From the dreaded Delhi Belly courtesy of one too many paneer tikkas in India’s throbbing food courts to bouts of serious dengue and malaria, this list of five common traveller’s ailments is essential reading for anyone thinking of strapping on the backpack for a jaunt to the world’s more exotic climes this year!
bangkok thailand thai cuisine food street curry asia asian dishes
Montezuma’s Revenge, Delhi Belly, gippy tummy and more, the nicknames for the dreaded TD (Traveller’s diarrhoea) are many and varied. But a new name does not a new disease make. Adverse reactions to food and water, general public health conditions and new germs and bacteria is a fact of life for travellers right across the globe. No matter if you’ve been eating in the kebab stalls of Western Europe, the more flavoursome kebab joints of Istanbul, the thali houses of Rajasthan, the seafood eateries of the Caribbean, or the pho soup holes-in-the-wall of Nam’, TD is one real nemesis to globetrotters of all shapes and sizes, strong stomach or no. In fact, the sheer prevalence of stomach ailments amongst folk on the road makes it one of the single most common traveling complaints out there!
Officially known as AMS, altitude sickness does exactly what it says on the tin: make you ill if you go too high. Often thought to be the province of just intrepid mountaineers and climbers making for the snow-topped heights of the Andes and Himalaya, that’s actually something of a misnomer surrounding AMS. Starting with nausea, headaches, lack of energy and the like, the disease can actually strike anywhere over altitudes of more than 2,500 meters, placing many of Europe’s and North America’s popular ski fields within the danger zone. Those heading higher, to the Dingboche, Everest Base Camp, or the otherworldly likes of Leh and Kashmir for example, will need to the proper precautions, whether that means acclimatising with planned ascents and descents, or stocking up on anti-AMS medication before departure.
The bane of those first-day holiday parties, jet lag is a common occurrence amongst travellers who’ve traversed considerable sections of the earth on a long-haul flight. For folk in Europe, that means anyone who’s made a hop eastwards further than the Middle East and Arabia, or westwards to the likes of the United States or the Caribbean (at least there you’ll have plenty of time to laze around and catch up on the kip!). It’s generally thought that anyone on flights that last more than five hours travelling longitudinally (across the earth) are at risk from jet lag, which most commonly manifests as an out-of-sync body clock, bouts of tiredness during the day, sleeplessness during the night, and – in more extreme cases – difficulty concentrating.
Mosquito sucking blood , infect sickness from Thailand forest
Saving the big daddy of all tropical diseases for last, Malaria has even struck down famous folk like Cheryl Cole and hardy arch-traveller Simon Reeve in recent years. And while that may help to illustrate just how high the risks are for anyone heading to a malarial zone on their travels, it’s likely that the reality is far worse. In fact, a startling 214 million people fell ill with malaria in 2015, while nearly half a million people died in Sub-Saharan Africa from the disease alone. What’s more, there are countless different strains of the uber-common tropical ailment, which makes it even harder to prevent. However, for most all of the popular travel destinations around the globe – from the safari parks of the Kenyan Rift to the beaches of Indonesia – there are now suitable preventative medications and practices that can be taken and followed to reduce risk considerably.
Dengue fever
Another of the dangerous diseases in the arsenal of the much-hated Aedes aegypti mosquito (the same flier that’s responsible for Zika and yellow fever – not a nice fellow at all!), Dengue often pops up in areas around Southeast Asia, the tropics, South America and Indochina, striking down the occasional traveller with its harsh bout of symptoms. These range from debilitating levels of fatigue and tiredness, to aching muscles and joints all over, soaring fevers, flushed facial features and a spotty rash. Later on, when fevers reside, patients can recover relatively quickly, however some rare complications may occur, which is why it’s always a good idea to consult a doctor if you think you may have been struck down by the dreaded dengue!