Travel « Weekly Gravy

A bout of traveler’s diarrhea can really put a damper on your vacation. Here, experts break down what traveler’s diarrhea is, including its causes, symptoms and treatment, so you can get back to enjoying your trip as quickly as possible. What is traveler’s diarrhea? Put simply, traveler’s diarrhea is frequent, loose, watery stools that occur after travel to an area with poor public hygiene. Unfortunately, it is the most common illness among travelers, according to Johns Hopkins University. Traveler’s diarrhea causes and risk factors Although traveler’s diarrhea could be the result of stress from traveling or a change in diet, it is usually caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites. According to the Mayo Clinic, you typically contract traveler’s diarrhea after ingesting food or water contaminated with germs from feces. People that are local to the area have often developed an immunity to the bacteria and are unaffected. Traveler’s diarrhea symptoms The Mayo Clinic lists the following symptoms: Abrupt onset of three or more loose watery stools in a day Urgent need to defecate Abdominal cramps Nausea Vomiting Fever Severe symptoms indicate you should see a doctor; these include: Diarrhea lasting longer than two days Dehydration Severe abdominal or rectal pain Black or bloody stools Fever over 102 degrees Fahrenheit In children, traveler’s diarrhea can cause severe dehydration in a relatively short time; call your child’s… read on > read on >

Consider yourself a lifesaver if you opt for an electric vehicle next time you buy or lease a new car. Electric cars can save millions of lives and reduce health care costs by improving air quality so people can breathe better and freer, according to a new report by the American Lung Association. Zero-emission electric vehicles don’t emit exhaust gas or other pollutants into the atmosphere. Instead of gasoline, these vehicles are powered by batteries that can be charged at charging stations. If all new cars, pick-up trucks, and SUVs sold by 2035 were zero-emission, there would be up to 89,300 fewer premature deaths, 2 million fewer asthma attacks, 10.7 million fewer lost workdays, and a savings of $978 billion in public health benefits across the United States by 2050, according to lung association projections. “Transportation is a leading source of air pollution and climate change pollution, and we will continue to have challenges meeting clean air standards until we transition passenger vehicle sales to zero-emission,” said report author Will Barrett, senior director for clean air advocacy at the American Lung Association. The new report also projects that the nation’s electric grid will be powered by clean energy instead of fossil fuels by 2035. This grid produces electricity via renewable energy generators, such as off-shore wind, land-based wind, hydropower, solar power and other sources. “The… read on > read on >

Travelers to the United States will now only need a single bivalent COVID vaccine from either Pfizer or Moderna to enter the country, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday. The loosening of vaccination requirements for foreign travelers comes as many other countries have already done so. “Because some traveler vaccine records might not specify whether recent Moderna or Pfizer doses received were bivalent, CDC will consider anybody with record of a single dose of Moderna or Pfizer vaccine issued on or after August 16, 2022, to meet the requirements,” because that was when bivalent vaccines first became available, the agency said in an update to its website. Earlier this month, the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration changed the vaccine schedule so that unvaccinated Americans could be considered fully vaccinated with just get one dose of bivalent vaccine instead of the earlier versions, CBS News reported. Another federal agency, the U.S.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, announced that healthcare workers would be considered “fully vaccinated” with the one bivalent dose. Travel industry officials have said they expected the vaccination requirement to be allowed to expire altogether, CBS News reported. At this point, the Transportation Security Administration has renewed the requirement through May 11. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said there was no update on… read on > read on >

Traffic deaths are down on U.S. roadways, but the small drop pales in comparison to the surging rate of recent years. Deaths in traffic crashes fell 0.3% last year compared to 2021, according to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). On average, crashes claimed the lives of 117 people a day — more than 42,000 in all for 2022. “Any reduction in roadway deaths is positive, but the minor decrease announced by NHTSA follows an unprecedented pandemic-fueled surge in roadway fatalities and dangerous driving,” said Jonathan Adkins, chief executive officer of the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). He spoke in a news release from the governors’ group responding to the NHTSA announcement. The GHSA noted that traffic deaths surged 30% over the past decade. Between 2019 and 2022, they rose from 36,355 to 42,795, an increase of nearly 18%. Dangerous driving behaviors, including speeding, impaired driving and not wearing a seat belt all increased between 2020 and 2021. Pedestrian deaths reached a 40-year high of nearly 7,500 in 2021, according to a GHSA analysis. Early indications are that 2022 was also a deadly year for people walking, the group said. “These roadway deaths are heartbreaking, unacceptable and preventable,” Adkins said. “We will not accept such incremental safety progress after two years of escalating deaths and more dangerous driving on U.S. roads.” Adkins pointed… read on > read on >

Summer is almost here, and its arrival brings opportunities for many people – including those who suffer with allergies and asthma — to plan vacations away from home. A recent article titled “Allergies don’t take a vacation” in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology encourages those with allergies and asthma to consider their conditions and consult with their allergist before embarking on a vacation to ensure maximum good health and opportunities for enjoyment while away from home. Annals is the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. The article stressed that advance preparation for a vacation can ease the anxiety allergy and asthma patients sometimes face with the idea of being away from home and their regular care. Simple measures can make the vacation run more smoothly — like making sure prescriptions are up to date and filled so that you don’t run out while traveling. Consider bringing extra medications to use as needed for exacerbations of your allergic disease. It is also good to have your allergist’s contact information and research the location of pharmacies near to where you’ll be staying. Those with hay fever or nasal allergies have different concerns than those with asthma or food allergies or eczema. Consider the following tips, depending on which allergic condition you suffer with: Allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (nasal and eye allergies) Consider a… read on > read on >

Marijuana legalization in the United States appears to be driving an increase in car crash deaths due to a jump in “intoxicated driving,” researchers say. In 4 out of 7 states that legalized recreational cannabis, deaths from car crashes rose 10%, according to the University of Illinois Chicago study. On a brighter note, suicide and opioid overdose deaths declined in the states that legalized recreational marijuana. “Overall, this study provides evidence of the potential harms and benefits of legalizing recreational markets,” said lead author Samantha Marinello, a postdoctoral research associate in the university’s School of Public Health. “A potential unintended consequence of legalizing recreational cannabis is an increase in intoxicated driving and crash deaths,” she added. “Therefore, there is a need for policies and public health initiatives to reduce driving under the influence.” As of December, 21 states and Washington, D.C., allowed the sale of recreational marijuana to adults age 21 and older. Where folks can legally toke, it’s likely people are driving under the influence of cannabis or cannabis in combination with another drug such as alcohol, Marinello said. However, this study cannot prove cause and effect, she added. Some people may believe driving high is safe. “Studies of cannabis users have found safety perception is a strong predictor for cannabis-intoxicated driving,” Marinello said. There is evidence that many cannabis users do not believe… read on > read on >

Wastewater research isn’t for the squeamish, but it can get to the bottom of questions about such things as the effectiveness of COVID-19 air travel restrictions. Tests of toilet tank water from flights entering the United Kingdom helped Welsh scientists determine that steps meant to keep the virus from traveling among countries appear to have failed. “Despite all the intervention measures that the U.K. had in place to try to stop people with the illness getting on flights to the U.K., almost every single plane we tested contained the virus, and most of the terminal sewers, too,” said researcher Davey Jones, a professor in the School of Natural Sciences at Bangor University in Wales. “That might have been because people developed symptoms after testing negative; or were evading the system, or for some other reason,” Jones said in a university news release. “But it showed that there was essentially a failure of border control in terms of COVID surveillance.” For their study, the researchers tested the toilet tank water taken from long- and short-haul flights entering Britain at three airports — Heathrow, Edinburgh and Bristol — between March 8 and March 31, 2022. They also collected samples from sewers connected to arrival halls in the airport terminals and from a nearby wastewater treatment plant. During those three weeks, almost all planes had SARS-CoV-2 in their… read on > read on >

Travel can be fun, but taxing. As the pandemic ebbs and people venture back out into the world, an expert from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston offers tips for ensuring a healthier, more peaceful vacation or work trip. “Though frequent travel can boost your mood and positively impact your mental health, keep in mind that it’s a two-way street,” said Dr. Mike Ren, assistant professor of family and community medicine at Baylor. “While traveling, it is important to keep up your physical and mental well-being to maximize the beneficial effects of travel.” Common symptoms of travel fatigue include trouble sleeping, feeling disengaged, having higher stress or anxiety levels, and overindulging in food or alcohol. Someone might need to take a break from traveling to reset, if symptoms are severe. Ren suggests talking to a doctor about whether a pause is needed or if symptoms don’t resolve. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Make sure you are up to date on all your vaccinations, particularly for international travel, and if you are on prescription medications, make sure you have an adequate supply for travel and a few days upon return,” Ren said in a Baylor news release. “Make sure to maintain a good level of hygiene by washing your hands often and take advantage of telehealth visits while traveling if symptoms… read on > read on >

THURSDAY, Dec. 29, 2022 (HealthDay News) – All travelers flying from China to the United States will soon be required to produce a negative COVID test or show proof of recovery if they’ve had a recent COVID infection, U.S. health officials announced Wednesday. The new rule, set to go into effect on Jan. 5, was created in response to a surge in COVID cases in China and the “lack of adequate and transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data being reported from” that country, the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention said in an agency news release. “What we want to avoid is having a variant enter into the U.S. and spread like we saw with Delta or Omicron,” Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., told the Associated Press. The new requirement applies to people aged 2 and older flying from China and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. It also applies to those who’ve been in China within the past 10 days and are flying to the United States through Incheon International Airport in South Korea, Toronto Pearson International Airport and Vancouver International Airport, both in Canada. Those three airports account for the majority of plane passenger traffic from China and its surrounding regions, the CDC noted. Passengers will need to supply a… read on > read on >

China plans to roll back some of its strict COVID-19 controls, including allowing more of its people to travel abroad. During the pandemic, the country has limited passports, allowing them only for family emergencies or some work travel, but the government announced Tuesday that it will begin taking applications for tourism passports on Jan. 8, the Associated Press reported. The National Immigration Administration of China will also take applications to extend, renew or reissue visas, the AP reported, noting that the agency hasn’t said when it might take applications for new visas. As the news hit, travel companies said they experienced a surge in website searches for visa information and international ticket bookings to places, including to the United States. Other popular sites were Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Britain and Australia. This could also lead to additional spread of the coronavirus as China is currently experiencing a COVID-19 surge, the AP reported. Reports from cities have suggested that the ongoing COVID wave in China has infected tens and possibly hundreds of millions of people, the AP reported, and could lead to between 1 million and 2 million deaths in that country through late 2023. Some countries, including Japan and India, have started requiring travelers from China to undergo COVID tests for the virus. South Korea tests travelers if they have elevated temperatures, the AP reported,… read on > read on >