- Quick facts
- Total days on the road: 586
- Currently in: USA
- Miles Driven: 36821
- Countries Visited: 17
- Days Camping: 389
- Days Indoors: 202
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Traveler’s Diarrhea Part 1: Prevention
{jcomments lock}As many as 50% of all international travelers get diarrhea. Dysentery. The runs. The skids. The squirts. The squiggles. The mung. Flux. Smooth moves. Loose bowels. Loose stools. Code brown. Backdoor trots. Poo sweats. Aztec two-step. And let’s not forget: Montezuma’s revenge.
It doesn’t matter what you call it. Life sucks when you’ve got the shits.
And you’ve got a 50% chance of getting them, so hold on tight. This topic is split into two sections. This article is about the prevention of traveler’s diarrhea. Part two will be about treatment.
Malaria: Risks and Prevention
What is Malaria?
{jcomments lock}Pop quiz. What is the deadliest animal in the world? Give you a hint, jelly fish are number three. Snakes are number two. The number one deadliest animal in the world? The female malaria carrying mosquito.
Malaria is a parasite, carried by mosquitoes. It has no vaccine, but if treated quickly can be cured. The parasite has evolved and exists in several strains. Certain strains have built up resistance to preventative drugs.
Who it Harms Most?
One million people die every year from Malaria. Most of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of them children. Adults build up a resistance to the disease throughout their lives and are much less likely to die from the parasite. Children however, are very susceptible.
As the illness progresses the chance of survival decreases. Families living in rural areas, who may be several days from a clinic, don’t have much time to obtain the drugs needed to cure the disease.
The Truth about all Types of Travel Insurance
{jcomments lock}Travel insurance comes in many different varieties. It’s like a box of chocolates, only the consequence of picking the wrong policy is much worse than getting caught putting half eaten candy back in the box. This article reviews the types of insurance that are commonly associated with “travel insurance”.
Keep in mind that most travel insurance isn’t really for travelers. It’d be better to call it vacation insurance. It’s designed for cruises or other package vacations where a lot of money is spent up front. Most of travel insurance policies aren’t going to help a backpacker who doesn’t have an itinerary or a digital nomad who doesn’t have a permanent address.
First Aid Kits: What you need and why
{jcomments lock}The great Center for Disease Control (CDC), has much more knowledge than I could amass in a lifetime on the topic of international first aid. Here’s why they say you need a first aid kit:
“The purpose of packing a travel health kit is to ensure travelers have supplies they need to—
- manage pre-existing medical conditions and treat any exacerbations of these conditions,
- prevent illness related to traveling, and
- take care of minor health problems as they occur. 1”
Vaccines & Immunizations for International Travel
Vaccines fall into three categories: {jcomments lock}
- Those you got when you were a kid and probably don’t need to worry about.
- Those you might not have gotten as a kid or may need booster shots for.
- Those you never got, because you haven’t been to a place that requires them.
Disclaimer: I’m not a licensed medical expert, nor do I want to be. This is travel advice from a traveler and should be double checked for accuracy. A resource list is at the bottom of this article.
More Articles...
Subcategories
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Plan & Prepare
Plan & Prepare
Planning for a big travel adventure can be a daunting task. There’s much to consider and even more to research. Properly planning your trip will make life easier on the road and allow you to spend less time worrying about details and more time having fun. These articles cover the basics of researching and documenting your travel destinations and other pre-trip activities we find valuable.
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Overlanding
Overlanding
Traveling by vehicle is a great way to see places that are normally difficult to get to. Having a car or truck makes it easier to camp and cook, giving you ways to save money and enjoy natural and cultural heritages that may be out of reach of traditional backpacking travelers. In this section we offer advice for choosing the right vehicle, renting, outfitting and staying safe while driving in foreign countries.
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Health & Safety
Health & Safety
Staying healthy and being safe on the road is 20% preparation and 80% common sense. We’re here to help you be prepared, you’ll have to supply the rest. Know what the risks are, what diseases are common and how to prevent them, where it’s safe to go, how to deal with corruption and avoid petty crime. Pack a first aid kit that can handle common health problems and have insurance for yourself and your stuff in case of emergency. Be ready to deal with the unexpected and have enough information to let your common sense do the rest.
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Cooking
Cooking
It seems all we do is talk about food, what we are eating and when. When people first meet us they quickly come to realize we eat a lot and we eat well.
We thought it is high time we share some of our culinary shenanigans with food lovers alike. If you have any recipes you would like us to add, let us know and we will get right on it.
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Photography
Photography
There are books to be written on the subject of travel photography. Hundreds of thousands of tips to be given on lighting and lenses, composition and cameras. In fact one member of the Life Remotely team spent four years of her life studying it. There is no possible way to pack all that info in one little website, but we vow to do what we can.
Occasionally people ask us how we take certain photos, and what type of gear we recommend. We’ll publish some articles here to help you out. Most are written by request. Send us an email if there is something you’d like to know, and we’ll do our best to say something smart about it.
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Budget & Money
Budget & Money
Budgeting is all about getting the most out of your trip. Putting in this effort before you leave to help reach savings goals, pick good bank accounts and ensure your travels will be as successful, stress free and long as possible. Maintaining and sticking to your budget on the road will help you make better decisions with the least amount of worry. Trust us, it’s not much fun, but financially planning for your trip will always be worth it in the end.
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Camping
Camping
Camping while traveling can be a fun and convenient way to save money and experience new places off the beaten track. It can also be such an uncomfortable and frustrating hassle that you run screaming for the nearest hotel. In this section we share some of our experiences from years of traveling and camping. We’ll help you decide whether or not to camp, how to stay comfortable and sane when you do camp, and what to bring with to make life on the dirt a bit more enjoyable.
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While Traveling
While Traveling
As any experienced traveler knows, you will run into difficulties while you're on the road. How you deal with the hard times will make the difference between a miserable trip and a memorable experience.
Travelers seek to grow themselves personally, and come home with amazing stories to tell. We do this by being prepared for the expected and by dealing with the unexpected with a positive attitude. Here you'll find common advice we've gained through our years spent traveling, and general tips to help you avoid and deal with the tough times.