Ben Fogle

Ben Fogle

The ‘Holiday Health Report’ by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society shows millions of Brits are putting their health at risk as they fall ill abroad and take the wrong medicine for their condition.

Our love of far-flung holiday destinations means many of us aren’t prepared for the worst. The research reveals that half of all Brits (50%) who have travelled to countries where tropical diseases are prevalent have suffered illness or infection.

Adventurer Ben Fogle discovered he had a flesh eating bug after returning from a filming shoot in the Peruvian jungle. He was bed ridden for three weeks after the trip and has now been left with an inch wide hole in his arm. Although has just been given a clean bill of health, Ben reveals how the bug could have left him severely facially disfigured.

Worryingly, almost 1 in 9 say they do not even take basic medication and health essentials – such as insect repellents, malaria tablets, and water purification aids – with them on holiday, choosing instead to gamble on buying them abroad if they fall ill.

Some of the most common holiday illnesses Brits suffer from abroad are:

Insect bites – 44%
Diarrhoea – 40%
Sun burn /heat stroke – 37%
Headache /migraine – 20%
Vomiting / food poisoning – 14%
Motion sickness – 14%
Flu / fever / temperature – 13%
Hayfever / allergic reactions – 8%
Cuts / bruises / infections – 5%

In response to the report, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society is encouraging people to visit their local pharmacist to stock up on holiday health essentials before they travel, and to seek advice on what to do should they be struck down with illness abroad.


Tagged in