Health ShortsHealthy Travel
Adventure Travelers Face Asthma Risk
An Israeli study of 180 young persons with mild to moderate asthma traveling to developing countries found that 88 had asthma attacks during their travels. For 32, the attack was the worst ever encountered, sometimes with life threatenin complications. Most of these subjects failed to foresee the worsening of their asthma during travel and did not make adequate use of their inhaled corticosteroids.
[SOURCE: A. Bhowmik, “Identifying adventure travellers at risk of developing exacerbations of asthma,” Thorax, March, 2003] Air Pollution Worse in 3rd World
It’s safe to assume than any major city has high levels of air pollution, but the levels in developing countries is particularly high.
Some of the worst offenders to the environment are motorcycles with two-stroke engines, which are becoming increasingly common in cities such as Bangkok, Delhi and Manila.
Mexico City, cited in 1992 as the most polluted city in the world by the World Health Organization, has significantly improved its air. Respiratory deaths in Hong Kong have been significantly reduced since restrictions were imposed on the sulfur content of fuels used by power plants and motor vehicles. Today, 9 of the 10 most polluted cities in the world are in China. Levels of total suspended particulates, for example, were 732 per cubic meter in Lanzhou, China versus 279 in Mexico City and 9 in Stockholm, Sweden. Levels of sulfur dioxide from burning of fossil fuels were 424 micrograms per cubic meter in Guiyang, China versus 9 in Los Angeles.
[SOURCE: Christopher Sanford, “Urban medicine: threats to health of travelers to developing world cities,” Journal of Travel Medicine, December, 2004] Dealing with Motion Sickness
Motion sickness in a car, plane or boat is caused by incongruence in perception of movement. The balance mechanisms of the inner ear and the joints and muscles of the body sense movement while the eyes do not.
The solution is to try to bring these perceptions back into agreement. When riding in a boat, look for the horizon when you start to feel seasick; in a car, sit in the front seat and focus on distant scenery. Don’t try to read while riding in a car; in a train choose a seat facing forward.
[SOURCE: Randy Swartz and Paxton Longwell, “Treatment of Vertigo,” American Family Physician, March 15, 2005] Diseases of Affluence Kill
Travelers have good reason to get required immunizations before traveling to third world countries, but the World Health Organization points out that diseases more commonly associated with affluence such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes and lung cancer kill three times more people worldwide than all infectious and parasitic diseases combined.
[SOURCE: "Another Reason To Stop Smoking-Point of View-Diseases of Affluence Cause More Deaths than SARS-Brief Article," Freedom Magazines, Inc. 2003] Put Health in Your Travel Plans When traveling overseas, be sure that your trip planning takes health needs into consideration. Jet lag affects as many as two thirds of air travelers, bringing with it insomnia, daytime fatigue and other problems. Causes include travel across time zones, sleep deprivation, disruption of normal eating patterns and increased alcohol consumption during travel. Persons who traveled long-distances–whether by air, car, bus or train–had a two-fold increased risk of developing a blood clot, according to a population-based case control study. The risk was highest in the first week after travel. Because the risk was higher for all forms of travel, the researchers believe that immobilization was a major factor. Short people and tall people had an even higher risk–presumably because the tall subjects were more cramped and the short ones were more subject to compression of leg veins because their legs did not reach the floor. Prevention involves drinking plenty of fluids and getting up every hour or so to move around and stretch the legs. [SOURCE: Suzanne C. Cannegieter, et al, “Travel-related venous thrombosis: results from a large population-based case control study (MEGA study),” Public Library of Science Medicine, September, 2006]
Scuba Diving, Flying Don’t Mix
Air travelers often experience ear popping and pain related to changes in atmospheric pressure–problems similar to those faced by scuba divers. Ear specialists warn that “flying within 12-24 hours of scuba diving is absolutely contraindicated.”
[SOURCE: John Ogle, M.D., MPH, FACEP, “Aerospace medicine,” emedicine from WebMD, August 29, 2006] Test Your Ears Before Taking Off
One of the best remedies for the ear discomfort encountered during flying is using the Valsalva maneuver to force air into the back of your nose and equalize air pressure on both sides of the ear drum. Keeping your mouth closed, blow out gently, as if you’re blowing your nose, while pinching your nostrils shut. This same technique can be used before flying to see if you have upper respiratory congestion that could put you at risk of ear problems in the air. If you do the Valsalva maneuver and can’t pop your ears or feel a change in pressure, you might consider changing your flight or using an oral or nasal decongestant to clear your air passages.
[SOURCE: John Ogle, M.D., MPH, FACEP, “Aerospace medicine,” emedicine from WebMD, August 29, 2006; “Ears and airplane travel, ear wax, and ear cleaning, Oregon Health & Sciences University] Unusual Transmission for Norwalk Virus
Norwalk-like viruses have been responsible for a number of outbreaks of food-borne illness on cruise ships and among university students. While infection typically comes from eating infected food, these viruses can also be passed along through personal contact. In one 1998 incident, football players picked up the virus from residue of vomit on the jerseys of infected players on the opposing team.
[SOURCE: Melissa Abramovitz, "Food Poisoning: Here's How To Protect Yourself from Foodborne Illness," Current Health 2, October, 2002] | ArchiveAIDS & HIV |
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