Asia Travel, Swine Flu & Travelers?

When you are on the roads as a budget traveler you are more susceptible to catching nasty little bugs like the swine flu as you are more exposed on buses and trains as well as flights, the idea behind budget traveling for most people is to get in and mix it up with the locals, so what do you do to lessen your risk?

A lot of common sense will go a long way. If you see someone that is obviously sick get a way from them, 6 feet in fact is recommended and try your best to not to touch anything. If you were in the area of some one that was sick go and wash your hands as soon as possible, and make a point of not touching your face until you have, especially the nose, eyes and mouth as that is the most common way of getting any flu. Someone will be contagious from 1 day before they show symptoms to 7 days after, so to be safe wash your hands often and be vigilant of people that are sneezing and coughing, which in Asia is quite common as there is more dust and air pollution.

Other things that you can do are to try to keep healthy by getting lots of rest and drink lots of clear fluids like water and sports drinks with electrolytes. Limit the number of contacts that you have with locals, and stay away as much as possible, from confined areas where there are lots of people that you don’t know.

The time when you are in transit is when you are the most vulnerable, especially on Asian cheap flights and buses when you are rubbing elbows with your fellow travelers. Bring some alcohol wipes with you and some hand sanitizer and use the alcohol wipes on the seat and the seat in front of you and any controls. Don’t forget the food tray in front of you and the TV if they have one. The other place is the bathroom, use the hand drier rather than the paper towels if there is a choice. Door knobs are another place to be careful as many people tend to touch them.

You can also be good eco travelers by teaching locals to cough and sneeze into their elbows, demonstrate how to do it correctly and then demonstrate the wrong way. Start by waging your finger in the universal no sign and show how virus are transmitted to them by sneezing into hand and then touch something like a desk or table, then parody having someone else touch the same spot and bring to face pointing at eyes, nose and mouth and then parody being sick. Then re-demonstrate the correct way and smile. They will understand this and hopefully that will virus into their community rather than a real virus!

So you did everything and you got it well what should you do. First off don’t freak out! The Swine flu like most other flu’s goes after the week and infirm, so if you are reasonably healthy, which most travelers are, you will be sick, but you will recover. However if you demonstrate any of the warring signs below see a doctor immediately and try not to give it to anyone else if possible.

According to the people at the CDC In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
Sudden dizziness
Confusion
Severe or persistent vomiting
Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

If your travel buddy gets it try to stay out of the same room with them and if possible find a cheap hotel and have them so they have their own bathroom. Call them on the phone and check up on them, and if they need stuff bring to their door and just like the burning bag of dodo at Halloween trick, ring the bell and leave the supplies. It sucks, but stay put for 7 days or 1 day after the symptoms go away and then resume traveling. If you do travel and they catch you with the thermal cameras they will most likely throw you into a very expensive hospital, so your best bet is to call the airlines and explain the situation and tell them if they don’t let you reschedule that you are going to their head office and cough and sneeze your head off until they do, Just kidding! I called a couple of the airlines and they will let you and your travel partners reschedule without a penalty, but they might ask for a doctor’s note.

In the US they now have a vaccine; if you go to your doctor and tell them that you are going to be traveling they can prioritize you to receive the jab, as you are more susceptible than the normal population.