Staying Healthy and The Upside to the Downside

Since my last five posts have been about food, I feel it would be unjust for me to skip over a real, unfortunate obstacle faced by many travelers – food born illness. Although this does not pose a significant problem when traveling in North America and most of Europe, it can certainly ruin a vacation, and even cause serious discomfort and health problems, when exploring other parts of the world.

But have no fear! Many food-born problems can be avoided by drinking bottled or filtered water, doing your best to eat at clean restaurants (sorry, but that delicious-looking street food doesn’t really fit the bill here), and maintaining your digestive health (think hydration, sleep, and probiotics). Before you travel, unless you are sure the water in the area is clean, it is a good idea to check the CDC’s website here. Simply enter the country you are travelling to, and you will be greeted with an extensive list of various health considerations. The CDC’s information is tailored to travelers from the U.S., so if you have questions or concerns that you cannot find answered at the link above, check the resources published by your home government.

And please, PLEASE, do not read up on all the scary possibilities for illness, stolen identities, security threats, wild animals, etc., and decide not to travel. Even if you do get sick it can be an interesting insight into another culture – just bear with me a moment on this one.

Not even a week into our China adventure, I did get sick. Despite drinking the right water, boiling my tooth brush, and not eating the really, really delicious smelling street food (sniff sniff), I woke up one morning and I knew. I will spare you the details in order to jump ahead a few days. Although I was no longer ill (as that only lasted the day), I still felt a little sick after big meals. Enter “Chinese Medicine.” My mom and I are still making jokes about how almost everything in China contains Chinese Medicine. “What’s in this drink?” “Chinese Medicine.” “How is this soup made?” “Well first you….. and also it contains some Chinese Medicines.” “What does that mark on her arm mean?” “It’s part of Chinese Medicine.” So basically, if you have to ask, it must be Chinese Medicine.

And although Chinese Medicine is not totally modern science, I can’t discount thousands of years of history of surviving and growing populations in what is now the most populous country in the world – they must be doing something right!

When I still wasn’t feeling great a few days after I got sick, one of our friends insisted that I take Chinese Medicine. We told her that we had American medicine and that all I need was a little more rest and a little more hydration, but nothing we could say would soften her rocky resolve. She simply responded with, “Ok, I am coming to bring the medicine over now.”

Chinese Medicine

Above is said Chinese Medicine. I couldn’t read the package or the directions, but I was instructed to consume one vial through a tiny plastic straw in the morning and one at night. And she smiled at me and said, “Don’t worry, it’s sweet!” I cannot say what other medicine in China tastes like, but this was maybe sweetened with about five grains of sugar. And one would almost miss the slight sweetness over the intensely herbal flavor packed into each dose. I was not a fan. But the next day I felt better. I will never really know if it was the medicine that helped, or if my body had simply decided to give up its struggle against unseen, but remembered, foes.

The point is, that even though I got sick, and even though I couldn’t enjoy my rice and vegetables and spicy tofu for a few days afterwards, I got to experience something that is so very Chinese – Chinese Medicine. There is always a bright side, and I will fondly remember the quiet, kindly insistence of our friend who brought me those mystery vials.