Health Issues to Consider Before Travelling
If you’re thinking of going on an adventure holiday, you will expect it to be physically challenging. Nevertheless, you will also want to manage your own safety to the best of your ability and minimize risks.
Good planning and research can help you identify the potential hazards you will face on your holiday and to prepare for them and health issues to consider before traveling. This preparation could include getting appropriate vaccinations and buying the correct equipment, clothes, and supplies, such as mosquito repellent.
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Different stages of life
Adventure holidays can be a hugely rewarding experience for participants of any age. It doesn’t matter whether you’re going traveling on your gap year before university, taking on a challenge in your twenties or looking for some excitement in your retirement years. However, your age will have some bearing on the preparations that you make.
If you’re young, your natural resilience may be countered by inexperience. It could be a good idea to get in some practical training on familiar ground before you head out into unexplored territory.
Build up your strength with regular walking or swimming exercises, or join a climbing club near you if this activity is likely to feature in your holiday. This kind of preparation applies to anyone who may be taking on an unfamiliar activity in an unfamiliar country.
Get fully checked out
Whatever your age, it’s essential that before embarking on your adventure holiday, you visit your doctor for a full medical check-up. Let them know the kind of activities you’ll be undertaking and listen to their advice.
Older adventurers may have to be careful with their hearts, especially in a high-altitude climate where oxygen is thinner. Aerobic exercise can help strengthen the heart muscles before leaving; ask your doctor to advise you on an appropriate course of exercise.
Watch your back
As we get older, our muscles also become less resilient and our bones more brittle. Appropriate support garments like back braces or leg and knee supports can help reduce the strain on key areas. The back is often an area of great concern, and back injuries can have a long-lasting negative impact on your health.
The spinal column is the central thoroughfare of the human nervous system, transmitting information from the brain. As such, a spinal injury like lumbar spinal stenosis can lead to a wide range of ailments that may not seem directly related to the back.
Health Issues to Consider Before Travelling with Chiropractic treatment
Chiropractic treatment can help with a wide range of conditions, not just back pain. A chiropractor can identify the root cause of a problem by investigating the part of the spine that corresponds to that part of your body. A visit to a chiropractor before going on a physically demanding trip can identify and correct any latent conditions due to spinal misalignment and can help in building up strength.
Your chiropractor can also suggest exercises do while you are away. Treatment, when you return, can help with any injuries you might have sustained, possibly without realizing it. HealthQuest Chiropractic is one of the leading chiropractic practitioners in the US. Based in the Michigan area, they treat many thousands of cases a year, including sportsmen and Olympic athletes. Founder Dr. Sol Cogan lectures on health issues around the country and is committed to reducing pain and improving the quality of life without recourse to drugs or surgery.
Injuries while away
An adventure holiday carries with it the risk of injury, so it’s important before leaving to first make sure that your health insurance is all in order and that your holiday provider is reputable and responsible.
You will, however, need to be prepared for minor injuries and be able to respond accordingly. Always take a comprehensive first aid kit with you and make sure someone knows where you are going. Be aware that you may be in a remote area without cell phone coverage.
Some injuries can be dealt with by first aid, antibiotics, or painkillers, but you may have to seek medical treatment in the country where you are holidaying. Again, make sure that your insurance covers this.
So long as you are in good physical shape before your holiday, are fully prepared, and know what to expect, your adventure holiday should be a wonderfully rewarding experience. An adventure is not about carelessly courting danger, but neither should it be entirely risk-free.
If you can manage those risks and take full responsibility for your own health and safety, then you will have a holiday to remember and one that will leave you a stronger, better-rounded person as a result.
