Travel Health Tips Before Summer Vacation

Summer trips are exciting, but it helps to review a few travel health tips before your family heads out. Motion sickness, dehydration, stomach illness, fever, injuries, and forgotten medications can quickly interrupt a trip.

A little preparation can make travel easier and safer.

• Pack a small travel health kit with basic first aid supplies and needed medications.
• Bring enough prescription and over-the-counter medicine for the full trip, plus extra in case of delays.
• Plan for motion sickness, heat, hydration, food safety, and minor injuries.
• Know the emergency warning signs that should not be ignored until you get home.
• Physicians Premier ER is open 24/7 for Texas families, visitors, and travelers who need emergency care.

Start With a Simple Travel Health Kit

A travel health kit does not need to be big. It just needs to be useful. The CDC recommends preparing a travel health kit with items you may need, especially items that may be hard to find during your trip.

For families, a basic kit may include:

• Prescription medications
• Over-the-counter pain reliever or fever reducer
• Motion sickness medicine, if recommended for your family
• Bandages and gauze
• Antiseptic wipes
• Digital thermometer
• Tweezers
• Hand sanitizer
• Sunscreen
• Insect repellent
• Oral rehydration solution or electrolyte packets
• Copies of important medical information

The CDC’s summer travel guidance also recommends taking enough prescription and over-the-counter medication for the entire trip, plus extra in case of delays.

For children, keep dosing instructions handy. For adults with chronic conditions, bring medication in original containers when possible and keep important medicines in your carry-on or personal bag, not only in checked luggage.

How Can Families Prevent Motion Sickness While Traveling?

Motion sickness can happen in cars, boats, airplanes, trains, and amusement park rides. The CDC explains that it happens when the movement you see is different from what your inner ear senses, which can lead to dizziness, nausea, and vomiting.

For kids, motion sickness can turn a happy road trip into a long afternoon. Some children become quiet, pale, sweaty, or tired before they say they feel sick.

Simple steps may help:

• Let kids look out the front window when possible.
• Avoid heavy meals right before long drives.
• Offer small, bland snacks.
• Keep the car cool.
• Take breaks for fresh air.
• Avoid reading or looking down at screens if that triggers symptoms.
• Ask your child’s doctor before using motion sickness medicine.

If vomiting becomes frequent and your child cannot keep fluids down, watch closely for dehydration.

Stay Ahead of Dehydration and Heat Illness

Summer travel often means heat, walking, long lines, outdoor events, and busy days. In Texas and other warm destinations, dehydration can sneak up quickly.

The CDC lists headache, nausea, dizziness, weakness, irritability, thirst, heavy sweating, elevated body temperature, and decreased urine output as symptoms of heat exhaustion.

Families can lower the risk by drinking water before everyone feels thirsty, taking shade breaks, wearing light clothing, and slowing down during the hottest part of the day.

Young children and older adults need extra attention. Kids may ignore thirst when they are excited, and older adults may not feel thirsty as quickly. If someone becomes confused, faints, has trouble breathing, stops sweating in extreme heat, or seems unusually weak, seek emergency care.

Be Careful with Food and Drinks

Trying new foods is part of the fun of traveling, but food-related illness can be rough on families. The CDC notes that contaminated food or drinks can cause travelers’ diarrhea and other illnesses. The CDC recommends washing hands with soap and water before eating or preparing food, or using hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol when soap and water are not available.

When traveling, especially internationally, the CDC recommends choosing food and drinks carefully. Food that is cooked and served hot is generally a safer choice, while food that has been sitting on a buffet may carry more risk.

For family road trips, keep perishable foods in a cooler with ice packs. Do not leave sandwiches, cut fruit, dairy, or cooked meat in a hot car. Bring water bottles and refill them when safe drinking water is available.

Plan for Injuries and Sudden Illness

Travel often means new activities, unfamiliar places, and excited kids. Cuts, sprains, falls, bug bites, sunburns, and playground injuries can happen even with careful planning.

Most minor injuries can be handled with basic first aid, but some symptoms need immediate attention.

Seek emergency care for:

• Chest pain or chest pressure
• Trouble breathing
• Severe allergic reactions
• Severe abdominal pain
• Fainting or confusion
• Possible broken bones
• Deep cuts or heavy bleeding
• Head injuries with vomiting, confusion, severe headache, or loss of consciousness
• High fever with stiff neck, trouble breathing, rash, or unusual sleepiness
• Signs of dehydration

If the situation feels life-threatening, call 911.

Know Where to Go Before You Need Help

One of the easiest travel health tips is knowing where emergency care is available. If you are visiting family, driving through Texas, or staying close to home this summer, it helps to know your nearest ER before the unexpected happens.

Physicians Premier ER is open 24/7, including nights, weekends, and holidays. Locations are available in multiple Texas communities, including Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Bryan, and the Houston area. Families and visitors can find the closest location on our site.

Summer travel should feel fun, not stressful. With a little planning, safe food and water habits, hydration, and a simple health kit, your family can enjoy the trip with more confidence. And if an emergency does happen, Physicians Premier is always ready to help.

Sources

“Summer Travel,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/summer-travel-abroad
“Pack Smart,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/pack-smart
“Motion Sickness,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/motion-sickness
“Food and Drink Considerations When Traveling,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/food-water-safety
“Travelers’ Diarrhea,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/travelers-diarrhea
“Heat-related Illnesses,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/heat-stress/about/illnesses.html
“Texas Emergency Room Locations,” Physicians Premier ER,
https://mdpremier.com/locations/