Learn how to avoid common food and medical insurance travel health mistakes. Read my helpful advice.

Top 10 travel
health mistakes

advice you can trust

Top 10 rankings
Travel health mistakes # 2, 3 and 4

Playing culinary "Russian roulette"

Skip unpasteurized
dairy products

These include milk, yogurt and ice cream.

Be careful
about Fresh fruits

Don't eat them unless they are thick-skinned and you have thoroughly washed them with bottled water and peeled them yourself. Even then, you take a slight risk.

Avoid raw and under-cooked
meats and vegetables

Do the same for thoroughly cooked food if it has been left sitting on a serving table too long or at a too-low temperature.

Select an eating
place carefully

Eat only in clean, reputable dining establishments. And above all, avoid street vendors.

Watch what
you drink

Local water and iced beverages are a prime source of diarrhea and other travel-related illnesses in many countries. So drink only bottled water. And never brush your teeth with hotel tap water unless you are positive that the hotel treated that liquid.

Lacking travel medical insurance

The risk of not having
sufficient medical insurance
for your trip abroad is immense

Medical care costs for locals can be relatively low but expensive for foreign visitors. And the uninsured might have to pay, for example, $50,000 or more for an emergency evacuation.

Ask your medical insurance
company if it fully covers your
medical expenses abroad

First, inquire how will and will not be covered on your trip. For instance, you might not be covered while riding a motor bike.

If there are exposure gaps, ask if you can buy supplemental travel medical insurance to eliminate those exclusions. If that's infeasible, buy the coverage from one of the large travel insurance specialist organizations. That's what I do.

Not packing a first aid kit