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Healthy holiday travel
AN OUT-OF-TOWN TRIP DURING THE HOLIDAYS SHOULD BE FUN, NOT FATAL. KEEP YOUR TRAVEL HASSLE-FREE AND HEALTHY!
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rue to the promise of one airline, almost every Filipino now can travel by plane. And by all means, during this Christmas season, go ahead and travel—to be with loved ones, or to escape the hussle and bussle of the metropolis. Travel by car, bus, or plane. In any case, always stay healthy and safe, because the worst place to get sick in is in a strange land.
A Slice of Orange is a newsletter designed to help clarify basic health information and offer juicy tips on uplifting your health.
Editorial team Alvin Delfin Christine Llenes-Delfin Ivan Olegario, MD
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tubes), so during landing, I felt a most excruciating pain, as if my eardrums would rupture. How did I survive this? • I performed the Valsalva maneuver: Take a breath, hold your nose shut, and with your mouth closed, force air out from your chest to your nose, ears, and the back of your throat. That opens the Eustachian tubes. • Prevent ear pain by using a decongestant nasal spray half an hour before the plane begins to descend from cruising altitude. • Chewing gum sometimes helps.
Stay safe on the road When on the road, one has to contend with two health threats: accidents, and motion sickness. Let’s tackle the more lethal one first. Accidents are still one of the top 10 causes of deaths in the Philippines, and one-fourth of these accidents happen during travel. You may already be sick of road safety tips, but road accidents are so deadly that we cannot emphasize it enough. • Always buckle up, even when traveling only a short distance. Many accidents happen within 2 kilometers of a trip, and a seatbelt halfs the risk of dying from a car accident. • Do not drink and drive. Now I know that holiday trips almost always involve drinking, so if you do plan to drink, take public transport. Don’t drive. • Do not overspeed, especially in expressways. • Keep distance from the vehicle in front. As a rule, for every 10 kilometers per hour of speed you are driving, maintain one car- length. So if you are driving 100 kilometers per hour, make sure 10 cars can fit
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between you and the car in front of you. If you decide to take the bus, seasoned travellers recommend you take one of the rear seats. Rear-end collisions are the rarest.
The other road problem you may encounter is motion sickness. Prevent motion sickness through the following tips: • Before you leave, eat a light meal of foods that can be easily digested, such as crack- ers. Avoid fatty foods. • Avoid eating during trips. For long trips, sip drinks and eat light, small meals and snacks. • Look outside the window. If riding in a car, look at distant objects. • Use a headrest to support your head and neck. • Take over-the-counter (OTC) motion sickness medicines, such as meclizine.
Stay safe in the skies On the other hand, sky travellers have to contend with jet lag and ear pain. For the latter, I had the misfortune of experiencing this when I flew with a cold. The cold blocked the ventilating tubes in my ears (called the Eustachian
ACCIDENTS ARE STILL ONE OF THE TOP 10 CAUSES OF DEATHS IN THE PHILIPPINES, AND ONE-FOURTH OF THESE ACCIDENTS HAPPEN DURING TRAVEL.
When flying across time zones, you may get jet lag, which is due to discordance between the new time in your destination, and your body clock. It can cause tiredness, upset stomach, and even insomnia. Fool your body clock with these measures: • If possible, try to slowly adjust your sleep schedule, one or two hours a day, two or three days before flying • Dehydration worsens the effects of jet lag. Drink plenty of water during the flight. Avoid alcohol, coffee, tea, and other caffeinated beverages. Excessive caffeine contributes to dehydration. • Get a little exercise on a long flight. Stretch regularly. Walk up and down the aisles when they’re clear and the seatbelt light is turned off. • Upon arrival, be active outside or in brightly lit areas during daytime.
This Christmas, may you see beyond the obvious...
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Your travel health kit
Wheels or wings
(a.k.a. carry-on pharmacy)
Lastly, whether you are traveling by air or by road, remember some generic reminders. First of all, if you are traveling to another country, especially one you’ve never visited before, see a doctor to know if you need vaccination for typhoid fever, hepatitis, yellow fever, Japanese B encephalitis, and other exotic diseases. You may even need malaria protection when traveling to some provinces in the Philippines. These include: • Apayao • Agusan del Norte • Agusan del Sur • Cagayan • Davao del Sur
• Isabela • Kalinga • Nueva Vizcaya • Occidental Mindoro • Palawan
• Quirino • Sarangani • Sulu • Sultan Kudarat
Also, remember to pack the following: • A travel health kit (containing essential medicines) • Sunscreen • Insect repellent • Hand sanitizers
If it’s easy for us Filipinos to run to the drugstore to buy prescription medicines without a prescription, it may not be so easy to do the same in another country. So make sure you stock up on essential medications. These include: • Asthma inhalers if you are asthmatic • Insulin, if you are an insulin- dependent diabetic • Anti-hypertensive medications if you have high blood • Anti-allergy • Cough, cold and flu medications • Paracetamol or ibuprofen for fever or body pains
• Loperamide for diarrhea • Hyosine for abdominal pains • Antacids Carrying these along will save you the horror of running to an emergency room in a foreign land just for a prescription. Remember not to check these in, but have them in your carry-on luggage. How much should you carry? About twice the amount you expect to need. It is also advisable to have a doctor’s certificate with you, just in case Customs may search your luggage.
...to find what is real. Have a blessed season.
Looking to enhance your corporate healthcare benefits? E-mail us at benefits@activelink-consult.com. The information in this newsletter is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Consult a doctor for all matters relating to your health, particularly for symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention. © 2010 ActiveLink
Benefits Made Better
ActiveLink 7/F Electra House Building 115-117 Esteban St., Legaspi Village, Makati City www.activelink-consult.com
The Orange wants to he ar from you! Dying to ask us your health related questio ns? Itching to share your pe rsonal health tips? Want to sugg est topics for future issues? Feel free to contac t us. You can e-m ail our team at orange@activ elink-consult.c om.