Hands up who has caught the dodgy tummy bug while off on your jolly holidays? How many hands? Most of us will catch something we don’t really want when we travel abroad and no, I don’t mean a person of the opposite sex, which you picked up in the nightclub and now can’t get rid of. I mean those horrible illnesses that spoil our holiday and sometimes even cause us grief when we get back home.
They do everything in their power to ruin our perfect holiday, by making us spend either most of the time in the bathroom or running backwards and forwards to the Doctors or the Pharmacy and in worse case scenario a trip to the Hospital. These are the run of the mill stomach bugs, you know the ones that you normally catch from water or things washed in the local water. Lets hope that once Virgin Galactic is up and running we don’t have these sort of worries!
Two tips to combat these. 1, Only drink bottled water and 2, Never eat salad or things cooked in local water!!! Once you see the possible stuff you can catch I guarantee you will be more careful next time and some of these images may be on your mind whilst you sit on your Virgin flight.
Perfect Holiday?
Source
But what about other things you are likely to catch when abroad? Things like STI’s!!! Now that more and more single sex groups are travelling abroad looking for a good time or celebrating their last few nights as a single person, more of us are returning home with more than we bargained for. With hundreds of Stag and Hen parties being taken abroad, to enjoy the sun, sea and night life, these horrible diseases are set to increase year on year.
Sexually transmitted diseases are no joke as they can have serious effects on your health, but they are also still a bit of a taboo subject. One because of how you catch it and this can have a knock on effect to existing relationships, i.e. being unfaithful and the two parts of the body it normally effects. In general the private regions!!
Hen Party
Here are some STi’s to check out…
Genital Warts (penis)
These are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus and are contracted through sexual contact. They normally effect the penis, vulva and anus, but can also spread to the mouth and throat after oral sex.Treatment is normally through a caustic cream, cryotherapy or cauterization.
Gonorrhea (penis)
Which is more commonly referred to as the clap, is caused by a bacteria. It is spread by contact with the mouth, vagina, penis and anus. It normally effects the same area’s, the mouth, vagina, penis and anus, but can also effect the urethra, reproductive tract in women and the eyes.
Treatment is prescribed antibiotics.
Chlamydia (in the mouth)
This is caused by a bacteria and can be spread by vaginal, anal and oral sex, but can also be spread from mother the baby during vaginal childbirth. Apart from it effecting your genitals it can also cause conjunctivitis, which can if untreated lead to blindness.
Treatment numerous prescribed antibiotics.
Syphilis
Syphilis is another STD caused by a bacteria through sexual contact, but can also be spread from mother to fetus during pregnancy.
It has 4 stages:-
Primary, 3-90 days after contact – a single Chancre (painless ulcer) appears.
Secondary, 4-10 weeks after contact – Diffuse red purple rash.
Latent, 1-3 years after contact – little to no symptoms.
Territary, 3-15 years after contact – effects heart and central nervous system, produces Gummas, which are soft, tumor-like balls of inflammation.
Treatment of a large dose of antibiotic, normally penicillin.
Scabies (baby)
Scabies is a contagious skin infection caused by tiny burrowing mites. This disease is normally transmitted by skin to skin contact, with prolonged contact increasing the risk, but can also by caught from objects too. Treatment is either Permethrin cream or Invermectin oral medication.
Remember you can catch these anywhere, but you are likely to be more carefree while on holiday so it increases your chances of catching something. Not all illnesses contracted abroad are STI’s or are as easy to treat as STIs either
Other embarrassing and sometimes even deadly illnesses…
Ebola
This is a horrible disease and is extremely contagious.It kills up to 90% of those infected. symptoms vary from the common cold to influenza like symptoms, fever, headaches, joint pain, vomiting and bloody diarrhea.Eventually your blood cells deteriorate and you may bleed from your bodily orifices or bleed internally. There is no treatment or cure, prevention is key.Special care is needed when handling the bodily fluids of the infected and when in contact with the deceased. Basically it’s best avoided!!
Rabies (dog)
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute inflammation of the brain in warm blooded animals. Transmission is normally through a bite from an infected animal.Symptoms start out as fever, headache, weakness then progresses to insomnia, anxiety, hallucinations, paralysis, hypersalivation and hydrophobia. Death normally occurs within days of the onset of neurological symptoms. Vaccines against rabies are used to prevent the spread of this disease in animals and medication should be used asap to treat the infected humans to reduce the risk of death. About 80 to 90% of all humans showing neurological symptoms before treatment will unfortunately die.
Cholera
This is an infection of the small intestine, that is caused by bacteria present in contaminated water or food. It causes severe vomiting and watery diarrhea, which can be fatal in hours. Anyone with severe symptoms can produce up to 20 litres of vomit and diarrhea a day.
Treatment is relatively simple, oral rehydration fluids, intravenous fluids and antibiotics if needed.
Demon Chick xx
