By Renee Martinez, Founder of Raising Boys World
So you’re all excited about going on vacation. Perhaps you’ve already arrived at your destination, maybe you even enjoyed one day of fun…then illness strikes and the fun’s all over. Whether a parent or a child gets sick, getting sick during a vacation or trip away from home is the absolute worst. No matter how many precautions you take, it can happen to anyone.
Here are a few tips to make your trip more manageable, should someone have the terrible misfortune of getting sick. Keep in mind that viruses spread quickly in enclosed places such as ships, so what one person experiences, may hit everyone – quickly – so be prepared. Unfortunately, there’s no miracle cure, but patience will help greatly.
Who to see?
- On cruise ships, go to the medical facilities onboard. If you’re staying at a hotel in the U.S. or abroad, ask the front desk or concierge to assist you in finding nearby medical help.
- Another option for finding local medical help in the U.S. is Hotel Docs, a medical service that sends physicians on “house calls” to hotels and homes.
- www.housecallphysicians.org – This is a pay now, submit to insurance later situation but much cheaper and convenient than a traditional ER visit. House Call Physicians is California-based and there are similar groups emerging nation-wide and internationally to address the growing need of traveling and displaced families.
- Regardless of where you are when outside the US, you can always call the US Embassy or Consulate. They are available to US Citizens while traveling overseas and can help find medical care when needed.
How to pay?
- If you have travel insurance, contact your provider for doctor recommendations in your area.
- Before you travel overseas, consider joining the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers, a non-profit that helps – you guessed it – travelers find doctors and health care.
Reasons to see a doctor immediately:
Severe, prolonged or extreme discomfort in any way during your travels, get to a doctor immediately.
What to bring:
- Pack pain and fever reducing medicine.
- If you’re going to another country, some people suggest getting a Cipro prescription from your doctor before you go. The antibiotic is used to treat a variety of illnesses from diarrhea to urinary tract infections, typhoid fever to severe bronchial infections.
How to prevent illness:
- Use hand sanitizer and wash your hands thoroughly before meals and after going to the bathroom.
- Make sure to get enough sleep. You are much more likely to get sick if you let your body get rundown, tired and sleep-deprived.
Finally, while changes are bound to occur to accommodate the sick family member, it’s necessary while the person is actively sick or if fever is present. The same illness restrictions you would use at home apply for vacation sickness too. If you or your child would be staying home from work or school, then you shouldn’t be going to a museum or an amusement park.
Try to make the best of it, and contact the front desk, they are there to help.
About the Author: Renee Martinez consults and speaks professionally on social media marketing, integrated marketing communications, public relations and branding. She is the president of Ruby Marketing Communications (www.rubymarcom.com), a boutique marketing communications company that specializes in providing branding, social media strategy and integration, and creative services. Her blog (www.lisac95.sg-host.com), provides resources on everything marketing and social media for her active audience.
Renee has contributed as a featured monthly columnist in the monthly jewelry industry publication, JCK, on matters related to internet marketing as well as in InStore Magazine as a featured blogger where she writes about developing effective marketing strategies for the jewelry industry using social media. She is the founder of: Social Media Biz Summit (www.socialmediabizsummit.com), the first large-scale SM conference to come to Buffalo, NY; #jewelrychat, a weekly twitter chat for the jewelry industry and www.RaisingBoysWorld.com. Renee teaches social marketing courses at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY for the business school as well as offers small group social media marketing training and educational seminars for businesses in Western New York and beyond.
Renee has dabbled in the internet marketing arena since the early 90′s and is not ashamed to call herself a “marketing geek”. From chatting in AOL, “sharing” music on Napster, and teaching HTML classes before it was considered “cool” to developing comprehensive social media strategies, effective public relations campaigns and managing online communities (most recently Chevy Girls Buffalo).
She enjoys being able to help people find their voice online and to create buzz about their product or service that will give them the results they desire.
Renee can be found on Twitter (@reneemmartinez) and Facebook (http:/www.facebook.com/RubyMarCom).
