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Summer-Vacation

Summer Travel Health Advice

May 11th, 2019

Archive for May, 2019

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Summer Travel Health Advice

Saturday, May 11th, 2019

Are you travelling this summer with your family?

Whether travelling as a couple, with children or with elderly parents make sure you are prepared for the destination you are travelling. A few precautions and extra care before travel can make your holiday better.

Here are few general travel tips

1. Be proactive – Think about health in advance of your trip. If you have a chronic health problem, get a check-up before you leave. And find out as much as you can in advance about destination-specific health risks.

2. Pack a travel health kit – Expect the unexpected, always travel with a travel health kit equipped with the most basic medications.

3. Wash your hands – Good hygiene is the first line of defence against any viral or bacterial ailment, be it the common cold or any other infection. Especially wash your hands before and after meal times.

4. Drink and eat sensibly – Traveller’s diarrhoea is the most common ailment that hamper many vacations. Make sure you eat and drink at hygienic places. Always have hot food when in doubt.

5. Make exercise a priority – You always have ample time to exercise on a vacation, it is your choice to make it a part of your agenda.

Travelling with elders

Are you a group of senior citizens travelling this vacation ? Here are a few health tips to keep in mind:

1. Book for accessibility – Make comfort a top priority. Choose to book direct flights, check for elevators, wheelchairs, and ramps before booking hotel accommodation too.

2. Plan small itineraries – Skip long hours of sight-seeing and plan small excursions physically possible.

3. Pack light – Depending on the weather of your destination pack as light as you can. Make sure you carry only small bag packs for day excursions too.

4. Choose comfortable shoes – One thing you absolutely need to pack is a pair of good, sturdy walking shoes—especially if you plan to do any sightseeing on foot.

5. Carry a few accessories – Here are a few things which will make your trip more comfortable and prepare you for any health conditions:

  • travel-sized heat and cold packs.
  • an inflatable neck pillow, and seat cushion for long car, train, or airplane rides.
  • Extra pair of specs if needed.
  • a knee sleeve or elastic bandage to support and cushion sore knees.

6. Stock your medicines – Make sure you carry all your medicines in sufficient quantities. Bring along a prescription, as well as your doctor’s phone number, in case you do run out. Keep the medicines with you instead of in your bags where they could get lost.

7. Keep moving – During long airplane and car trips, try to get up and walk around for a few minutes at least once an hour to keep your joints moving. Staying active will prevent soreness and will maintain blood flow.

Travelling with children

Are you travelling with children this summer? Here are a few health tips to follow:

  • Beat the heat – There are three easy things you need to remember about keeping children safe when it’s hot: Apply sunscreen regularly, give them plenty of drinks, and offer healthy, hydrating snacks.
  • Be prepared for insect bites – If you are spending time on your summer vacation hiking or camping, you’re likely to encounter them. Use an insect repellent before stepping outdoors and wear full sleeved clothes.
  • Watch out around water – Whether you are near a beach or a hotel swimming pool your kids need constant supervision at all times.
  • Clean hands – While you’re travelling, make sure your children wash their hands with soap before eating whenever you can. Hand sanitizer or a pack of antibacterial wipes will work if the water is not available.
  • Carry light snacks – Carry some high-calorie dry snacks like nuts, energy bars or fruits for your kids to snack during travel times
  • Keep a well – stocked first aid kit – Be prepared for minor problems by packing a portable kit that includes over-the-counter pain medicine, antiseptic cream, a cold pack, tweezers, and bandages. If your child has any allergies or asthma, carry the medications. Keep your pediatrician’s phone number handy at all times.
  • Boiled water – Water is the first thing that causes stomach infections. Make sure you offer your children only boiled clean drinking water at all times.
  • Vaccines – Does your child need any preventive vaccinations? Consult our Travel Clinic.

Whether it is advice on vaccination, country-specific precautions or advice on your health conditions, we highly recommend an appointment with experts at our Travel Clinic. The Travel clinic at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital offers comprehensive travel advice to make sure your trip is happy and healthy.

Asthma and city life

Tuesday, May 7th, 2019

Asthma is a disease that makes it difficult for your lungs to get air.
Shortness of breath, cough and wheezing are all symptoms of asthma. Your chest feels tight and your throat goes dry, you gasp for breath and are unable to get enough air to the lungs.

Why is asthma worst in cities?

The urban air pollution as well as certain chemicals released in the environment make the residents of bigger cities more prone to asthma. Here are a few urban factors that cause asthma:

  • Automobile exhaust.
  • Tobacco smoke.
  • Restaurant food odours.
  • Cockroaches and rats.

Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, sulphur, and hydrocarbons all contribute to inner-city pollution and make asthma harder to manage for kids and adults.

Asthma and urban cities:

Here are some tips from the experts on better living with asthma in the city:

  • If you have allergies to cockroaches or rodents, get pest control done in your house.
  • If you have allergies to dust mites, make sure to have protective covers on all mattresses, box springs, and pillows. Removing carpets from bedrooms also makes a big difference,.
  • Use HEPA filters on all your vents and vacuum cleaners, and run a HEPA-filtered air purifier in the bedroom.
  • Protect the air inside your home. Don’t allow anyone to smoke, control humidity with a dehumidifier, and use your air conditioning as much as possible.
  • Make sure your home is clean and clutter free, keep food and garbage in tightly sealed bags and containers.
  • Follow your doctor’s advice completely for asthma. It will include information about your medicine, advice for avoiding asthma triggers, and what to do if you have an asthma attack.
Know more about Asthma

Here is how you can live healthy even with Asthma:

  • Know your triggers and avoid them. Triggers like allergens and irritants can make  your asthma symptoms worse by irritating your airways.  The best way to control your asthma is to know what your asthma triggers are and how to avoid them.
  • Take your asthma medication as prescribed by your doctor
    Many people think they can skip their asthma preventer (controller) medications when they don’t feel any symptoms – that’s not true. Asthma is a chronic (long-term) disease. If you have asthma, you have it all the time, even when you don’t feel symptoms. You have to manage your asthma every day, not just on days when you feel symptoms.
  • Your health-care provider can show you how to use your inhaler properly so that  your medicine reaches the airways.
  • If you smoke and have asthma, you should quit smoking. this can significantly reduce the severity and frequency of your symptoms. Smoking can also reduce the effectiveness of asthma medication.
  • Keep fit by exercising. Exercise helps by strengthening your breathing muscles, boosting your immune system and helping to keep a healthy body weight. The key to exercising safely is to make sure your asthma is under control before you start.
Asthma and India:

One in every 10 asthma patients in the world is in India. 90 per cent of childhood asthma and 50 per cent of adult asthma is caused due to environmental allergens. Considered the most common chronic disease among children, Asthma is prevalent in all countries, whether they are developed or underdeveloped. Dust, cockroaches and pollens are the biggest causes of allergic asthma, according to analysis of reports of five years, collected by a diagnostic centre in India.

Sadly, India is choking with asthma. The sales of anti-asthma medicines in India has gone up by 43% over the past four years. It is time that people start taking conscious actions to breathe healthy. People affected by air pollution must wear an N95 mask. We must also encourage the use of car pool and public transport to reduce traffic and thus reduce air pollution.

Consult our Pulmonary Department for details on Asthma. Please find below link:

https://www.kokilabenhospital.com/departments/clinicaldepartments/pulmonarymedicine/asthma.html

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