REGISTRATION No. 198901967K MICA (P) - Raffles Medical Group

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22 Feature Raffles HealthNews Beat the Travellers’ Woes You have booked your air tickets and planned a detailed itinerary for your overseas trip. The last thing you want is to be feeling under the weather during your holiday. Dr Salleh bin Omar, Deputy Director and Senior Physician at Raffles Medical, shares with you some tips to avoid the common ailments that affect travellers. Jet Lag Jet lag is the consequence of travelling over a number of time zones over a short duration of time. - - - - - - - - Have enough rest before the trip. Start to adjust to the new time zone a week before departure. If you are travelling to an earlier time zone, aim to eat, sleep and rise 20 minutes earlier each day over a week prior to departure. Avoid heavy alcohol intake during the flight and have light meals. Avoid caffeine. Take short naps (about 45mins) at the destination if you feel sleepy during the daytime. Maximise your exposure to outdoor sunlight during the first two days of arrival. Perform some light exercises in the afternoon to help you sleep at night. Take simple medication for jetlag headaches e.g. paracetamol. Motion Sickness This is a feeling of nausea that can occur when you travel in a vehicle. It is most prevalent in children between the age of three and 12. It is also more common in females and worse when the individual is pregnant or having her periods. - - - - - Avoid large meals and alcohol prior to travelling. Try to sit in the middle of the vehicle when the rhythmic movements are minimised. Do not read. Focus on a non-moving object in the distant horizon or keep your eyes closed. Ensure that the vehicle is well-ventilated. Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Hours of immobility on the plane can contribute to the development of DVT. DVT is a blood clot that can develop in the deep veins of the leg. The clot may break off, move along the blood stream and get lodged in the vessels of the brain, lungs, heart or other areas, causing serious organ injury. It is found that long distance air travel may contribute to the development of DVT. - - - Reduce the length of the flight by planning stopovers whenever possible. Drink plenty of water and try to exercise your legs during the flight. A good guideline is to drink one plastic cup of water every hour while flying. You can also make the effort to walk to the gallery to get the water refilled every hour. This will give you a reason to be out of your seat regularly, thereby lessening the possibility of developing DVT. Try not to sit cross-legged as this will restrict the blood flow in your legs. This can also contribute to the formation of blood clots.
Raffles HealthNews Feature 23 Managing Common Ailments While you may be on a holiday, the flu bug will not give you a break just because of that. If you or your loved ones do fall sick during your trip, try these tips from Dr Yong Chern Chet, Family Physician at the 24 Hour Emergency Centre at Raffles Hospital. Fever • When faced with a high temperature, sponging for young children or taking a cool shower/bath (avoid hot water) for adults will help the body cool down by as much as 0.5 to 1 degree in best case scenarios. • Avoid vigorous exercise as muscles will generate heat faster than the body can dissipate it, causing a rise in the already elevated body temperature. The accompanying dehydration is no help either. Cough / Runny Nose • In general, cough/runny nose is the body’s response to irritation of the airways. Therefore methods that reduce or sooth the passages such as breathing in moist air from a vaporizer, hot shower or a bowl of hot water will help. • Sleep with your head slightly elevated to allow sinuses and nasal passages to drain better and not create a “drip” or “tickle” in the throat. • To shorten the duration and severity of flu symptoms, try to increase the body’s intake of vitamin C to help boost the immune system’s response. Food Poisoning / Diarrhoea • Minor cases of food poisoning symptoms e.g. abdominal cramps, nausea, diarrhoea will self-resolve in time but if a person has severe symptoms such as a high fever with continuous vomiting or diarrhoea or persistent localised abdominal pain, they should consult a doctor as specific medical treatment may be required. • Avoid dairy or oily and spicy foods. • Consume an isotonic sports drink / fruit juice to replace the body’s lost electrolytes. Try to avoid carbonated drink or drinks with caffeine as they can further irritate the digestive system. Travel medicine kits containing medications for some of the common ailments are available at all Raffles Medical Clinics.
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REGISTRATION No. 198901967K MICA (P) - Raffles Medical Group

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