Vacation with sick child:Vacation is your time off in the year. However, recreation, fellowship and longing for a foreign place do come up a bit short when a sick or injured child is along for the ride. With a little precaution, however, parents escape the most common diseases among children on vacation.
Tips, tricks and treatment methods
Measles, mumps or rubella can affect children at any time. Some illnesses, however, often catch up with little ones while traveling. We would like to tell you about them here.
Nausea on arrival
Anyone who travels with small children knows the problem: Especially on long car trips, boys and girls tend to feel sick and vomit. Once this has happened, a repetition is certain. D
he childlike body quickly conditions itself to the circumstances of nausea. That's why it often happens that children fight with nausea and get into the car pale even before the start of their vacation. Since these are mostly psychosomatic problems, parents should try to make the children enjoy their vacation. To ensure a smooth start to the trip, children should not be woken up in the middle of the night. This uprooting from the normal rhythm leads to initial unrest in the routine. It is better to put children to bed earlier the day before the vacation trip to give them the necessary rest for the strenuous journey.
While driving, nausea can be suppressed by providing children with light entertainment. However, you should make sure that your charges are facing in the direction of travel. Reading books can become a problem – as is well known, this is usually done with the head down. Small screens with the children's favorite series help to provide distraction. But even here you should note that the screens are best attached to the headrests of the driver's seats.
When the sun burns
When the thermometer in Germany once again does not exceed the mark of 22 degrees Celsius, it's time to travel to the warm south. On the beach, in the sea or on exciting excursions through the flora and fauna of the vacation region, however, children are particularly at risk. The sun in the southern climes shines mercilessly from the sky. Can cause severe sunburn or sunstroke in children. It is important to note that especially the Midday sun in southern countries is extremely intense. According to the motto: The more southern, the more dangerous!
Tips against sunburn
The sensitive skin of children is attacked by the sun's rays much faster than is the case with adults. Therefore, children and adults should not use the same sun protection factor. In pharmacies and drugstores, parents can find special children's sun cream that offers a high sun protection factor and prevents the skin from drying out. And if the skin does turn red and a sunburn does occur, parents should first take away the fear of the affected child. Sunburn is painful. Unpleasant – but also only a temporary phenomenon. Especially cooling after-sun creams or sprays provide relief. In addition, direct sunlight in the days following the Sunburn to avoid. An ibuprofen juice helps the inflammation to subside. If the upper body is affected, a wet shirt relieves the pain.
Attention: Even if the packaging advertises the property "waterproof", this is more of an advertising promise that should not be signed 100%. Therefore, parents should reapply sunscreen to their children after each trip to the ocean or pool.
Checklist against sunburn on the beach:
– Sun creams with chemical active ingredients only take effect after 20 minutes. Therefore, apply sunscreen to children in good time. – Provide children with sunscreen frequently. The sunscreen only reaches its specified sun protection factor after being applied three times. – The time children are allowed to be in the sun is calculated by the sun protection factor. This is multiplied by a factor of seven. The result is the time in minutes. – Shady sunbathing areas should always be prioritized with children. Sensitive skin is gently accustomed to the sun. Tanning still takes place. – If you find out about your own skin type in advance, you can determine the skin's own protection time. This helps to correctly assess the sun and to choose the sun protection factor.
Tips against sunstroke
However, the sun does not only attack children's skin, but also their heads. Brain skin through heat. Sun irritated. The problem: children and parents only notice the effects of permanent exposure hours later. Nausea, vomiting, dizziness and in the worst case fever and loss of consciousness are the consequences. Children and babies are particularly often affected, because their thin hair and limited ability to perspire protect their own bodies more poorly.
Parents can easily prevent sunstroke, however. With a Sun hat or a summer cap with neck protection equipped, one takes away the sun its attack surface. Furthermore, the time between 11-15 o'clock for intensive play should be avoided on vacation. Especially in the south, the sun reaches its highest point during this period. Thus also their greatest effect on the human body. If you also provide enough water to drink, sunstroke can hopefully be ruled out during the vacation. Bruising. bruises goes out. What is already a horror in the atmosphere at home, becomes even more so in a foreign environment. The dangers for injuries of children on vacation are manifold. Stepping on a sea urchin causes severe bleeding on feet, ankle bends quickly when playing in the sand; and bruises or broken bones are not uncommon when using a water slide carelessly. It is particularly unpleasant when not only bones but also teeth are affected – and that can happen quickly when slipping.
For quick understanding and explanation when visiting a dentist abroad there are helpful little phrase books, which are limited to the most necessary, namely the most common words, complaints and questions. Printed in the correct language and put in the suitcase, one is thus on a possible Visit to the dentist abroad prepared and do not have to communicate with hands and feet first.
Of course, these accidents cannot be prevented 100%. But you can prepare yourselves for the worst case scenario. Find out best already before the journey where doctors are in hotel or accommodation proximity. It is also worthwhile to have the telephone numbers of emergency rooms at hand. You should also make sure that you have a suitable travel and accommodation package. Abroad health insurance to possess. But beware: There are extra rules for dental emergencies on vacation!
Gastrointestinal diseases
It is also problematic if the child suddenly falls asleep on vacation diarrhea gets. This may be related to the change in diet on the one hand, but also to the quality of the water on the other hand. While Germans are provided with clean and drinkable water in many parts of Germany, the situation is often different abroad. Water from the faucet in the bathroom and kitchen is often enriched with chlorine in tourist areas to keep it clean.
For this reason, children should under no circumstances drink water from the tap, if the water quality has not been clarified exactly. Parents can recognize the quality of the water, for example, by its smell and color. If children nevertheless drink from contaminated pipes, gastrointestinal illnesses are usually pre-programmed. Children will struggle with nausea, frequent vomiting, diarrhea and water loss. In the worst case, the lack of fluids is so great that hospitalization is inevitable.
Therefore should water can only be bought in a restaurant or supermarket. Even for brushing teeth, it is advisable to use store-bought water, which is guaranteed to be clean. In any case, parents should find out before the trip how the drinking water quality is at the vacation destination, to avoid later disease surprises.
fever during the trip
Especially with small children feverish illness quite common. Of course, it can also happen on vacation. Since this condition can quickly become critical, especially for children under 4 months of age, it is advisable to take older children on vacation first. For older children it depends on the level of the fever. From 39 degrees, a doctor should also be consulted. Otherwise, it helps to give the child plenty of fluids and apply cold calf wraps. Fever-reducing suppositories should be given only after consulting a doctor.
Avoid feverish zconditions on vacation as well as at home. Dress your child according to temperature, think of jacket and scarves in strong winds, dry the little ones after bathing and try to prevent the absorption of pathogens.
When the mosquito greets
Last but not least, we also want to point out Insect bites on children enter. Of course, this is usually no less dangerous than at home. Most vacation regions have the same insects as we do. And with bees, mosquitoes and co. we have already learned to deal with. If the swellings are too strong, sliced onion, compresses with vinegar and of course insect gels help here. Should you travel to a more exotic country like Brazil or Indonesia, but it is worth looking at the diseases that – especially mosquitoes – spread in the target country. Because with malaria, Zika and Co. is not to be joked about! In addition, inform yourself at a responsible tropical institute after a Vaccination against the diseases.
Tips for the first-aid kit
Some time ago we published general tips for the first aid kit for travel. If children travel with you, some additional things should be taken along.