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Easter starts and with it the desire to travel, and is that the General Directorate of Traffic has already announced that more than 16 million trips are expected on Spanish roads. Full tanks, overflowing suitcases and a good handful of kilometers ahead to return to the town or reach the beach or that city that we want to discover.

Nobody wants to get sick and less on vacation and away from home, so today I want to give you some small tips with which to anticipate those unforeseen events that can sour part of the trip.

Beware of dizziness

Motion sickness or motion sickness is very common in children between 2 and 12 years old, although it can occur at any age. Without resorting to the use of drugs, here are five tips that will reduce the chances of it happening:

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Avoid traveling right after meals. If it is unavoidable, we will eat little quantity and solid foods.

-Lower the windows of the car a little so that the interior is well ventilated.

-Avoid excessive temperature inside the vehicle, as heat worsens dizziness.

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Drive smoothly, avoiding accelerations, decelerations and sharp turns.

-In the case of children, the ideal is that they sleep during the trip to avoid dizziness.

Choose the right seat to avoid dizziness

Rear-facing seats on trains and buses favor the appearance of dizziness. In case the trip is by boat we will try to travel on deck as long as possible, and on the plane the dizziness is less frequent in the seats located at the height of the wings.

Emergency medication

It is the most important and the most forgotten. We are talking about drugs that we are prescribed to use at specific times: pens prefilled with adrenaline for allergic crises, inhalers for moments of crisis, medicines to use in case of seizures ... This type of emergency medication is not something we use daily, we keep it at home or we carry it in our work backpack in case we have to use it, and that is precisely why we often forget to put it in the suitcase.

Regular medication

It may seem obvious that you have to wear it, but you would be surprised by the number of people who forget their usual medication at home. You go on vacation but your chronic illnesses don't, so you should keep taking it at the usual times. A tip: do not keep it in your suitcase if you are going to check, carry it with you in your hand luggage, and always carry it for more days than you plan to be away from home.

For some time now, the interoperability of electronic prescriptions has allowed you to withdraw your prescribed medicines in pharmacies in other Autonomous Communities other than yours, but this system does not always work as it should, so it is advisable to always carry your medicines with you.

Beware of temperatures

In some areas of the south and the Levant, the mercury is expected to reach 30 degrees. If you travel to these areas, remember that certain medicines cannot be exposed to temperatures above 30ºC, so they should never be stored inside vehicles parked in the sun. Check the indication on the package or ask your pharmacist.

Don't forget the documentation

Nobody expects to have to go to the emergency department of a hospital on vacation, but I assure you that we often have to attend to tourists with some unforeseen health. Within the Spanish territory it would be enough to present the DNI or the driver's license to be able to receive emergency assistance, but it makes things much easier to present the health card of your community. It is also highly recommended that you carry with you a brief paper report with your medical history, allergies and your usual medication. Remember that, with some exceptions, the medical records are not interconnected between the different Autonomous Communities and in case of having to attend you in the Emergency Department we would do it blindly.

If you travel to a country in the European Union, do not forget to apply for the European Health Insurance Card for free and take it with you.

First aid kit for cures

A small toiletry bag with physiological serum, some antiseptic, gauze and tape hardly takes up space and can be used to heal small wounds. Do not forget to include some anti-inflammatory and paracetamol in case you have a few tenths of fever.

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  • Easter
  • Pharmacology