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20 Comments

  1. Frank
    April 3, 2018 @ 12:03 am

    Really enjoyed your post! I’ve been traveling 9 months now and while at first I saw myself thinning down from the daily active life that is travel, you’re 1000% right about the alcohol and eating.

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      April 4, 2018 @ 5:28 pm

      Thanks Frank!

      Reply

  2. Melissa
    April 7, 2015 @ 2:25 am

    Great article! But still a bit afraid.
    Last time I did a 3 month trip to India. I ended up in to hospital to get my appendix removed. India is not the place you want to be for surgery. Never was so scared in my life before! I was so happy I wasn’t alone at that time.
    But that experience makes me a bit afraid of my solo trip to borneo this year.

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      April 7, 2015 @ 10:44 am

      Melissa, that is a bit scary! But I’m glad you survived it. Getting sick when traveling is always stressful, but so much worse if it requires hospitalization or surgery! Try to remember though that you did get through that, and you’re fine now and still traveling. And that’s wonderful! And hey, at least you can’t have appendicitis twice! (Sorry, I hope that’s funny now!) Make sure you have travel insurance for your trip to Borneo, and if something does happen to you, your insurance should cover the cost of medical evacuation if it is necessary. Borneo isn’t far from Singapore, where you can definitely get good medical care. I also like to research escape routes for myself, so that if I get sick enough to not want to be where I am (though probably not something as urgent as appendicitis) I know where the nearest place is with modern medical facilities. So you’d want to get yourself to Brunei or Kota Kinabalu, and maybe hop a flight to Singapore from there depending on what kind of ailment you have.

      Mostly though, just try to have fun! Borneo should be amazing!

      Reply

  3. kle
    January 11, 2013 @ 1:21 am

    I was smiling while reading the article…I am a bit paranoid about illness in general, but as you said, tis isnt stopping me at all! i’m leaving in exactly one month and i already have a quite big beauty case filled with every sort of medication.
    Well, finger crossed i probably wont need all of them, but let’s be generous and think about other people in need too right? i know i know, maybe is too much, but if i feel safer like that…why not?
    I’m so paranoid that im also taking a couple of sterilized needles with me, just in case. For the rest im a normal person! i promise 🙂

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      January 11, 2013 @ 4:44 pm

      I’m glad I made you smile! It’s good that you’re not letting your fear stop you. I hope you won’t need anything more than a band-aid or headache medicine while you travel. You might want to check about the needles though, some countries might not allow you to bring them in without a doctor’s note, and you certainly can’t bring them in carry-on luggage without a doctor’s note.

      Reply

  4. Mary @Green Global Travel
    November 10, 2012 @ 4:40 pm

    Great info that I think people should really know!

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      November 10, 2012 @ 6:04 pm

      Thanks Mary!

      Reply

  5. Adela
    November 3, 2012 @ 9:08 pm

    It is so horrible getting sick while you are away. Cole got really sick in Marrakech and now he never wants to go back! Good tips though, it is so important to be careful!

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      November 4, 2012 @ 2:57 pm

      Aw, that sucks! Remind him he can get sick anywhere. Thanks Adela!

      Reply

  6. Tommy
    October 23, 2012 @ 4:00 pm

    Hi Ali,

    Yeah, nice article.

    We don’t dare to eat too much exotic food when we travel…;)

    And yes, medicine is definitely a MUST when we travel..

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      October 23, 2012 @ 4:38 pm

      Thanks Tommy! But the exotic food is one of the best parts of traveling! You’re missing so much if you don’t try the food!

      Reply

  7. Agness (@Agnesstramp)
    October 21, 2012 @ 1:46 pm

    Hi Ali,

    I think that if you have a desire to travel, nothing and nobody’ll ever stop you from travelling. If you get sick, take some medicines, don’t postpone your travel plans. This is to leave your comfort zone 🙂 Great post Ali x

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      October 21, 2012 @ 3:17 pm

      Thanks Agness! You’re completely right, don’t ever let fear or another person stop you from traveling if it’s something you really want to do.

      Reply

  8. Stephanie - The Travel Chica
    October 20, 2012 @ 3:38 am

    I just eat everything as long as the place it is cooked looks reasonably clean… and hope for the best. I like to think I boosted my immune system the last couple of years in Latin America 🙂

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      October 20, 2012 @ 12:23 pm

      Ha! I’m sure being in Latin America can do that for you! You’re totally right, if the place looks reasonable, the food should be fine. Thanks Stephanie!

      Reply

  9. Andrea
    October 19, 2012 @ 12:31 pm

    Peru is actually the only place we have ever gotten sick. Before we left we saw a doctor who specialized in travel medicine and he gave us a “diarrhea kit” with medicines and a flowchart of symptoms so we could self-diagnose on the road. Worked great and we were able to cure ourselves of two different kinds of illnesses when we were there.

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      October 19, 2012 @ 5:53 pm

      Diarrhea seems to be a big one! That’s so awesome your doctor made sure you were so prepared. It goes a long way in making sure you’re ok if something does happen on the road. Thanks Andrea!

      Reply

  10. Harvey -- H-Bomb's Worldwide Karaoke
    October 18, 2012 @ 2:41 am

    It’s also worth noting, in the vein of not letting fear prevent people from the amazing experiences that travel offers, that even if you GET sick while abroad, it’s not (usually) the end of the world. When I was in Egypt last month, I somewhat predictably came down with a certain gastrointestinal ailment that Cipro is taken for. Many visiting Westerners in Egypt experience that ailment (indeed, a large proportion of the people in my tour group went through it). But I did have the Cipro tablets that my travel doctor back home had prescribed; and while it wasn’t fun to experience that malady, it did pass relatively quickly.

    This also brings up another point — when on the road you should bring not only first aid materials, but also basic over-the-counter stuff to take if you do fall under the weather. During the same trip to Egypt, I developed cold / congestion symptoms a couple of times, but I had a little bottle of DayQuil with me, and both times that made the symptoms go away very quickly. So I would say that basic cold / flu medication in some form is absolutely indispensable to carry with you. (I learned this the hard way, one time in London when I came down with a virulent case of the flu in the middle of the night, and was surprised to learn that the hotel had no meds to offer me; I also felt too weak to set out in a taxi for the nearest 24-hour pharmacy. I had to wait several hours, until a concierge was on duty, for someone to be dispatched to bring me some meds. And then there was the time when I developed a sore throat in Madrid, again late at night, and it was an adventure finding the pharmacy with a 24-hour attendant).

    Reply

    • Ali Garland
      October 18, 2012 @ 1:51 pm

      Thanks Harvey! Exactly! Bring whatever medication you think you might need, and if something happens you’ll have it. And pharmacies are almost anywhere if you need something you didn’t bring with you. Definitely not a reason to stay home! I’m sorry you were sick on your trip, but it sounds like you made it through 🙂

      Reply

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