MAY 1, 2019

There is nothing worse than being sick while traveling, and many a travel-related illness can be avoided (or at least mitigated). Please, for the love of all things good, take it from me. I’ve been there.

The advice in this post has come from over a decade of full-time travel, often learning the hard way; lessons learned in seemingly innocuous places, as well as truly inhospitable environments. Here’s how I survived (at times, barely).

It’s all about prevention.

In this guide I lay out the exact process for staying healthy while traveling, and preventing nasty things from happening. Because when icky stuff strikes, your budget – as well as your trip – may well be blown.

So let’s make sure icky stuff doesn’t strike, shall we? Let’s get started.

MY TRAVEL MEDICAL KIT

Got a Weird Skin Thing? Here’s What to Do.

Goodness knows, over the years I’ve had a ton of weird skin things. From heat rashes, to bug bites, to allergic reactions and more, skin disturbances can range from mild to severe, and non-serious to life-threatening.

Problem is, when you’re off in the boonies somewhere you don’t speak the language, how do you know?

When I was in Australia, I got 37 spider bites in one fateful night. They looked like they were healing up nicely, until two weeks later when they exploded (literally – it was gross). I asked a pharmacist to look at the carnage; they told me I needed to go to the hospital.

I might have been able to avoid that hospital trip if I had known about Aysa.

Aysa is a free app that is built using AI and the expertise of over 47,000 physicians and nurses. It’s so simple – you just take a picture of your skin condition. The app asks a few follow up questions and gives you a list of possible conditions and treatments. While it’s not a substitute for an in-person medical diagnosis, it is a great preventative health tool that just may help you nip a skin problem in the bud – before it becomes serious.

Perhaps if I had used Aysa when I was in Australia, I’d have learned that some antibiotic cream would have prevented the all-out infection I ended up with.

Learn more ways the Professional Hobo stays healthy while traveling.