The bane of international travelers is jet lag. One long flight can turn your mind upside down and create something of an internal vertigo. There are ways to lessen the impact, though, and this post will point out some prevention and coping mechanisms that you can use on your next trip. Best case scenario: you [...]
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This past spring, I took a bus trip through northwestern Mali. It was the hot season in a region of the world known as the "pressure cooker of Africa." The windows were open on the bus, but it felt like we were driving through an oven. High temperatures can cause discomfort and dehydration, not to [...]
Despite my pale skin, I have spent a lot of time hanging out around the equator. Every now and then, I get a horrific sun burn that propels me to a likely rendez-vous with skin cancer somewhere down the line. For the most part though, I avoid sunburn. This post will explain how. Before I [...]
I have now spent what I consider to be a significant amount of time in West Africa. My first taste of the region came in 2005 when I studied abroad in Accra, Ghana. During that semester, I was also able to visit Togo, Benin, and Burkina Faso. Last year, I took my time traveling through [...]
We have previously discussed the importance of treating water (see our article How to Prevent and Treat Traveler's Diarrhea). If you are traveling in the developing world, tap water is often unsafe to drink and in rural areas, well water will certainly make you sick. If you are not trying to spend lots of money [...]
If you go to a travel clinic (which you should) before traveling to a place where malaria is endemic, chances are the doctor is going to recommend that you take malaria prophylactics. A lot has been said in recent years about the efficacy of malaria prophylactics and about possible side effects of taking them. This [...]
