I talked in one of my previous posts about how my health was one of the reasons that I cut my long term travels short. There was no one thing that was majorly wrong with me, I didn’t have a terrible accident or contract a mysterious disease. But I had noticed that, due to a few bad habits I’d picked up while travelling, there were a few minor health niggles that I wanted to sort out.
Despite having a pre-existing medical travel insurance policy, I never used it for any of the issues that popped up while travelling, instead hoping to “save” it for when or if something really bad happened. I guess that was silly, and I should have gone to see a doctor as and when problems arose, but I didn’t. Even sillier was that, having done some insurance policy research, I had a very good policy that covered many things.
One of the health issues I encountered was with my back. No-one ever talks about back issues when they talk about backpacking, but it’s a definite problem when you’re carrying all your worldy possessions (essentially your house) around on your back. Despite trying to get it properly fitted, adjusting the weight and attempting to pack heavier items at different ends of my backpack, I still found that my lower back would ache and get stiff. This was probably also due to bad posture working on my computer while sitting on a bed or on unsuitable kitchen chairs. Until my trip, my back had never given me any problems. If I could do it all again, I would get my pack fitted properly and never use my computer without proper back support. I would also try and do as many stretches and yoga postures daily as possible, to try and eradicate problems before they began.
Another issue I experienced was with my sinuses. Probably due to pollution, poor diet, lack of sleep and routine, my sinuses were almost continually blocked and stuffy and it’s still a problem I have to this day (although it’s getting better), I realised that, because of my disrupted routine and tough work schedule, I wasn’t giving myself enough rest, which meant that when I picked up a cold, had allergies or was simply faced with a really smoggy city, I couldn’t shake my symptoms off. I would now definitely always travel with nasal spray and probably a neti pot too, as well as treating any colds or allergies as soon as they appear.
The things I’ve mentioned above don’t ever cover the regular illnesses that travellers experience such as upset stomachs, sunburn, allergic reactions to bug bites and much more. But basically, if you feel that you are having problems outside of what can be treated by over-the-counter medicine from a pharmacy, then you should definitely make use of your travel policy and go and see a doctor or visit the ER. And don’t forget that if you’re an EU citizen travelling within the EU, you should always travel with your EHIC card to get discounted health care should you need it.
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