In Sickness and in Health

why might you be more likely to get sick while traveling in Europe, you ask? Well, let’s see. You’re on the move constantly, you’re under a fair amount of stress, eating unfamiliar foods at irregular intervals, meeting lots of people, probably drinking more than usual, inhaling mass quantities of secondhand smoke, sleeping less, and when you do sleep it’s usually in close proximity to large numbers of other people. Gee, I wonder why you might get some sort of bug after two months of that.

Despite that rather grim, but realistic, review of the situation, traveling for a summer is not equivalent to a death sentence by typhoid. However, recognize that your system will be stressed by a number of things, and plan accordingly. Stay well, rather than get well, is the best policy. Some thoughts on staying well:

- Heat, and staying hydrated, is definitely a concern, particularly in Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Italy. Most of the tourists wandering around Rome or Madrid in July and August seem to be carrying 1.5-liter bottles of water, which is a great idea. When it’s hot, one of these bottles per day is an absolute minimum, while two is much better, and three is optimum. When you are moving around, and it’s hot, it is difficult to drink too much water. Heat exhaustion and/or dehydration are serious problems, and thirst is not a reliable indicator of either.