ALC Health’s Sales & Marketing Director, Andrew Apps will be a keynote speaker at both the North (Manchester, 21st November) and South (London, 19th November) AIMIP (association of international medical insurance providers) conferences being held this week in the UK. www.alchealth.com/aimip-seminars)

For frequent fliers, the announcement from the FAA ranks right up there with the greatest pronouncements in the history of man – soon, you won’t have to power down your devices as your plane takes off or lands. Yes!

Courtesy: Business2Community.com

This week, the Federal Aviation Administration released new rules expanding the use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) on planes. The change lifts the ban on use during takeoff and landing. You’ll now be able to read your tablet, listen to your music and play your games whenever you’re on the plane, whether it’s on the ground or in the air writes John Miller

You still can’t send email or text messages from your mobile phone.

As someone who reads books on an iPad, I’m happy. No, this isn’t life altering, but it always felt silly to stop reading for 20 minutes, just cuz. I figured it was their way of getting me to browse SkyMall.

We’ve all been there before. It’s day two of your trip and you have horrible food poisoning. Or you’re lobster red after the first day at the beach. As much as we plan a trip down to the last detail, we must also accept that sometimes things end up going down the tubes reports the healthtravelblog.com

While you can’t always avoid illness or injury, you can take extra safety precautions while traveling. While some health concerns are more serious than others, here are the most common ones that occur among travelers:

Gastrointestinal Problems: Affecting 20 to 60 percent of travelers, digestive issues are most common in countries where food and water hygiene are important, such as Mexico. Prior to your trip, be sure to research the local water and food safety. Contaminated water often causes traveler’s diarrhea and it can also spread diseases such as cholera, hepatitis A, and typhoid. Check to see if tap water is unsafe for drinking. Otherwise, play it safe with boiled, bottled, or chemically purified or filtered water. You should also avoid adding ice to your drinks, brushing your teeth with tap water, and even certain foods that may be contaminated, such as salads, raw fruits and veggies, and street food.

Insect Bite-Related Health Issues: Mosquitoes, flies, lice, bed bugs, and mites are all capable of spreading diseases such as malaria, dengue, yellow fever, typhus, and Lyme disease. To prevent potentially harmful bug bites, stay in an accommodation that’s air-conditioned (if possible). To keep bugs out of your room, use a bed net and hang mesh screens on doors and windows. When outside, wear insect repellent and light colored, loose fitting clothes to deter bugs. Be sure to cover up at night, since that is when mosquitoes carrying malaria are most active.

Accidents and Injuries: The best way to prevent accidents and injuries is to use common sense and take basic safety precautions. Read up on the local road and transportation safety, avoid traveling alone, and be aware of your surroundings at all times.

Sexually Transmitted Infections: Yes, this is an extremely common health risk among travelers, for, well, obvious reasons. The best way to avoid STIs? Use a condom or practice abstinence while you’re away.

Sunburn: Practice general sun safety to prevent sunburn from ruining your trip. Wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen that has an SPF of at least 15 and re-apply every two hours. Try to stay out of the sun during the middle of the day and be sure to wear a hat and light colored, loose fitting clothing.

To further protect yourself from health risks, pay a preventative visit to your doctor for any required vaccinations and/or medications, such as malaria pills.

Arriving at your destination is wonderful. When you’re traveling and visiting a new place, getting your boots on the ground is a moment filled with excitement and relief. Getting there, however, can be hell. Traveling, and especially traveling abroad, is often fraught with worry, tension and inconvenience. From rushing to the airport to standing in the security lines to the physical discomfort of flying, it can be a drag. But the Internet offered up plenty of help this week. It begins with leaving your house and heading to the airport, which is often a moment when people wonder about whether or not they left the iron plugged in.

To help ease your concern, Jaunted provides a checklist of five things to do before you leave for the airport. And Huffington Post’s Suzy Strutner talks to Martha Stewart to get her secrets for packing for a trip.

Once you arrive at the airport, you’re standing in line – you can’t move, but you have anxiety about getting to your gate in time. You know what would help? Soothing lighting and comfortable couches. And a couple of airports are delivering. The Wall Street Journal’s Scott McCartney reports on the transformation of security lines into a place where you feel like you might want to hang out for a while.

If you’re worried about the physical effects of the TSA’s full body scanners, or perhaps just modest, USA Today’s Chris Elliot tells you how to opt out of the full body scan. Of course, the tension often continues when you get onto the plane and a free-for-all breaks out over the overhead bins. The New York Times’ Martha White reports that one way to circumvent the battle for bins is to pay a little more – the airlines will gladly give preferential treatment to people who pay more.

Reproduced by kind permission of the healthytravelblog.com

In the developing world, malaria is a huge problem – 660,000 people die each from malaria and travelers know the need to get malaria shots before some trips. But here’s some good news on the battle against malaria – a new vaccine currently in clinical trials seems very promising; Medical News Today reports the World Health Organization is excited about the vaccine can protect young children for up to 18 months after being vaccinated.

Reproduced by kind permission of the healthytravelblog.com

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/267249.php

Travelers to China need to be aware of a major smog alert in the northern part of the country. Reuters reports that Chinese officials have pretty much shut down one of their major cities, Harbin in Heilongjiang province, due to ridiculously heavy smog.

The index that measures particulate matter in the air clocked in at 1,000 today. A level above 300 is considered hazardous; the World health Organization recommends a daily level no higher than 20. So, yeah, this is thick smog.

Schools are closed, the airport is closed and traffic is a mess in Harbin, a city of 11 million people. Visitors to the region should take precautions. A stagnant weather pattern has allowed the nasty mix of pollutants to collect over the city.  Officials say the dangerous conditions will likely last another 24 hours.

China is notorious for its smog – the high profile destinations of Beijing and Shanghai are both considerably better off than Harbin, but are still more than five times above the WHO’s healthy standard.

If you ever find yourself in a smog alert when you’re traveling, here are some quick tips to follow:

• Exercise indoors.
• Pay attention to your body. If you feel lethargic, get indoors.
• Pay attention to the clean air index.
• Consider a breathing mask, such as the ones worn in the image above.
• If you have asthma or another breathing condition, talk to your physician – ideally before traveling.

If you’re headed to northern China, keep your ears open for news updates.

reproduced by kind permission of the healthytravelblog.com

A great day out in the ‘campo’ writes Campbell Ferguson of this year’s ALC Health Sponsored Charity walk starting with a refreshing walk upriver from Benahavis, through the bordering pine woods.

It’s so lovely to walk in the warmth with no bogs or mud underfoot. Turning left at the reservoir dam and leaving the ‘easy 1’s behind, we started to climb, soon coming out of the trees in the valley onto the open countryside. Then we started to realise how warm the day was going to be, excellent for mid-October. Thankfully we would be back in the ‘pueblo’ before the real heat developed.
We passed along stony tracks to the heights, with only one detour, stopping upon occasions for the few stragglers to catch up. We really were an evenly matched group. From the top we descended a stony, pebble strewn path down towards the trees and the reservoir. A few slips and slides saw us walking along the water’s edge, admiring the geese and lined up along the barrier for the group photo. A gentle stroll along the road back to the village and the steep climb up to the square and we were there!
Welcome drinks were ordered; most refreshing foot massages partaken; and excellent traditional Spanish meal devoured, all in the gentle breezy sunshine. Good company, well organised walk and meal, so an excellent day. Congratulations to all involved and especially to the sponsors and massagers who made the day doubly satisfying.