HEALTH TIPS
IF
BY BARBARA PASH
first the good news.
If you're staying in
the U.S. on your
business trip, the risk of
your catching a major
disease is minimal. "The
.S. is a safe place to
travel in," assures Dr.
Bradley Sack, director of
the International Travel
Clinic of The Johns Hop-
kins Medical Institutions.
"Unless you're going to an
Indian reservation or to
some remote places in Ap-
palachia," he adds, "you're
always in contact with the
medical system."
Dr. Robert Knodell, for-
mer chief of gastroenter-
ology at the University of
Maryland Hospital and
School of Medicine
concurs. "The real prob-
lems arise when you travel
to underdeveloped coun-
tries and you have to have
vaccinations." In America,
he continues, "there are
no particular (medical)
problems in parts of the
country. It would just be
dumb luck if you hit a
restaurant where you got
food sickness. It's not like
abroad."
56
STYLE
Now the bad news. Even
a short trip can disrupt
biorhythms and lead to
problems ranging from air
sickness to constipation.
To head off potential
problems, the two doctors
had specific suggestions.
Dr. Sack recommends
bringing enough of any
prescription medications
you normally take to avoid
problems getting refills out
of state. For mild diarrhea,
an over-the-counter med-
ication like Imodium is
helpful, and for headaches,
pack aspirin or Tylenol, he
says.
Another problem is air
sickness to which, even on
a short trip, some people
are prone. Dr. Knodell
recommends an over-the-
counter product like Dram-
amine or get Scopolomine
patches. "Just don't touch
the patch with your finger
and then put your finger in
your eye," he warns.
Business travelers are
more likely to suffer from
constipation than diarrhea,
for which Dr. Knodell sug-
gests taking along packets
of a dietary fiber like
Metamucil. Hemorrhoid
sufferers may find the
travel-time sitting causes a
flare-up; drinking plenty of
liquids, but not alcohol,
may help, Dr. Knodell says.
Since business travel pri-
marily involves short-term
trips, jet lag is not a
problem. And a good
thing, too, since Dr. Sack,
for one, dismisses the so-
called jet lag "diet." Says
he, "I have not seen any
evidence that the jet lag
diet works. In fact, I have
never found anything that
works for jet lag." However,
the Clinic does sometimes
recommend that long-dis-
tance travelers take along
a prescription sleeping pill
like Halcion so that they
can catch up on their
sleep when they reach
their destinations.
This is not to say that
even short-term trips don't
take some getting used to.
Flying east-to-west is
harder on the body than
flying west-to-east. Dr.
Knodell says, "If you're
flying east-to-west, for the
first few days you'll find
yourself waking up at 4
a.m. The way to get
around that is to go to
bed early the night before
until you get acclimated to
the time change." 0