Easy Health Tips for a Stress-Free Holiday

It’s important that everyone stays safe on holiday. Weldricks Pharmacy can help you pack all you need to ensure worries about everything from skin care to bites to travel are a thing of the past.

Kids

Kids need to know how to stay safe in the sun, as in the summer holidays there’s much more time to be out playing and doing all sorts of activities.
Ultraviolet (UV) rays pass through the air and clouds and penetrate the skin, which causes sunburn. Many things factor into how long it takes for you to get sun burnt; colouring for example. People with light hair, light skin or light eyes, you have less melanin, a chemical that protects us from sun damage by reflecting and absorbing UV rays.

Kids need to take three simple steps to stay safe:

• Always wear sun protection
• Take breaks often by going inside or in the shade
• Extra care needs to be taken between 10.00am and 4.00pm as this is when the sun’s rays are the strongest and could cause the most damage.

Kids’ sun protection should be at least SPF30, and applied 15-20 minutes before being exposed to the sun. Sun protection needs to be reapplied every 2 hours, and more if activities include swimming, even if sun protection is waterproof.

Places always forgotten that need protecting:

• Tops of feet
• Tops of ears
• Back of neck
• Face

You should drink plenty of water to stay hydrated when it’s hot outside; when you’re sweating you lose water which needs replacing. If you’re going anywhere, be sure to take plenty of water with you.
Heat exhaustion happens when the body can’t cool down fast enough, and you might feel overheated, tired and weak. It can come on suddenly and can make you feel tired for days after it happens.

First Aid Kit

An article was published in the Women’s Health magazine, highlighting the importance of a “multitasking medicine kit” to help keep you healthy on holiday.

It notes the need to keep hydrated. Dioralyte sachets contain rehydration salts consisting of sugars and salts (glucose, sodium chloride, potassium chloride and disodium hydrogen citrate). The contents of the sachets are dissolved in water to provide the fluid. The sugar that is in the sachets helps the water and electrolytes to be absorbed from the intestines.

Ensure your feet withstand all your fun times by making sure you take Compeed Hydro Cure Blister Plasters. They feature the unique Hydro Cure system to relieve pain and help skin heal faster. These foot plasters act as a second skin over damaged, blistered areas, protecting and cushioning them so they don’t suffer further damage.

Sea-Band Wrist Band is a must have for preventing travel sickness. It’s the only clinically tested wristband, and with no drugs or side effects, it’s used by doctors and in hospitals.

All women must be prepared for period pain when on holiday; it’s handy to take a packet of Feminax Ultra. Naproxen belongs to a group of pain killers called Non-Sterodial Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs). It was the first maximum naproxen pain reliever available in the UK without prescription and is designed to provide up to 8 hours relief from period pain.

Insect repellent is an important product to take on holiday with you. Jungle Formula offers a wide range of products to help with this very issue. Weldricks Pharmacy stock plug-in devices, lotions and sprays, (some even especially for sensitive skin). See full range.

Should you happen to get bitten, it’s handy to have some cream to soothe. Anthisan Cream is a type of antihistamine that works by relieving the pain, itching and inflammation associated with:

• Insect bites
• Stings
• Nettle rash
• Sunburn, mild burns and scalds
   

Malaria

Malaria is a potentially fatal tropical disease that’s caused by a parasite known as Plasmodium. It’s spread through the bite of an infected female mosquito.

All travellers are advised that no regimen will offer complete protection therefore bite avoidance measures must always be taken. Malarial prophylaxis treatment should be started preferably 1 week (or in the case of mefloquine, up to 3 weeks) before entering the endemic zones. It must be taken regularly and continued for at least 4 weeks after return.