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Show Travel tips Hints for healthier, pleasant trip by Dolores Buckley Planning a trip to a foreign country? Here are some hints for a healthier and more pleasant trip: If you do need a passport for your trip, do get your passport application in immediately. Passport offices have advised ad-vised that there is an unexpected large number of passport applications being turned in this year and at this time it takes a minimum of six weeks to process pro-cess your application. Local government regulations throughout most of the world no longer require the International Certificate of Immunization, but if you are traveling to an exotic area it is best to check with your travel agent on necessary vaccinations vac-cinations or in the "Yellow Book,"-Health Book,"-Health Information for International Travel available from the U.S. Department Depart-ment of Health, Education and Human Services Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia 30333. If you take medication on a regular basis, you'll want to ask your physician about any adjustments in dosage or schedule that may be necessary due to change in altitude or different climates. You should make sure your supply will last you until you return. If you take a cruise, or you are not used to flying, ask your physician to recommend special mediation for motion sickness just in case you might need it. It can save your trip! If you are traveling with children, you'll want to bring first aid strips for foreign scrapes and tourists' blisters. Believe me, they are a must. The foot products section of your travel pharmacy phar-macy deserves special attention. Especially if you are not used to walking walk-ing much at home. Remember you won't enjoy the sights very much if your feet hurt. Feminine napkins and tampons are generally available in most places, but if you're going to be well off the beaten path, stock up on them. The same is true for contraceptive products. By the beautiful ocean the water may look tempting but what you can't see might make you sick. Water quality throughout most of the world is questionable ques-tionable at best. Sewage, industrial pollutants and parasites could make swimming a serious health risk. Unless it is in a pool and you can smell the chlorine, beware! Beach areas that are known to be safe will invite another very common problem, pro-blem, SUNBURN, despite repeated warnings. Believe me, these warnings are worth repeating. Overexposure to :; the sun can do more than ruin your vacation or turn you into a pink peeling mess, it could give you chills, fever, blisters, nausea and a trip to the hospital. Therefore DON'T ever go outside without wearing a sunscreen. Not only on the beach or by the pool it also includes in-cludes that walk around town in tropical areas. Make use of that great sunhat of yours. Never ever try for an all at once one day tan. All you'll get is misery. Beware of high altitudes, even if you are cool, the thinner atmosphere means more sun ! Eat, drink and be wary. Exotic cuisine, as delightful as it may be, a traveler's diarrhea can ruin your vacation. vaca-tion. To help avoid it, be careful of what you eat and drink, especially in warm climates. Number one rule, don't trust the water. Drink bottled beverages only without ice (ice is water, too) and never assume the alcohol in a beverage can kill bacteria. Salads and fruits need special con-. con-. sideration too. No food washed in water is absolutely safe. The fruits you eat should be completely peeled by you. In some countries dairy products like milk, butter and cheese are not pasturized. Eat well, but safely to avoid nausea and diarrhea so often associated with travel. But if worse comes to worse, and you even brushed your teeth with bottled water, and you still wind up with travelers' diarrhea. What can you do? According to a recent medical study by a team of doctors of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University of Texas, Health and Science Center, there is effective help within 24 hours, "Pepto Bismol." It might be available in some foreign countries but better safe than sorry, pack your own bottle and a box of tablets, just in case. Your wardrobe, wear it in good health! Choose your wardrobe for health as well as style. Comfort is always important, so pack the kind of clothes you feel your best in. One absolute ab-solute must is a good pair of walking shoes. Make sure they're well broken in before leaving home. For tropical areas, clothes should be lightweight and loose fitting. Natural fabrics "breathe" better than some synthetics. Light colors that reflect the sun's rays will help too. In some areas evenings do get abruptly cooler after the sun goes down, so don't forget your sweater. Speaking about wardrobe, here are some helpful luggage tips: Do use sturdy lockable luggage. External Ex-ternal durable luggage tages are a must. DO remove old destination tags to avoid possible confusion. Make a list of luggage contents and keep it with you. It can be extremely helpful should your luggage ever get lost in spite of all precautions. Do avoid overpacking your bags. Be especially careful with canvas or other soft type luggage. Treat fragile items with care. Pack breakables in your carry-on bag! Have larger items packed for shipping. Keep your valuables with you. Do not check house keys or car keys, insulin or other medication needed; money, jewelry, legal documents, passports, tourist cards or your airline tickets! To make sure your luggage is on the same flight you are, do check in early. Monitor your luggage claim checks and make sure the tags are attached to your bags and show the correct destination. Keep the claim checks secure and easily easi-ly accessible. Allow ample connecting time between bet-ween flights. Remember that bags do look alike. Do not rely on style or color when reclaiming your luggage, check your ID tag. Planning a vacation or a visit to your friends or relatives across the U.S. or . somewhere in the world? How do you go about getting the best bargains and cheapest possible fares? You call your travel agent, their service is entirely free to you. Travel agencies do represent all airlines, tour companies, hotels and motels, rent a car companies. They can provide you with brochures, prices and schedules and other very helpful information. infor-mation. This is very important since the time of the deregulation of the airlines. With all the special fares and rules and regulations on this very competitive com-petitive market, you must realize that if you call the airlines direct they are only interested in selling you their product, not their competitiors. Therefore, they are not familiar with other airlines' specials and bargain fares. If you want the best fare, most direct route, and helpful information, call a travel agent. Otherwise it can very well happen that you are sitting on the plane next to a person who paid $75 for his ticket while you forked out $250 for the exact same flight, and that is very upsetting to anyone. Plan far ahead as many bargain fares have time and ticketing restrictions restric-tions and advance purchase requirements. re-quirements. Especially for peak season travel like summer vacation time, long holiday weekends, Easter, Thanksgiving, Labor Day and Christmas. Keep in mind that these economy, bargain and special discount fare seats are capacity controlled, and in order to take advantage of some "great savings, it is essential that you book early. Airlines have been having fare increase in-crease almost monthly at a rate of five percent each time. If you do purchase your tickets early, most airlines guarantee their fare at the purchased price. That can amount to quite some savings. There are children- fares, senior citizen fares, pair fares, box top fares, family plans, excursion fares, super-saver super-saver fares, etc. Each airline has something different, different rules and restrictions. Your travel agent knows them all. Let them help you at not extra cost to you. YOU don't pay for their services, the airlines do. It is important to have a good reliable and well informed travel agent, one with a computerized office who has immediate im-mediate access to all airlines, commuter com-muter carriers, hotels and rent a car companies. Think about the long lines at airline ticket counters of a busy airport. You can avoid all that with your ticket already in hand, you have the convenience conve-nience of curbside baggage check in. If you have carry-on luggage only, you may go direct to the gate. Your travel agent provides you with service. They can make your trip a more enjoyable one because your travel should have only pleasant surprises. |