Dealing With Sickness Abroad

You’re 100% going to get sick after partying in Florence. Sweaty, compact discoteche combined with weekly plane and train rides will become a personal attack on your health. And you won’t just catch a cold- it’ll be the most brutal European flu virus your little American immune system has ever experienced.

• Here are some tips on how to keep yourself healthy while studying (or partying) abroad.

  
  

  • Pack American medicines in your suitcase before you get to Italy. Italian farmacie don’t carry many name-brand flu medicines that we’re familiar with. I recommend:

    • DayQuil and NyQuil capsules (They definitely don’t have this in Italy)

    • A small Vicks VapoRub tub (if that helps you)

    • Emergen-C

    • Extra strength pain medicines (especially for period cramps)

    • Masks to wear while traveling

    • Any preferred allergy medications you take at home

    
    

  • Keep a stash of Italian farmaci in your purse/backpack and at your apartment. When visiting a Farmacia, ask for:

    • Ibuprofene (Ibuprofen, for pain)

    • Tachipirina (Paracetamol, for pain and fever) 

    • Le pastiglie per la gola (Throat Lozenges, for sore throat)

    • Decongestionante (Decongestant) 

    • Melatonina (Melatonin, for sleep aid)

    • “TachiFluTask” (A powder you take orally without water that contains a mixture of paracetamol and other medicines for flu/cold)

    • Termoforo (Heating Pad)

    
    

  • Before and after traveling or going out, take some type of Vitamin C supplement. You could even add a Vitamina C packet to your pre-game drink and kill two birds with one stone…