Professional Travel Health Advice

T he best Professional             name, and could be made locally,   Travel Health Advice about      is often contaminated and could    food and drink on holiday,      be a danger.                       can easily be summarised as                                              follows                               6. When confronted with cooked                                           food, the holidaymaker should      1. The first thing to realise is      ensure that it has been            that unpasteurised milk, non          thoroughly and freshly cooked;     bottled drinks , and uncooked         i.e. that it is piping hot.        food, are likely to be                                                   contaminated and therefore            7. Be aware of eating out the day  possibly unsafe. This does not        after a public holiday, as         include fruit which can be            reheated food appears, and it can  peeled.                               be dangerous.                                                                                               2. Use bottled or boiled water        8. Foods that are cooked in        for cleaning your teeth.              advance need to be held at a                                             temperature of below 10 C or       3. Don't open your mouth and          above 60 C to ensure their         drink water in the shower.            safety.                                                                                                     4. Dishes containing raw or           9.Cooked food left out for some    undercooked eggs, such as             time constitutes one of the        home-made mayonnaise, some sauces     greatest risks of food borne       (e.g. hollandaise) and some           disease. Contaminating or          desserts (e.g. mousses), are not      surviving bacteria may multiply    a good idea.                          in it if it is. Put another way,                                         if the food has been cooked but    5. Ice-cream that doesn't have a      not refrigerated between cooking   recognisable international brand      and serving, because it has been   left out, then you could be                                              taking a risk eating it. This         13. Drinks such as wine or beer    means attractive cold buffets are     hot tea or coffee, and carbonated  very definitely unsafe if they        soft drinks or fruit juices that   have been laid out hours before       are bottled or otherwise packaged  being eaten.                          are usually safe to drink.                                                                                  10. Unpasteurised milk should be      14. Apply strict hygiene while     boiled before it is drunk. 11.        away especially after using the    Bottles of drinking water that        bathroom and before you eat food   contain non carbonated water          - never use communal, damp towels  should be regarded with               in public conveniences! Use        suspicion, unless you see the         disposable paper towels or hot     seal broken in front of you,          air.                               because it could be straight from                                        the TAP!!                             BASIC TRAVEL HEALTH ADVICE SAYS                                          boil it, cook it, peel it, or      12. Ice should be avoided unless      forget it.                         made from safe water.                  About the Author: Lucy Rose is a nurse who often travels independently. She contributes to Best Vacations Guide. You may reprint this article in full as long as it contains the resource box. Read more articles by: Lucy Tucker Article Source: www.iSnare.com