From its serene natural peach to the great vehemence of its people, from extreme mountain adventures to relaxing nature walks, the Himalayan nation Nepal is a dreamland of every adventure geek. This country offers an abundance of treasure troves that ignite a feeling of charm and charisma in every soul. Despite its most iconic beauty, a traveller always needs to be mindful of some health-related issues and hygiene while planning a trip.
It becomes more important when it comes to the case of Nepal Trekking. Wherever you are, whatever you do, there is always a need to take proper care of health to get acclimatized to its contrasting environments you encounter.
Enlisted below are some of the valuable tips to stay healthy while you are trekking in Nepal
1. Get Immunized Before Going for Trekking in Nepal
Whenever you are travelling to another country, your body experiences a change due to environmental as well as several other related factors. Due to being in a different atmosphere than the country you belong to, facing such situations is an obvious cause. Due to the hostile environments, our body usually takes time to get acclimatized to the new environments. There are high chances of getting allergies or many other health-related issues.
Therefore, the best decision to get rid of the severe kind of diseases and allergies is to get yourself immunized. Immunization reduces the risk of getting sick and it also makes your body fit for trekking as well as getting indulged in the adventurous activities. You must take some vaccines well prescribed by the doctors before setting off for any tours.
2. Don’t Forget to Drink Clean Water While in Nepal Voyage
If you are keen to stay healthy while travelling and trekking in Nepal, then start with preferring only clean drinking water. Make it a practice during the entire tour as the highest point of necessity. There are several water borne diseases that you may get suffered from while in Nepal. So, use a clean source of drinking water to avoid any such diseases.
Bottled Water: Drink bottled water only and do check the sealing and packaging date before you buy the water bottles. Dispose of the used bottles in a safe place.
Purifying Tablets: Always keep the purifying tablets with you because at some places you don’t get access to buy bottled water. In that case, you will have no other option than drinking water from the taps or streams. So, you may add the purifying tablets to make it clean and potable for drinking purpose.
Iodine: You can add 5-6 drops of Lugol’s Iodine in 1 litre of water. It kills all disease-causing microbes.
Also, drink as much water as you can while trekking in Nepal. It keeps you hydrated and energetic during the entire tour.
3. Focus on Your Food Habits
Nepalese follow the distinguished food habits from foreigners. They are fond of spicy and oily food that a sensitive stomach barely digests. So, the chances of getting suffered from Gastro-intestinal problems increases in such situations.
While travelling in Nepal,you must ensure eating lesser to remain healthy. Also, avoid having street foods because they contain a high content of microbial pathogens. Make it a point that you don’t try any uncooked food. Such food might cause severe health-related issues. Staying healthy during Nepal travel directly relates with the food you eat. Donot compromise on food quality.
Eat from Good and Reputed Restaurants Only: Good restaurants consider hygiene on the priority and adopt food safety policies. Also, they add iodine while soaking vegetables that makes them safe for eating.
Avoid Raw Food from the Untrusted Vendors: Don’t eat raw vegetable and fruits from the untrusted vendors in the streets. Unhygienic and contaminated food causes severe stomach infections. Be careful about such things while you are in a Nepal tour.
Digestive Supplements and Medicines: Always keep Digestive Supplements and probiotics whenever you are travelling in Nepal because they might also enhance the resistance and digestibility of your body. Always keep medicines related to diarrhea and other foodborne diseases with you.
4. Keep Masks with You While You Are Traveling
Though you will be walking in remote area most of the days, your journey always begins from main city. From the day you land in Nepal to till your walking starts in remote ares, you will be travelling through cities which is little more polluted .
Nepal has poor air quality due to a large number of construction projects and vehicles plying on its roads. The serious effects of air pollution in several cities of Nepal might cause lung infections to many travellers who are not accustomed to such environmental conditions. To get rid of the respiratory infections, you must use masks to cover your mouth and nose. It is highly recommended. By using masks, you can save yourself from the pesky dust and smoke in the cities.
5. Cover Yourself Up Properly
Wherever you go during your Nepal trekking tour, get yourself well-dressed and make sure it is proper dressing accordingly to the environment of the place. Proper clothes make you feel adaptable to the conditions as well as keep you away from the severe allergies. Carry warm clothes if travelling to higher altitudes in Nepal.
Backpacking: Always keep proper Trekking kit including proper clothing, gloves, socks and shoes. We will provide you a bonus link here “Ultimate Packing List for Trekking in Nepal” to learn more on what to pack on your visit to Nepal.
Insect Repellants: It is recommended to keep insect repellants along as there is always a risk of severe mosquito infections like Dengue and Malaria. Applying insect repellants will prevent you from insect bites.
6. Acute Mountain Sickness: Know the Symptoms Before Trekking
Nepal is known for its high peaks and incredible trails. There is always a chance of getting hit by the high altitude sickness problems. Such sickness that results from the high elevations is known as Acute Mountain Sickness. It may cause headaches, nausea and even some of the life-threatening diseases such as High Altitude Cerebral Edema and High Altitude Pulmonary Edema at the high altitudes. It is, therefore, necessary to keep oneself safe from an Acute Mountain Sickness symptom during Nepal trips. Keep an eye on the following:
Be aware of the symptoms your body shows and act carefully to find the remedies without making any delays.
Take a halt after a few steps and try to get acclimatized to that particular environment of higher altitudes.
Keep the medicines ready which have been prescribed by your doctor for the Acute Mountain Sickness related cases.
It is one of the most common problem that hinder you from completing your journey. So, before hand knowledge on what can ruin your long distance trekking is always better way to stay conscious.
7. Wash Your Hands Frequently
During travelling it is quite obvious to get in contact with certain things that possess harmful bacteria. In that case, you should always make sure washing hands with soap more often on the way.
Hand Sanitizer: The best way to save yourself from harmful microbes is to keep hand sanitizers in your pocket and to use that efficiently.
8. Save Yourself from Rabies
Though it is not the most common disease in Nepal, being aware can keep you in safe side. It is therefore suggested to avoid stroking dogs, cows and any other animals if found.
Clean up any licks and saliva from animals immediately.
Wash your hands after touching them.
If scratched or bitten by any animal, go to doctor.
9. Maintain Basic Hygiene
Standards of Hygiene are required to be maintained on priority while travelling . Poor hygiene might cause diarrhoea and vomiting which is the most common case during trekking and travelling. It is highly important if you are camping on a trek to do the following:
Wash your hands before and after meals and keep alcohol-based hand gel along.
Consider proper hygiene while using the toilets.
Keep your shoes out of your camp while sleeping.
Keep your belongings in the separate bags to avoid contamination.
Giardia is the most common gastrointestinal parasite present in contaminated water, so drink water carefully.
Don’t forget to apply ample sunscreen during trekking as sunrays remain quite powerful in Nepal and so do they cause sunburns. Follow the basic hygiene tips for travel and complete your journey without problem.
10. Prioritize Your Health: Keep Basic Medication
It is very much important to maintain basic hygienic conditions while you are travelling or trekking in countries like Nepal. Hygienic conditions keep you away from any kind of disease-causing organisms. Some of the important things that are required to be kept in your bags include:
Medicines related to minor headaches, nausea, vomiting, stomach ache, general weakness, fever, cold and flu et al. Keep the required medicines in your luggage for any emergency use.
Band-Aids and Blister strips
Wet-wipes and Anti-bacterial wipes are highly recommended to keep yourself clean.
General Antiseptic Cream for minor bruises.
Electrolyte powder for adding in drinking water for fluid replacement purposes.
Imodium – as Anti-Diarrheal Treatment.
Basic antibiotics as prescribed by the doctors like Noroxin, Ciprofloxacin and Bactrim.
Prescribed Medicines from your family doctors for any kind of allergies.
Multivitamins Including Vitamin C.
Energy Boosters and supplements.
Some Healthy Diet Tips If You are Planning to Travel Nepal:
If you are planning for Trekking in Nepal, don’t forget to take healthy diet to keep yourself energetic and powerful as your body will require ample energy to trek, particularly into the high trails of Nepal.
Start Your Day with Healthy Breakfast: Kick-start your hiking trip with a nutritious breakfast as it will keep you fit and going. It may include Upma, Poha, Idli, Dosa, Oats with Milk, Yogurt, granola bars, Dry fruits, Milk with nuts and any other breakfast choice of yours.
Carry Food Items that are Lightweight and Nutritious: While trekking, you don’t come across common stores and shops in the mountains. So, it is required to carry your own food that provides power and energy to you throughout the journey. Soups, health shakes infused with Moringa, Quinoa, Amaranth, Buckwheat and Turmeric are some of the highly useful options to prefer.
Avoid Sugar: Intake of Sugar should be cut down before starting trekking as it may cause related problems like sore throat and dehydration. Excessive amounts of sugar can cause the ill-effects on heart therefore chances are high that you might face difficulty in trekking. Keep such crucial things in mind as part of well-planned and considered precautionary measures.
Drink Ample Amount of Water – At Least 4 Liters: As you reach up to the higher altitudes in escalation, the decrease in Oxygen level will certainly cause the cases of weakness as well as breathing-related issues. To compensate the oxygen levels, water is highly recommended to be drunk due to its oxygen properties. Also, it reduces the chances of muscle cramps that are also the most prevalent causes for the trekkers to face. Such cases are common especially in the most likely cases of for first-timers.
Prepare yourself fully at least two weeks prior to trekking, both mentally as well as physically. It will boost your morale to feel better and energized. Feel free to read essential tips for trekking in Nepal.
Trekking is the best kind of Adventure that everybody desires to experience once in their lifetime. So, eat healthy, stay fit, adopt to basic hygiene and follow these valuable tips before initiating for the adrenalin-filled ecstatic expedition.
We hope you enjoy article on staying healthy during Nepal trekking. If you have any comments or thoughts on this blog, feel free to post it.