Staying Healthy and Safe Abroad

The top causes of injury and death for travelers abroad are road accidents and drowning.

This comes as a surprise to many, because the media tends to focus on terrorism, political strife, and infectious diseases as the most likely dangers for travelers abroad.

The following is a discussion of how to stay healthy and safe during your trip abroad.

The three areas you need to focus on daily for staying healthy and safe in our host countries are:

• Food and Water
• Avoid Insect Bites
• Avoid Injuries

Food and Water

Traveler’s Diarrhea is the most common illness suffered by our volunteers abroad. It’s usually caused by bacteria in the food or water you consume, and usually occurs within the first week of travel. You must be extra cautious about food and water. Some very important tips:

• Do not drink tap water
• Do not consume ice cubes
• Drink only bottled water, boiled water, or carbonated drinks in bottles/cans
• Wash your hands often with soap and water
• Avoid restaurants that look dirty
• Avoid most food from street vendors
• Avoid raw fruits and vegetables unless you peel them
• Brush your teeth using only bottled water

Avoid Insect Bites

You must avoid insect bites in many of our host countries because you are at risk for illnesses such as malaria and dengue fever.

Malaria is a potentially fatal disease that is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. The first symptoms of malaria are normally fever, chills, sweats, headaches, muscle pains, nausea and vomiting (For a definitive diagnosis, you must have a lab test). The peak biting period for malaria is dusk and dawn.

To prevent insect bites:

• Stay indoors at dawn and dusk as much as possible
• Outside at night, wear long sleeves and long pants
• For sleeping, wear long sleeves and long pajama bottoms
• For sleeping, use a mosquito net treated with permethrin
• Use an insect repellent with 30%-50% DEET

Avoid Injuries

Road travel:

• Do not travel in vehicles at night
• Do not sit in the front seat or section of a car or bus, because most accidents are head-on
• Wear seat belts
• Ride in large buses rather than minivans
• Never ride on the top of any vehicle
• Do not ride on any motorcycles, either as driver or passenger
• Do not take unlicensed taxis

Swimming:

• Do not go swimming in the ocean. The rip currents can be deadly for even the best swimmers.
• Be very careful about swimming in lakes and rivers because they might contain harmful creatures like water snakes and they might not be clean environments to swim in.

As a Pedestrian:

• Assume that vehicles always have the right of way
• Assume that no vehicles will stop for you
• There may not be sidewalks anywhere outside of major towns
• Many of the host countries have open sewers on each side of the street, some as deep as 10 feet
• Streets may not have sufficient lighting, especially in rural areas.
• Jogging can be very dangerous due to heavy traffic and uneven surfaces

Animals:

• Do not have contact with animals.
• This includes farm animals and dogs and cats
• In many of our host countries, you will often see dogs and cats as well as farm animals (cows, goats) walking among people on the streets, even in large towns.
• You could get bitten, rabies, insect bites, and skin rash/infections, etc from these animals.

If You Become Ill or Injured

If you become ill or injured abroad, please seek medical treatment immediately. Then as soon as possible, inform your host family and local Program Coordinator. They will contact our staff in the US so that we can assist in any way we can, such as notifying your family back home.

There are both government and private health facilities near all of our volunteer locationsabroad, with emergency and outpatient care available. There are also pharmacies (“drugstores”) in each town where you can buy medications, many times without a doctor’s prescription.

When You Return Home

If you become ill with a fever or flu-like illness up to one year after returning from abroad, seek immediate medical care and tell them you were abroad. If you were in a malaria-risk location like Africa or parts of South America, let the medical staff know immediately.

Further Reading...

For comprehensive travel health information on all of our host countries, please visit the CDC’s website for each country: China, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Kenya, , Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Vietnam.