Greetings Daizies,

Getting sick might not be one of the first things you think of when traveling but after numerous experiences of illness when traveling I prepare for all types of scenarios for each trip. I always wish for the best but pack in case the worst things happen. This blog post is to share some honest experiences of getting sick on trips, some even during solo trips, and how to take care of yourself in a foreign country.

The Woes of Illness When Abroad

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Crohn’s Disease Flare Up in London, Paris, Cabo, Cartagena 

Dealing with IBD is super annoying and I actually encountered my condition for the first time during my first trip abroad of course.  It started one night in London, I think just a few days into the trip when I had these sharp unexplainable pain in my abdominal area that lasted the entire night. I had no idea what the cause was and thought maybe it was the water or something I ate but I got through the night and thought it was an anomaly. Then about a week later while in Paris it happened again but this time the pain had multiplied. It would come in contractions of pain that felt like the center of my stomach was being put through a cheese grinder. I was with a group of people from study abroad and I got so scared I agreed with the suggestion to call the ambulance because I really thought maybe I was having internal bleeding or something life-threatening was happening. It was around 2am when they called the ambulance and we waited and waited until about 4 am and no one …ever…showed…up. By sunrise, the pain had subsided and the contractions were more spread apart. I had survived. But it was extremely scary to have had called the emergency line and no one came to my rescue. What if I was really in trouble? I still think about that and it is the reality of being in a different country where the promptness to emergencies can be quite different.

This happened again for one night during my spring break trip to Cabo in 2017 and I had not yet been diagnosed so took at as one of those nights I’d just be in pain. No explanation and nothing ever really made me feel better besides letting time pass by. The most recent experience was in Cartagena this past summer 2019 and the entire experienced pretty much wiped my energy for a good portion of the trip and my stomach was on thin ice for days.

Food Poisoning on the Airplane from Thailand to South Korea

In my most recent travel vlog   I shared what I did during the day I was actually feeling well but ultimately spent 75% of the trip in bed gathering my strength. I literally had puked up in my seat on my flight from Thailand to South Kore and my head was so hot on the airplane. I sprinkled tea tree oil all around me to mask the smell of the throw up lol. Then once I landed I spent like 2 hours alternating between puking and being on the toilet. I couldn’t hold any food down and my insides kept literally making me vomit even when I didn’t want to. It took so long to get hydrated and be able to hold food down that all I could do was rest.

Random Strep Throat in Cancun, Mexico 

This last one was literally so random. By this time this was the 3rd solo travel trip in a row where something was going wrong with my health and I was like “okay what is going on.” Two days before my trip I got a sore throat and it hurt to swallow like no other. My tonsils were super inflamed so I thought it was either tonsilitis or strep throat. I went on my trip anyway and on the plane, I kept thinking of terrible scenarios where my tonsils were gonna burst or they were going to flare up so bad that I couldn’t breathe. This probably made things worse lol but it was such a random thing to happen considering I had just recently gotten over a cold just two weeks earlier. On the second day in Cancun, I took a Mayan shot during my tour ride to the Mayan ruins and the scratchiness in my throat went away instantly. I could finally swallow without pain and had a great rest of my trip.

Moving Forward: What to Do When the Unexpected Sickness Happens

Overplan for the Worst Case Scenarios

If you’ve ever had a certain type of pain or sickness in your life, bring medicines or supplements just in case it happens on your trip. For example, if you remember one day 2 years ago you got nauseous and lightheaded for no reason. Prepare as if it’ll happen again because you never know what a lifesaver nausea pills could be when you’re in a foreign country. In my case, once I got control over my daily IBD symptoms and my inflammation had come to regular levels I had thought I beat Crohn’s all together. So getting an extreme flare-up again wasn’t on my mind. I barely brought enough ginger supplements and only the 200mg type of acetaminophen. I wasn’t expecting it to happen again but it did. To be more prepared I will bring every single type of medicine that I know helps with my stomach in order to triage the pain. And I will always bring the charcoal tablets my cousin brought for food poisoning. I never thought it would ACTUALLY happen until it did haha.

Prepare Your Immune System Prior to Travel

Being in tip-top shape prior to a trip helps your body be strong enough to fight off any viruses and germs from the airport to just adjusting to new food. About 2 weeks prior to a trip I start cutting out junk food and dairy so that my stomach is as healthy and calm as it can be. I also start taking EmergenCee immune system support every day for about a week until my trip starts because I have been very sensitive to just getting colds from other people coughing near me. Try to get as much rest as you can so that you will have enough energy to explore and enjoy your trip!

Alert Family and Friends When It’s Necessary

Sometimes calling people back home can get you more riled up than necessary. It is great to let someone know you’re not feeling well but be particular with who it is you want to inform especially if you’re still figuring out how serious it is. To keep yourself calm, think about who you can talk to that is also calm in these situations and will lead you to solutions, not freak out and make things worse.

Take Your Emergencies Seriously and Get Help When You Need It

My first instinct to go to the hospital in France in 2015 was because I was literally so scared and had never experienced pain like that in my stomach before. If you are feeling like your life is in danger go to the hospital and get help. With my situation, we were on the phone for hours and no one showed up. That’s literally the worst-case scenario but if there if you are having trouble breathing or moving or anything life-threatening then it’s important to not let that slide. I now try to avoid going to hospitals when I’m on trips when it comes to my stomach just because I now have an answer to what’s going on and know the routine of going to the hospital when it comes to my specific stomach issue. But for other issues that you have no idea what’s going on, yes go get medical attention.

Understand How Your Health Benefits Work Abroad

It’s nice to have a general understanding of how your health plan works when you’re out of the country so that if you need help it’s not something holding you back from getting treatment. There’s also some hotlines that I might utilize and think they could be helpful for some immediate advice from a nurse. It may also be helpful to do some research regarding the medical environment of the country you’re visiting to have some perspective on the quality of care and how insurance works.

Look For Pharmacies and Medicines in Your Host Country

There are often solutions to your pain or discomfort in the country you visit and you can explore holistic health options native to where you’re at if that’s what you’re interested in. For example, when I was in Colombia I used Google Translate to describe my symptoms and a lady at a health store pointed me to a calendula stomach formula. Calendula is a flower and I asked my host and she said it’s used for stomach pains. I tried it, it didn’t help much since my flare-ups are literally very extreme, but I did learn about a new type of plant that treats inflammation. When at the airport in South Korea, I got medicine that aided in food poisoning from the pharmacy and this was the only thing that made me finally stop throwing up. I was at least able to make it out of the airport and to my Airbnb. You can often locate a pharmacy by the universal logo of the “+” sign and use a translation app to relay your symptoms. Getting access to something to treat what you’re feeling can make things so much easier.

Prioritize Your Body and Be Kind to Yourself

You’re on vacation and you aren’t feeling good, terrible isn’t it? Well yeah, it kind of is lol. It’s okay to feel annoyed by it but don’t beat yourself up over the fact that your body isn’t in tune with your mind. Your first priority is to feel better. I’ve definitely had to move slower or miss out on doing everything I may have wanted because I wasn’t feeling well and that’s okay. Don’t try to overdo it and put your body at more risk and yourself through more pain trying to act as if you’re at 100%. Be realistic with how you’re feeling. If you’re at 60% of how you feel on a normal day, maybe doing a walking tour in the beaming sun isn’t the best move. You can opt for a relaxing day at the spa or enjoy a day in, but listen to your body and your body will thank you.

As always,