear sunglasses and a hat.
- Always wear shoes, sandals, or reef walkers (even on the beach). Many parasites live in damp soil and sand, and invade your body through the skin. A parasite is an animal (sometimes so small it cannot be seen) that can live on or in another animal, including you.
- Many parasites live in water. Chlorinated swimming pools may be safer for swimming than a lake or beach, but may not be completely free of microscopic bugs that can cause illness. Try to avoid swallowing the water when swimming or showering.
- Clean your hands, especially before eating and after using the bathroom. Have a supply of “Handy Wipes” or an alcohol-based hand cleaner, in case clean water and soap are not available.
- It is OK to get altitude illness; it is not OK to die from it. If your condition worsens, descend at once. At high altitude, any illness is altitude illness until proven otherwise. Never leave anyone with altitude illness alone.
How About The Water?
In most European countries, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United States, tap water is safe to drink. Elsewhere:
- Don’t drink tap water or use it to brush your teeth or clean contact lenses.
- The best way to make water safe to drink is to boil it, filter it or treat it with iodine or chlorine dioxide. When buying bottled water, make sure the seal is intact.
- Carbonated drinks are usually safe to drink (Coke, Pepsi, Fanta, etc.). Make sure that you see the can or bottle being opened!
- Don’t use ice cubes. Ice cubes may be made from unclean water and contaminate your drink.
Boil It, Cook It, Peel It or Forget It…
- As long as food is well cooked (with heat) and served piping hot, it is generally safe to eat. Consider packing eating utensils or chopsticks.
- Meat, poultry and seafood should be cooked thoroughly, and not eaten raw or rare.
- In tropical and developing countries, avoid salads, especially made with leafy greens.
- Thick-skinned fruits that you can peel yourself are generally safe to eat (bananas, oranges, mangoes, papayas, etc.) Avoid fresh fruit salads prepared by others.
- Drink pasteurized milk, yogurt, cheese, and other dairy products made from pasteurized milk.
- Can I eat this?
Keep Bugs Away!
- Protect yourself against insect bites—wear light-colored clothing and cover your skin with long pants, long-sleeved shirts, socks, etc. as much as possible. Insects transmit many serious and life-threatening infections, such as tick borne encephalitis, malaria, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis and leishmaniasis.
- Don’t use scented products—they attract mosquitoes and other bugs.
- Use an insect repellent containing DEET (30% for adult, 10-20% for children) on exposed skin. Follow the package instructions for use. Avoid getting it in your mouth or eyes. Wash it off the palms of your hands after you have applied it.
- Treat your clothing and mosquito netting (or buy pre-treated netting) with a repellent containing Permethrin for added insect protection.
- Take your malaria pills if they are recommended for your travel destination. Your travel health adviser will discuss the best malaria drug regimen to prevent malaria on your trip.
If You Get Sick…
- Seek immediate medical care if you are bitten by an animal (bring rabies brochure from travel packet), develop a headache and high fever, experience bloody diarrhea, or have a skin wound that is not healing.
- Take medication for “Traveler’s Diarrhea” if you develop frequent watery or loose stools. You can bring over-the-counter medications to slow down the diarrhea and cramps. Fill the Traveler’s Diarrhea pack prescription before you go, bringing the pills and the instructions on your trip. Refer to the Rehydration Formula on the Dehydration Sheet from the travel packet if you have watery diarrhea and/or vomiting.
- “Jet Lag” is common among travelers crossing three time zones or more. This disruption of daily sleep-wake cycle is commonly relieved by rescheduling daily activities, or by taking melatonin or prescription sleep medications one hour before bedtime until the daily “internal clock” is reset.
- If you become ill within six months of travel, alert your clinician that you have traveled out of the country.
Be Prepared!
- Take the time to learn about the cultural differences. Be respectful! Understand that travel may cause increased stress, but improves as you adjust to your new surroundings.
- Carry a small flashlight, handy wipes, toilet paper, and extra glasses or contacts. All may come in handy. Women may want to bring preferred feminine hygiene products.
- Prepare a Travel Medical Kit: first aid supplies (bandages, antibiotic ointment, etc.), cold medications, throat lozenges, antacids, medication for pain relief (ibuprofen or acetaminophen), allergy medicine (antihistamines and epinephrine auto-injector [EpiPen]), etc.
- Check that your health insurance covers you while you are traveling; arrange for medical evacuation insurance. Please read exclusions carefully. Be mindful that you may need to travel to another country or come home to receive appropriate
- medical care.
- For additional travel information, go to the CDC Travelers’ Health website. For a customizable app for your phone or tablet, try the free CDC TravWell app. Research geopolitical updates. Review universal precautions and PPE for health care volunteers.
- Students may use the “Send a Message” option on the OSU Student Health Patient Portal to send a non-emergency message/question to OSU Student Health Services.
- For updates during travel, register for Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)