Be Safe, Protect Yourself From Hepatitis A

NOV

Be Safe, Protect Yourself From Hepatitis A

You are probably already aware of how important it is to take your health into consideration and protect yourself while traveling, but did you know that Hepatitis A is one of the most commonly developed infectious diseases on travels?

Infectious diseases not necessarily common in Canada can still occur and even be widespread in other locations around the world, and so when you are traveling anywhere foreign, you have a responsibility not only to yourself but to others as well, to ensure that you stay safe and do not contract any of these diseases.

The same goes for Hepatitis A, and although of course there will pretty much always be a risk of you contracting such a disease, fortunately there are some easy steps that you can take which will greatly decrease your risk here.

What is it?

First and foremost let's get on the topic of what Hepatitis A actually is and why it is so scary.

Hepatitis A is a liver disease which causes the liver to swell and stop it from working right. It is caused by a virus, and since people can pass viruses to each other, you can easily get Hepatitis A from someone you meet on your travels.

Now don't think that sexual activity or another type of super close contact is the only way to contract Hepatitis A, because that is just not factual.

Instead, you can get Hepatitis A by eating food that has been prepared by someone with the disease, or even by drinking water that has been contaminated by it.

The worst part of all is that most people do not think about it when they are on vacation and having a good time, and then are not even aware that they have contracted the disease at all until it is in an advanced state.

A few of the most commonly experienced symptoms of Hepatitis A are:

Fatigue
Uneasy stomach
Fever
Stomach pain
Diarrhea

If you ever notice that you are experiencing any of these symptoms of course you are going to want to get checked for Hepatitis A, but the problem is that the symptoms are so general and could be related to so many different illnesses, that people often just ignore them and think they have the common cold or a flu and do not do anything about it.

How to Protect Yourself

Now before you head out on any future travels, obviously it only makes sense to take the proper steps towards protecting yourself, and there are a few things in particular that you will want to do for this.

You will want to get the vaccine for the virus for one, and you should have gotten all your shots in school, although many adults still do not have all the right vaccines.

Check with your doctor to see whether or not you need the Hepatitis A vaccine, and then use other safety precautions to avoid contracting the virus.

This includes washing your hands before and after every meal and after using the toilet, and drinking bottled water and being careful of the food that you are eating when you are in another country.

It is really just all about common sense if you want to protect yourself and not contract one of these awful viruses, so if you want to travel and have a good time, make sure that your health is in check first.

Image: Pathport

TAGS: FOREIGN HEALTH HEALTH CARE HEPATITIS INFECTIOUS DISEASE NEWS PROTECTION TRAVELING

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