Wellness Tips for Travelers--Part I
When traveling, there are several steps you can take to reduce the possibility of contracting an illness. The United States Centers for Disease Control and the Public Health Agency of Canada provide excellent recommendations for travelers.
For your convenience, we have excerpted some of the suggestions from the CDC site that we thought you might find useful:
DIARRHEA & DEHYDRATION
Diarrhea and associated gastrointestinal illness are among the most common travel-related problems affecting children. Young children and infants are at high risk for diarrhea and other food- and waterborne illnesses because of limited pre-existing immunity and behavioral factors such as frequent hand-to-mouth contact. Infants and children with diarrhea can become dehydrated more quickly than adults.
Prevention:
• For young infants, breastfeeding is the best way to reduce the risk of food- and waterborne illness.
• Travelers should use only purified water for drinking, preparing ice cubes, brushing teeth, and mixing infant formula and foods.
• Scrupulous attention should be paid to handwashing and cleaning pacifiers, teething rings, and toys that fall to the floor or are handled by others.
• When proper handwashing facilities are not available, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be used as a disinfecting agent. Alcohol does not remove organic material; visibly soiled hands should be washed with soap and water.
• Fresh dairy products in developing countries may not be pasteurized and may be diluted with untreated water.
• For short trips, parents may want to bring a supply of safe snacks from home for times when the children are hungry and the available food may not be appealing or safe.
INSECT & OTHER ARTHROPOD PRECAUTIONS
Personal protection against mosquitoes and other biting insects is an important part of prevention of disease, particularly for such diseases as yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and dengue, for which no treatment is available.
General Protective Measures:
• Children should sleep in rooms with air conditioning, screened windows, or under bed nets, when available.
• Mosquito netting should be used over infant carriers.
• Children can wear clothing that covers more skin, such as long pants and long sleeves, while outdoors.
• Clothing and mosquito nets can be treated with permethrin, a repellent and insecticide that repels and kills ticks, mosquitoes, and other arthropods. Permethrin remains effective through multiple washings. Clothing and bednets should be retreated according to the product label. Permethrin should not be applied to the skin.
• For more information on protecting against insect and other arthropod bites, see the Protection Against Mosquitoes, Ticks, and Other Insects and Arthropods section in Chapter 2.
Repellent Use:
CDC recommends the use of repellents, with active ingredients registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to the product labels.
Most repellents can be used on children >2 months of age, with the following considerations:
• Products containing oil of lemon eucalyptus specify that they should not be used on children under the age of 3 years.
• Repellent products must state any age restriction. If there is none, EPA has not required a restriction on the use of the product.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that repellents with DEET should not be used on infants <2 months old.
• Protect infants <2 months of age from biting mosquitoes by using an infant carrier draped with mosquito netting with an elastic edge for a tight fit.
• Apply repellents only to exposed skin.
• Never use repellents over cuts, wounds, or irritated skin.
• Do not allow young children to handle the product.
• When using repellent on a child, an adult should apply it to his or her own hands and then rub them on the child. Avoid the child’s eyes and mouth, and apply sparingly around the ears.
• Do not apply repellent to children’s hands. (Children tend to put their hands in their mouths.)
• Do not apply repellent under clothing.
• Heavy application and saturation are generally unnecessary for effectiveness. If biting insects do not respond to a thin film of repellent, then apply a bit more.
• After returning indoors, wash treated skin with soap and water or bathe. This is particularly important when repellents are used repeatedly in a day or on consecutive days.
• Keep repellents out of reach of children.
Products that contain repellents and sunscreen are generally not recommended because instructions for use are different, and the need to reapply sunscreen is usually more frequent than with repellent alone. Mosquito coils should be used with caution in the presence of children to avoid burns and inadvertent ingestion.
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