Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Nov 23

How to reduce the risk of getting blood borne infections when traveling.

There is always a risk of illness or infection when you travel away from your normal environment or travel to another country.  Your body is used to things where you are, but when you relocate, there are common infections or conditions that your body is not used to and so you can become ill.

Also, in many countries around the world, you will find that the standards of hygiene are not as high as back home, and so you are exposed to more medical and health risks than you normally would be.

Obviously, there are ways to reduce your exposure to some of these risks, and below are some tipss to avoid blood-borne infections.

What are blood-borne infections?
HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C are all in this group, and can be passed on through direct contact with blood from an infected person.  There is a vaccination available for only one of these - Hepatitis B - but the other 2 can only be avoided with suitable precautions. 

There is no cure for these 3 infections, only treatment once you have got them.  So one silly mistake on holiday could be with you for life - and more than likely shorten it too.

Below are some useful tips on avoidance:

1) Before setting out on a vacation or long-term travel, make sure you have read up on the risks of your destinations and are aware of how these illnesses are spread through the population.  Know which groups are most at risk and avoid those if possible. 

2) Make sure that you have all your medications and vaccination several weeks before travel at the latest so that you are protected from known exposures.

3) Ideally you would have a full medical and dental check up before leaving - explaining the length of time you will be away.  This means that your dentist or doctor can estimate the potential problems you may encounter in that time and deal with them before they are an issue.  This way you can avoid any unnecessary treatments while you are away, so avoiding the risks of using their equipment.

4) Purchase your own sterile medical kit depending on your length of travel and the countries you are visiting.  These are available in many types, including basic medical, advanced medical, dental (with temporary fillings) and even blood substitutes and other treatments.  Seek medical advice from a travel clinic to see which are the most suitable for your vacation and for your own needs and concerns. 

5) Avoid unnecessary medical treatments while abroad.  I once had a pharmacy in Egypt offer me an antibiotic injection for my cold.  Not only was it not medically necessary, but it was unprescribed and might not even have been what they claimed.  Why would I risk my life for a simple cold?

If you do need treatment, make sure all equipment is sealed in sterile bags before use.  Having decent travel insurance is essential here, as the clinic or hospital will be paid for their best treatments by your insurance company.  They can afford to crack open the sterile equipment for you, and you can afford to get the best treatment.

6) If you really do need that tattoo, then do the same - but it’s not just the needle that could hold blood.  Same goes for medical beauty treatments, like Botox and acupuncture, etc.

7) And it goes without saying not to have unprotected sex.

Think of your long term health, not just for the short term pleasures.  It could actually save your life.

posted by Travel Cat on Nov 17

Travel With Kids Series - Medical Details & Health Related Issues

Depending on the country, authorisation may be requested if traveling with certain medications or equipment - such as insulin needles. Many airports will see the needles or tablets in your hand luggage at security, and if they ask questions and you have no proof, they may be confiscated. Could you travel without them?

Medicines:
Any other health issues that could be important whilst traveling, should also be discussed in advance. For example, if entering some countries carrying certain medication, you may be asked for proof that they are for you or a member of your party. Travelling with huge numbers of needles is sure to raise concerns.

Travelling with liquids and powders is, at the moment, a great security issue in many countries. So if you absolutely cannot pack products into your hold luggage - you need to make sure that you will be allowed to travel with them on your person in the airport and on the plane itself. A certified letter from your doctor can sometimes be used for this, but you will need to check with both the airport and the airline yourself to be 100% sure.

Don’t rely on what someone else did last month in-case security procedures have been updated. And traveling out of an airport can have a whole different policy to traveling in, so check both.

Medical Certification:
You will need to prove your health status in most instances to be covered by many travel insurance policies. So, make sure that you have read the small print on these for all the family and get verbal or written confirmation of everything you feel could affect your claims or cause an issue abroad.

Always admit to anything your policy says could exclude you - as although this may bump up your premiums - it could mean the difference between getting your treatment paid for or getting the claim refused. For example if you claim for treatment abroad for a condition that you have had treatment for back home for (ie a heart condition) - and you didn’t tell the insurance firm when they sold you the policy - they could reject the claim, leaving you out of pocket.

Other things to consider:
If anyone in your group wears glasses, it might be worth taking a second pair, just in-case. Alternatively research where you are traveling and they may sell prescription glasses for a lot less than at home! Contact lenses and fluid must also be considered if you are to enjoy your vacation.

Make sure that everyone has recently been to the dentist, so that all fillings and loose teeth can be dealt with before travel. Basic dental kits can be purchased to take with you, containing a pack of temporary filling material and an inverted mirror if you think this will be a possibility.

If you are taking a written repeat prescription with you rather than carrying the medication from home, make sure that your doctor makes it out using the generic name of the product rather than a brand name - as that particular ‘make’ may not be available in your destination.

If you are pregnant or have a child with a specific medical or physical condition, it may be worth finding out about the best medical center or practitioner in the region you are traveling to. That way - if you have any issues, you know you will be getting the best treatment you can while abroad.

As a precaution, make sure that you travel with the basic details of any current treatment, any recent test results etc, so that treatment can start immediately rather than waiting for records to be sent over from home.

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posted by Travel Cat on Nov 10

There is no carnival this month due to a technical hitch with my email account, but there will definitely be one next month as planned so please keep sending in your articles to me here.

That way, we can all share your advice about traveling with kids and parents - or just share in your misery depending on what happened on your family vacation!

Thanks,

TravelCat 

posted by Travel Cat on Nov 6

Not that Florida needed another attraction………….

Hot off the press is the fact that the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens chain have opened a brand new and enormous water park complex to complement their existing theme parks.

They call them ‘Worlds of Discovery’ but we call them ‘A Great Vacation!’.

Aquatica Theme Park, Orlando, Florida:
This new theme park is called Aquatica and will involve you getting very wet - and not from giant killer whales belly flopping you close to the edge of their pools!  You will need your trunks here, and bring your friends……..

Taumata Racer is an 8 lane speed open water slide that starts with a 300ft slide and goes in and out of tunnels galore.  Find yourself turning a 360 degree corner and racing your friends to the end!

Dolphin Plunge is another type of water slide that sends you underwater and through an amazing dolphins habitat.  There are 250 feet of tubes for you to propel yourself through from start to finish here.

For a slower waterway try the Loggerheads Lane, a meandering splosh underwater floating on a comfortable inflatable.  Slow and wide enough to travel the length of with your friends or family.  That way you can share your amazement as you pass through an aquarium with thousands of tropical fish flitting above you.

There are also 1500 feet of rapids to travel, as well as 2 man-made beaches with wave machines - one with a gentle swell and the other with 5 foot high waves!  You can also hire your own cabana in the sand and stay here with your group.

The Whole Deal.
As part of the whole Florida package, there are ticket deals on offer where you can combine the atractions you want for the times that you want.

For swimming with dolphins you need to be over 6 years of age and will need a one day pass to Discovery Cove.  Only a 1000 people are allowed into the attraction per day so booking is essential.

To see polar bears and white beluga whales you will need SeaWorld itself.  It also has the new Manta roller coaster, which has you flying through the air facing the ground……

And for white tigers and hippos - plus being face-to-face with a lion, you will need a pass for Busch Gardens.  This location also has many great rides and thrills to keep you busy.

Universal Studios and Wet ‘n’ Wild are also part of these packages if you are buying one of the more inclusive packages like the Orlando FlexTicket Plus which gives you unlimited access to all the parks for the duration of your stay (although Discovery Cove can only be visited one time and is not included in the FlexTicket as a result).

Visit Aquatica for more on this new theme park, and have fun!!!

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posted by Travel Cat on Nov 2

Trekking the Inca Trail - A Reader Postcard from Peru

It all began so perfectly - with a day in Cuzco, a fantastic colonial Spanish Town built on historic Inca ruins.

After getting used to the altitude and sampling some of the local dishes, we met some of local Quecha people and did some last minute shopping for essentials. It’s going to be an early start in the morning, and there won’t be a hotel waiting at the end of it all: we have a tent and portable toilets to look forward to.

The drive through the mountains in the morning along some of the hairiest roads ever - clinging to the side for all they were worth - certainly opened up the conversation with the others in the group. We’d been training for months for this trip, making sure we could enjoy the 4 day trek, and now - the moment of truth was approaching. In the next hour or so, we would actually be on our way.

The Start:
To be honest the first few hours for me were not fun. Yeah, it was great being one of the first across the rope and timber bridge over the Rio Urubamba at the entrance, but then it got quite windy. Not a problem in itself but I had to hold my hat on the whole time, making walking a bit tricky and meaning that sightseeing was next to impossible due to all the grit blowing about.

However, as we gained height the wind lulled and I got on with the views and chatting to other walkers. We were glad for having trained for this as some parts were quite steep, I was more than grateful for having worn in my walking boots! Lunch and snack stops were well appreciated by everyone and after about 5 hours of trekking, we arrived at the first camp site.

We knew that Day 2 was supposed to be harder, so we all retired early after a hearty dinner. No-one had trouble sleeping.

Day 2:
Up early after the donkey in the field next door started braying endlessly, and wolfed down breakfast - ready to go.

Some others were starting to experience some signs of altitude sickness - and there were many ‘upset tummies’ shall we say! So far so good for me, as we headed off again.

Today really was tough, and at one point the steps were just endless. All we were doing was going up and up and up, step after step. There didn’t seem to be any flat parts here and at one point I actually got an evil headache! At lunch stop and hour or so later, I just needed to sleep.

I found a tent (already with someone else in it) and fell asleep suprising fast! After getting woken up as everyone started of again, I felt a lot better and managed a few bites of apple before offering it to one of the porters who was much more grateful of it than I was.

Air was thin at Dead Woman’s Pass - the highest point of the whole trek - but we had hot drinks waiting for us at the top and we all cheered everyone as they arrived after us. Apparently just down the other side was campsite 2. A welcome site - although it started to rain, and didn’t stop all night.

Day 3:
Still not hungry, we headed of into the drizzle of the morning. Nothing much to see for most of the day really in the thick mist, but there were some nice ruins along the way.

Really picked up the trek after lunch - it was all downhill from here, but stepping down was really sore on the knees. We noticed that the porters were jogging down with all the heavy bags - so we joined them. And it was so much easier and very exhilarating after a dull plodding morning.

The path was quite wide here most of the way and the stones were solid so we sped down the slopes towards our next stopping point: Huinay Huayna. This hostel has showers (unlike the last 2 campsites) and we are having a little party here tonight. So straight to the (tepid) shower and a hair-wash!!

I managed to eat a bit of cucumber for dinner, before starting on the vodkas - maybe not the best idea, but we had been drinking so much water over the trek that I knew I’d be fine in the morning - even if I got a little tipsy for the party………

Day 4:
As we headed up the final path to the Sun Gate, I was all excited. I was finally going to stand in that picture of Macchu Pichu that you always see in travel brochures. The picture that I saw as a young girl that inspired me to learn more about South America, and to one day be right here, right now.

I was a little disappointed as I finally saw the site though. A great big zig-zag road was cleared to one side to allow people to just arrive there by public transport - not what I was hoping for. And it looked so small and not quite as high and remote as I thought.

If the road is just down there and I can see the river from here, then we aren’t quite so ‘in the middle of nowhere’ as I had envisaged from the picture and descriptions. How did the Spanish not find it all those years ago?? It’s so ‘near’ everything.

However, once I was down amongst the buildings and looking over the steep terraces I felt interested again. The details I had read in the books was here in front of me, there were llamas wandering around and I even saw a wild chinchilla nibbling at grass by the ruins.

It bewitched me for the several hours we were there - I was investigating every nook and cranny. Wandering in and out of peoples houses and temples (if that’s what they were). Walking where they walked, seeing what they saw, and touching what they had touched. It was a shame that time ticked away so quickly, and we had to leave.

Down to earth at the restaurant though, when the radio was announcing the UK football results……..

I’d definitely go back.