Triad doctor shares health tips for summer travel

HERE AT 914. SUMMER IS THE IDEAL TIME TO EXPLORE THE WORLD, TRY NEW THINGS, AND TRAVEL TO SEE SOME LOVED ONES. BUT ALL OF THOSE THINGS ALSO BRING HEALTH RISKS. AND THIS IS WHY THIS WEEK WE ARE SPEAKING WITH A LOCAL DOCTOR ABOUT HOW TO STAY HEALTHY WHILE TRAVELING. YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE HIM HERE DOCTOR CHRISTOPHER OLD, AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT AT ATRIUM HEALTH, WAKE FOREST BAPTIST AND ALSO A PROFESSOR AT WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. GOOD MORNING, DOCTOR, ALL GREAT TO SEE YOU. GOOD MORNING. GREAT TO SEE YOU TOO. ALL RIGHT. SO LET’S START WITH YOUR PRIMARY ADVICE ON TRAVELING AND STAYING HEALTHY. PRIMARY ADVICE IS THAT TRAVEL IS GOOD FOR YOUR MIND AND FOR YOUR PEACE OF MIND, AND FOR YOUR WELL-BEING. SO DO IT. UM, THERE’S JUST A FEW THINGS. UM, THAT MIGHT COME ALONG. UM, AS YOU’RE TRAVELING ABOUT, WHETHER IT BE EUROPE OR AFRICA, THAT YOU HAVE TO THINK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT. SO WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON ILLNESSES THAT YOU’RE SEEING IN THE SUMMER? MOST COMMON IS RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTIONS, COLDS, FLUS, COUGH, THINGS LIKE THAT. THE SECOND MOST COMMON ACTUALLY, UM, DEPENDING A LITTLE BIT ON YOUR DESTINATION, UM, IS DIARRHEA. AND THE THIRD MOST IS, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IS SUNBURN, BECAUSE A LOT OF PLACES THAT PEOPLE GO ARE A LOT CLOSER TO THE EQUATOR. YOU’RE AT THE WATER, YOU’RE ON A WHITE BEACH, AND YOU CAN BURN IN TEN MINUTES. YEAH, ALL IT TAKES IS ONE BAD BURN TO REALLY RUIN PART OF YOUR VACATION, HUH? WELL, IF SOMEONE GETS SICK OR THEY CATCH A COLD WHILE THEY’RE OUT OF TOWN, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE BEST THING TO DO? WELL, THERE’S A FEW THINGS YOU CAN DO BEFORE YOU GO. UM, IT WOULDN’T. IT WOULDN’T BE DOCTOR OLAF. I WOULDN’T AT LEAST BRING UP COVID, UM, BECAUSE. RIGHT NOW WE ARE HAVING, UM, WE WOULD HAVE THREE YEARS AGO CALLED IT A SURGE. NOW WE JUST CALL IT MOORE INFECTIONS. BUT THERE IS MORE COVID GOING AROUND, A COUPLE MORE VARIANTS, AND IT’S SOMETHING YOU CAN PICK UP WITH TRAVELING, BE IT IN THE AIRPORT OR THE SNOTTY NOSE GUY IN THE AIRPLANE NEXT TO YOU. UH, OR EVEN IN YOUR HOTEL. SO, UM, IF YOU HAVEN’T, IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN BOOSTED, VACCINATED, UH, IN THE LAST NINE MONTHS, MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER THAT. AND I’M NOT TRYING TO BE ALARMIST, BUT WHO WANTS TO GET SICK WHILE TRAVELING? UM, THE OTHER THING IS, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, IT REALLY, EVEN THOUGH WE SAY IT ALL THE TIME, IT MAKES SENSE. WASH YOUR HANDS A LOT, BECAUSE THIS IS ONE WAY WE GET WE GET OUR INFECTIONS FROM OTHER PEOPLE AND FROM OTHER THINGS. UM, AND THEN LASTLY, PARTICULARLY IF YOU’RE IMMUNOCOMPROMISED AND, UM, REALLY GETTING A COLD OR FLU INFECTION MIGHT BE OF HIGHER ORDER. YOU MIGHT WANT TO WEAR A MASK WHILE TRAVELING. AND THAT’S TOTALLY UP TO YOU. UM, PERSONALLY, WHEN I TRAVEL, ALSO, I, UH, I CARRY A FEW THINGS WITH ME JUST IN CASE THEY DO GET SICK. UM AND ONE IS MY FAVORITE DECONGESTANT. THE OTHER IS SOME IBUPROFEN. UM, OR ACETAMINOPHEN. WE CALL THAT ADVIL OR TYLENOL AND LAY LANGUAGE. UM, AND SO IF YOU GET A FEVER OR A HEADACHE OR A COLD, UM, YOU CAN USE THAT FOR SELF TREATMENT. UM, IT SHOULD BE AWARE THAT PARTICULARLY WHEN TRAVELING IN OTHER COUNTRIES, THEY MAY HAVE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT RULES AND DIFFERENT NAMES, UM, FOR THEIR MEDICINES. SO, UH, PAIR CALL IS ACETAMINOPHEN IN EUROPE, UM, AND YOU CAN’T BUY IBUPROFEN IN A LOT OF CONVENIENCE STORES OR GROCERY STORES IN EUROPE. YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY GO TO A REGULAR PHARMACY, BUT YOU’RE NOT GOING TO MARS. THERE ARE PHARMACIES AROUND, AND YOU LOOK FOR THE BIG GREEN CROSS, WHICH IS SORT OF THE UBIQUITOUS. AND LASTLY, IF YOU’RE GOING TO PLACES THAT ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE EXOTIC, SUCH AS AFRICA, UH, SOUTH ASIA, WHICH IS INDIA, WHICH IS A GREAT PLACE TO GET DIARRHEA. BY THE WAY, IF YOU WANT A DIARRHEA AND THEN, UH, SOUTHEAST ASIA, SUCH AS THAILAND FOR SOUTH AMERICA, YOU MIGHT WANT TO VISIT A TRAVEL MEDICINE PROVIDER WHERE YOU GO BEFORE YOU GO BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME VACCINES WE MIGHT GIVE. THERE ARE SOME VACCINES OCCASIONALLY THAT ARE ACTUALLY REQUIRED BY THE COUNTRY. AND THEN WE GIVE YOU MEDICATIONS TO PREVENT MALARIA. AND THE MOST IMPORTANT MEDICINE AT ALL. WHEN I TRAVEL TO THOSE COUNTRIES IS SOMETHING TO TAKE IN CASE I GET DIARRHEA, LIKE AN ANTIBIOTIC AND SOME IMODIUM. BOTH HAVE BAILED ME OUT OF SOME TIGHT SPOTS FOR GREAT ADVICE. AS ALWAYS FROM DOCTOR CHRISTOPHER FROM ATRIUM HEALTH, WAKE FOREST BAPTIST, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR

Triad doctor shares health tips for summer travel

Summer is the perfect time to travel, but it also comes with increased health risks. We spoke with Dr. Christopher Ohl, an infection disease expert at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, about things to do ahead of your next vacation. Click the video player above to hear from him.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. —

Summer is the perfect time to travel, but it also comes with increased health risks.

We spoke with Dr. Christopher Ohl, an infection disease expert at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, about things to do ahead of your next vacation. Click the video player above to hear from him.