Have you ever been sick on a vacation? The only time it's happened to me was in Seoul, South Korea. I don't know if I just caught a bug when I was there or if it was food poisoning, but I was so sick that I had to extend my stay in my accommodation and cancel my flights and re-book. It messed up my travel plans and was just an all round terrible (and costly!) experience! Sadly though apart from normal precautions (ie. not drinking the water from the tap) I don't know what else I could have done to not get sick! What about you? Ever been sick when you're traveling? Any pointers on how you avoid getting sick if you've never been struck down by a traveling illness?
Speaking about drinking water, I was working as a translator in a certain hotel where we would welcome waterpolo players from all around the world who were competing in a friendly championship. One year the whole Norwegian team had to fly home because of the tap water. But the tap water was healthy, hadn't got any infections in it, simply the other culture and immune systems can not bear our water. That's why they mostly advise you to do not drink tap water. It is not infected or anything but they do not know how good the person's immune system coming from a different country.
Yes, I remember getting sick while I was on vacation twice. One was very light, just a mild fever. The other one was heat exhaustion or something like that. Happened when I was in Thailand. Thankfully it wasn't serious, but I had to rest for two days in the hotel. It made me really upset because it was the first two days of my trip. I guess I just wasn't really that used to hotter climates.. I also made the mistake of not drinking enough water.. I thought tea was enough, but nope. What I needed was pure water. So now when I travel to hotter countries (or well, countries in Asia) I always carry a bottle of water with me. Oh the joy.
Apart from the tummy aches I get from eating something that reacts with my body, I can't say I remember getting sick on a vacation. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I say just ensure you know what you are eating when you order food in different countries because what the locals are used to may not react well with you.
One time I got really hungover on a vacation with my parents and got everybody's mood ruined for that day. Since then I control my bottle of wine intakes even if the fellow travellers get annoying.
There are not too many worse thing that can happen to you when on vacation. I learned some practical things about this in harder way.I went on a trip to Prague and due to climate change and long , long ride. I had some bowel movements and after that a big headache. Everything went worse and worse. I felt sick in the hotel and was bound to bed for the rest of my day. I never get sick so i assumed i wouldn't be sick then. Now i prepare myself every time. I buy those pills for motion sickness even though i never had problems before that trip or after. I also buy all drugs and pill i thin i might need. Some mild painkillers, those nasal sprays, strepsils, etc..
I've had this problem when I drank from running water in a village outside my city. I was backpacking and naive at the time and I thought all running water was clean-- which it turns out was not. There was a mining site not far from the river and somehow it got infected. Thank goodness a guide was with our group and told me to barf it all up immediately. I'm lucky I only got mildly dizzy and dehydrated, from then on they placed a sign near the river for other visitors warning of the contaminated water and the mining company got sued by the government if anyone's interested in environmental justice.
Oh boy I've been sick on so many trips that I can't even count. I remember getting sick aboard a boat in Australia we were in our way to a crocodile farm when I started getting sick in the middle of the journey to the island. Also I remember getting sick too on a small plane leaving Papau New Guinea, Tabubul was the name of the town to be exact and the only way to get in there was on a small plane so I felt a bit sick.
Worst time to get sick is on vacations before after or during is the Worst ! I mean talk about timing ! You could be going to your dream destination and BAM ! The dreaded flu decides to pay you a visit !
Whether getting struck by the flu or a bad cough during vacation it's no reason why we shouldn't enjoy vacations. I been sick on several and got healthy quickly I think the notion of just being on vacation and being happy speeds up your immune system and it's will to fight off illness.
