Staying healthy and safe during your gap year

No one wants their gap year trip ruined by a horrible illness or a stolen wallet. A lot of the precautions you need to take to avoid putting yourself at risk are just common sense — but it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of your travels and forget some of the basics.

Following the feature that covered ideas for taking a gap year we now offer this essential student guide to staying healthy – both whilst travelling and for those going abroad to study.

Staying Healthy – A Student Guide

Vaccinations and medication

Leave plenty of time before you travel to arrange any vaccinations and medication you will need while you’re away.

Apart from keeping your standard vaccinations up to date, such as polio and tetanus, you may also be required or advised to have additional vaccines, depending on your destination — including Typhoid, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Yellow Fever, and even Rabies.

Your GP can tell you which you need, and also whether you need to take malaria tablets (and if so, which kind). Don’t take any risks: malaria is a very serious, unpleasant, and sometimes fatal disease. Pack a mosquito net and insect repellent as an added precaution against bites.

Student Travel Essentials and First Aid Kit

It’s worth packing a travel first aid kit so you have the items you need when you need them.

Apart from obvious items such as plasters, insect repellent, sun cream, sterile dressings, tweezers, scissors, and antiseptic wipes, you may also want to pack a few extras for a fully loaded first aid kit. Handy items include:

• water purification tablets
• insect bite cream
• diarrhoea treatment and rehydration salts
• anti-fungal cream
• antihistamine (if you suffer from allergies)
• sterilised needles (particularly if you’re venturing somewhere remote with poor medical standards)
• condoms

Make sure your travel insurance covers you for medical expenses, and if you’re taking a job during your trip make sure your insurance still covers you while you’re working (not all policies do).

If you’re travelling to anywhere remote, some essential everyday items may not be easy to come by, particularly tampons and other sanitary products – so for girls it’s worth packing an adequate supply of your preferred brand.

Sexual health for travelling Students

If there’s a chance you’ll have sex during your time away, pack condoms, and use them – a sexually transmitted infection is not a great souvenir to bring home. Have fun, but be safe and don’t put your health at risk for the sake of a quick fling.

Food and drink

You can save yourself a nasty bout of ‘Delhi belly’ (or worse) by taking a few basic precautions with food and drink.

Firstly, drink plenty of water, particularly if you’re somewhere very hot — but always buy sealed, bottled water unless you are absolutely certain that the tap water is safe to drink.

Secondly, avoid eating salad and unpeeled fruit. Bananas and other fruits with a proper skin that you remove before eating are ideal since they can’t be contaminated (except by germs from your own hands!).

Finally, you should avoid cold or raw foods. The safest option is to choose piping hot food from an establishment with plenty of customers and a fast turnover.

Staying safe

Your gap year may be the first time you’ve travelled abroad independently, and it’s important to be prepared and stay safe.

Know before you go

Read the Foreign Office advice for the countries you’re visiting, and research safety issues and known scams at your destination.

Consider a gap year safety training course

There are even gap year safety training courses available, such as those offered by Objectivetravelsafety.com in London. They are generally a full day, cost around £150, and are designed to teach you safety tactics before you go, covering concerns such as theft prevention, food safety, emergency first aid and dealing with authorities.

Stay connected

Once you’re at your destination, make sure your friends and family know you’ve arrived safely, and stay in regular contact with them throughout your trip to make sure they know you’re safe and well.