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Be careful about food during travel

ABU DHABI — Do you plan to travel out of the country for holiday this summer? If yes, then be vigilant to the advisories given by travel medicine experts in order to avoid serious diseases or ailments.

To avoid getting diarrhoea, one of the most common ailments while travelling, people must be careful in choosing the food and beverages during their stay at a holiday destination. “Especially if your destination is one of the Southeast Asian or African countries, you must be cautious about drinking clean water and eating well-cooked food,” said Dr Wadih Saad, Consultant, Internal and Infectious Medicine, at Shaikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC).

In an interview with Khaleej Times on the sidelines of symposium on travellers’ health and the role of immunisation, which was held in the capital on Thursday, Dr Saeed cautioned travellers against consuming raw food or contaminated water. “Travellers must not buy quick snack sold at stalls on the street like ‘shawarma’ or uncooked food like the Japanese ‘sushi’ if they want to stay healthy during their holiday,” he said. He also emphasised that parents must boil water to prepare milk for children. “It is recommended travellers take ‘Bismuth’ medication, which is not an antibiotic, for three days if they suffer from diarrhoea. But if they had high fever they must seek medical advice immediately,” advised Dr Saeed.

Dr Francis Andre, a visiting vaccinology consultant from Belgium stressed that vaccination for hepatitis A, B and typhoid must be taken by travellers going to a Southeast Asia or Africa.