Travel Health Tips for Students Studying Abroad

Tips courtesy of CDC.gov

To reduce your risk of illness

• In developing areas, boil your water or drink only bottled water or carbonated (bubbly) drinks from cans or bottles with intact seals. Do not drink tap water or fountain drinks or add ice to beverages. Avoid eating salads, fresh vegetables and fruits you cannot peel yourself, and unpasteurized dairy products.
• Eat only food that has been fully cooked and served hot, and avoid food from street vendors. If living with a host family, discuss any food allergies or dietary preferences in advance.
• Do not touch animals, including domestic pets, and especially do not touch monkeys, dogs, and cats, to avoid bites and serious diseases (such as rabies and plague). If you are bitten or scratched by any animal, get medical attention right away, and immediately clean the wound well with large amounts of soap and water and a povidone-iodine solution, such as Betadine®, if available.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially before meals and after going to the bathroom. If soap and water are not available and your hands are not visibly dirty, use an alcohol-based hand gel (containing at least 60% alcohol) to clean your hands. Cleaning your hands often with soap and water removes potentially infectious material from your skin and helps prevent disease transmission.
• If visiting an area where there is risk of malaria, use insect repellent and a mosquito net for sleeping, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants outdoors between dusk and dawn, and make sure to take your malaria prevention medication before, during, and after your trip, as directed.
• If you are visiting a country that has experienced an avian flu (bird flu) outbreak, avoid poultry farms, bird markets, and other places where live poultry is raised or kept. For more information, see the Outbreak Notice: Guidelines and Recommendations, Interim Guidance about Avian Influenza A (H5N1) for U.S. Citizens Living Abroad.
• Be aware that sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV/AIDS, are among the most common infections worldwide. The most reliable way to avoid transmission of sexually transmitted diseases is to abstain from sexual activity or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship. For people whose sexual behaviors place them at risk for STDs, correct and consistent use of latex or polyurethane condoms when engaging in sexual activity can greatly reduce a person’s risk of acquiring or transmitting STDs, including HIV infection. For more information see Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

Social Wellness: Making the Most Out of Your Travels

If you are traveling with a roommate, friends, or a group of individuals that you have met before, it may ease the stress of being in brand new place, outside of your comfort zone, for the first time.

However, if you want to make the most out of your travels, make an effort to meet new people. The people that you meet along the way will enhance your overall experience.

Suggestions for meeting new people:

Learn the language! Or learn at least 15-20 common phrases and use them when you order food, need to ask questions, need directions, and any other time you interact with the locals. Don't be afraid to approach individuals if you do not speak their language. Use some of the words you have learned and body language and you will be surprised how far you get.

*My roommate had a goal of learning to say hello in 20 different languages. So she would talk to all of our roommates in the hostels and ask them how to say hello in their own language and then teach them how to say it in the other languages she'd learned.

If you are...

Studying abroad
Find out who else is in your program and set up a potluck or get together and hangout. This is especially fun and easy to do if you are living on campus in the international housing.

Staying in hostels
Make an effort to meet your roommates. I learned a lot more about the cities I was staying in from talking to roommates ("You have to go ice skating on the Eiffel Tower" or "Stay away from this part of the city") than I did from reading guide books.

Doing a homestay
Meet your roommates! Have your homestay family introduce you to neighbors or other locals.