Travel China – Health and Health Insurance

China is a country with a remarkably healthy population despite its climatic variations. However, with such a vast territory, standards of hygiene can and do vary from place to place. With this in mind, China tourist and visitors should be aware of potential hazards and exercise due caution during their China travel.

Before Traveling
For long trips, especially those that involve walking fair distances, hilly countryside, or mountainous terrain, it can prove to be very tiring. Before leaving for China follow the recommendations to enjoy a trouble-free tour:
Contact your doctor for health advice or a thorough check up if you have not had one recently. This is very important for all but particularly for those with a history of coronary or pulmonary problems.

Check your health insurance policy. If it does not provide for overseas visits, consider requesting your insurer to extend the policy. It is also advisable to take on travel insurance to cover you in the event of accidental injury as well as cover for medical expenses.

During Your China Trip
The easies way to avoid illness is to follow the basic rules of hygiene throughout your China journey. In particular, this applies to restaurants and roadside snack bars. Never eat raw or undercooked food in China. This includes salads. It is better to carry your own chopsticks and a metal bowl with a lid for rail trips and meals in small roadside restaurants. Fruit and vegetables should be washed thoroughly in filtered water, then peeled or boiled.

Drink only boiled or bottled water, even though the tap water is said by some people to be drinkable, irrespective of where you are. Hotels usually supply boiled water that is safe for drinking and for cleaning your teeth. It is also the custom in China for tea to be available in hotel bedrooms. Supplies of both boiled water and tea are regularly replenished. Bottled water and carbonated drinks are readily available. In some remote areas, water purification tablets are recommended for travelers to carry and use when neither boiled water nor bottled drinks are available.

During your China trips, the adjustment to climatic variations and different foods may result in colds or digestive disorders that, although rarely serious, may impede one's enjoyment. Diarrhea can frequently affect travelers and is generally caused by a change of diet, or sometimes by contaminated food or water. It is wise to carry some anti-diarrhea capsules, such as Imodium. Should your symptoms persist, seek professional advice to stop the problem from becoming serious.

Toilets off the beaten tourist track tend to be primitive so it is useful to bring along your own sanitary necessities and moist towels when venturing outside your hotel. Air pollution in the large cities is severe, particularly in winter. Respiratory ailments are common.

Some regions of China, including Tibet, Xinjiang, Sichuan and Yunnan have very high altitudes. These can put strain on your health. People with heart disease or high blood pressure are advised not to travel in these areas in view of the serious physical problems that can occur. All China travelers should avoid strenuous activity until they are fully acclimatized.

To sum up, careful preparation will ensure the success of your trip. What may seem to be a bit of a nuisance will go a long way to help you avoid problems!
Travel insurance is recommended. Purchased through your local travel agent, it can protect your investment if for some unforeseen reason you must cancel. It should also protect you in medical emergencies while traveling and for lost baggage.