It’s said that once you get a taste of traveling, the bug never leaves you. As someone who has a long mental list of future destinations that grows by the day, I can attest to how true that idea is. However, it’s all too easy for vacations to get clouded by bugs of another kind—the bugs that do leave you, but not without wrecking your health for a few days or so.
Traveling exposes us not only to new cities and cultures, but also to a plethora of new experiences—foods, disease-carrying bugs, altitudes, and so forth—that are likely to throw your body out of whack. Combine that with the stress your body’s already under by being far from home, and travel illness becomes a common culprit behind many a clouded vacation. Even if you’re extra careful, sometimes just being a man or a woman can increase the risk factor for certain diseases.
The Great Divide, Gender-Wise
Researchers recently found significant differences between the kinds of diseases men are more likely to get, compared with women, while vacationing. A 2010 study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases analyzed 58,909 people who succumbed to travel-associated illnesses over a ten-year period. According to data, men had higher rates of cardiovascular disease, acute mountain sickness, vector-borne diseases (diseases spread to humans by insects or arthopods, such as malaria via mosquitoes or Lyme disease via ticks), sexually transmitted infections, and frostbite. Women are more prone to gastrointestinal issues, like irritable bowel syndrome and diarrhea, urinary tract infections, oral and/or dental issues, and colds.
Those conducting the study believe that more research is needed to figure out why gender plays a role in travel illness, but there are some possible conclusions. For example, men sweat more than women, so there’s a greater chance that insect repellent will rub off them or that insects will be more attracted to them. Women got treated 13 to 39 percent more than men did for stomach problems in the ten-year period, but it could be that they’re simply more likely to seek treatment, rather than riding out the storm, so to speak.
Keeping Our Heads in the Health Game
This study also pointed out two alarming statistics: more women than men get “pre-travel advice” (which includes medical advice), and, perhaps related to that, sick men are more likely to require hospital stays than sick women are. It’s vital that both male and female travelers remain vigilant about maintaining their health before and during vacations. Even if you’re not climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro or visiting an area with a high mosquito population, that doesn’t mean you’re less likely to get sick. The number one cause of travel illness isn’t mosquitoes or high altitudes, but contaminated food and water—something we stand the risk of consuming anywhere we go. Certain parts of the world pose a greater threat in this regard; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention names Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia as diarrhea danger zones. But that doesn’t mean gastrointestinal issues are relegated to those areas.
The CDC also states that between 20 and 50 percent of international travelers will get diarrhea, and that’s not always due to contamination. Humans are creatures of habit, and our digestive system benefits from that trait. When we deviate from the norm food-wise, it can wreak havoc on the body’s ability to process food efficiently. It can lead not only to diarrhea, but to constipation, stomach cramps, and nausea as well. In the excitement of exploration, it’s easy to lose our focus on health. We’re more interested in trying new cuisines than we are in worrying about how they’re prepared. It’s hard to remember the importance of reapplying insect repellant when caught up in a forest hike. And who wouldn’t be more concerned about the view from a mountaintop than about the body’s need for oxygen adjustment on the way up? If these things aren’t considered and planned for beforehand, chances are, they won’t occur to travelers—male or female—until it’s too late.
