Travel Health & Safety Tips
Packing for your trip means thinking about three important factors that may affect your health, safety and well-being:
- Function and purpose - what will I be doing, and what clothing is suitable for those activities? How do I want (or need) to present myself to others?
- Comfort - what clothes will keep me comfortable on the journey and during my visit?
- Ease of care - can I wash this item? Will it crease? Will it 'go' with other things in my wardrobe?
Here are some tips for what to wear in different circumstances - but why not send us your own health and safety-related tips for what to wear abroad? We'd love to learn from your experiences!
Our Top Tip
Always take a large sarong or lightweight pashmina with you. These have endless uses - we've even heard of one doubling up as a makeshift sling for an injured arm! More often it will:
- Keep you warm on a chilly flight.
- Cover your head and bare arms when visiting temples or other religious sites.
- Shade you from the sun.
- Wrap around you like a dress or skirt when you want to visit the beach or poolside bar.
- Double up as a beach towel.
- Provide extra warmth on cooler evenings.
- Provide warmth when the air conditioning is fierce.
Check out our beautiful cashmere pashmina available to buy in a wide range of colours >
Hot Climes
There are a number of specialist fabrics in use such as antimicrobial clothing to repel germs, clothing with insect repellent properties and UV ray blocks. There is not always clear evidence about how effective these are, but items are readily available from high street camping shops and online suppliers.
Zipped trousers are useful - they turn into shorts when required - very versatile.
Take a fleece or warm jumper because mornings and evenings can get chilly even when the days are very hot.
If you're prone to yeast infections (thrush) or cystitis, take skirts rather than trousers and loose cotton underwear.
Silk is said not to absorb body odours as much as other fabrics.
Bug-Beating Clothing Tips
Chemically impregnated clothes can be bought or treat your own at home. DEET is an effective repellent, and permethrin is an insecticide - but be sure to read the small print on how to use these products.
- Avoid blue clothing in Africa - the tsetse flies are drawn to the colour blue, and their bite can give you African Sleeping Sickness (trypanosomiasis).
- Tuck trousers into your socks and wear shoes or boots, not sandals, when out walking. That way you'll prevent ticks or leeches from getting their teeth into you.
- Mosquitoes will find it difficult to bite you through closely woven fabrics, and generally the more you're covered up, the better protected you'll be.
Sun Protection
- Sun hats - essential. A large brim will protect your face, neck and shoulders against over-exposure.
- Sunglasses - make sure they protect you against UVA and UVB rays (the label should state if they do this). Good quality, wrap-around glasses offer protection against glare and eye discomfort, and possibly long-term damage too.
- Sun screen
Cold Climates
Sunglasses - make sure they protect you against UVA and UVB rays (the label should state if they do this). Good quality, wrap-around glasses offer protection against glare and eye discomfort, and possibly long-term damage too.
High altitude and snow increase the effects of UVB rays which cause sunburn and skin cancers. Cover up and protect exposed skin with a sun block.
Wear a base layer that has a 'wicking' effect. These clothes take perspiration away from the body so that it can't cool and leave you wet and more prone to the cold.
Personal Safety
Avoid wearing clothes with prominent logos, brands or slogans which may be offensive to others and incite hostility.
If you're going to engage in activities such as sports or hobbies, consider taking your own safety equipment with you. For instance your own horse-riding hat, motorbike helmet, diving gear or sailing life-vest. Then you'll be sure that it fits correctly and is of an appropriate standard.
Leave sentimentally-precious items such as jewellery at home just in case of loss or theft abroad.
Use a concealed money belt for cash or valuables when you're out and about, or put them in a front inside pocket. There are waterproof cash containers available now to wear whilst swimming. Then you can use your handbag for easily replaceable items such as cosmetics and guide books, so it's not such a disaster if your bag is stolen.
Don't carry large amounts of cash - leave it in the hotel safe.
Take a spare 'fake' purse containing out of date credit cards and small denominations of cash. If you're mugged you can hand this over instead of your genuine valuables.
Avoid wearing flashy, expensive (or expensive-looking) jewellery and watches, or making your mobile phone visible.
Observe and mirror how locals dress and behave so that you don't draw unwelcome attention to yourself. Make sure you're dressed appropriately for the locality - e.g. a bikini top may be OK on a beach but not in the town.
Disruptive pattern material (DPM) or camouflage clothing is illegal in some countries and objectionable in many others. Although combat-style trousers and clothing has a fashionable image in the West, you don't want to be mis-interpreted elsewhere.
Specific Needs
We are researching clothing which is designed to meet specific health and physical needs - can you help? For instance:
- Who supplies easy-access clothes for people requiring dialysis abroad?
- What mastectomy swimwear works for you?
- Any tips on dressing well with a stoma?
Tell us your experiences and help us to advise others.
Author: Dr Adrienne Willcox
PhD; MA (Ed); BSc (Hons, 1st Class); RN; Registered nurse teacher; Lic.Ac; Fellow: Higher Education Authority; Member: Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Glasgow).
