HEALTHY VACATION AND A GUIDE TO DISEASES IN INDONESIA

EFRINA JULIA SIREGAR

FAKULTAS KEDOKTERAN
UNIVERSITAS ISLAM SUMATERA UTARA

Indonesia is one of those countries which are filled with culture and nature
tourism. Lots of people from other countries liked to travel to Indonesia. If people
were to travel to a tropical country like Indonesia, it is better to check their
medical health first before going anywhere. Firstly it is because of the hot
temperature that is why it is important to bring drinking water with you
everywhere while youre travelling to avoid dehydration. Besides drinking water,
supplements and vitamins are essential to consume because it keeps your body fit
while travelling. People from foreign countries, its compulsory for them to get
check by a doctor before going to tropical countries like Indonesia. If tourist has
an inherited medical condition or is suffering from a heavy sickness, you better
bring your prescribed drugs from the doctor. If youre healthy and well, bring
standardized drugs for example paracetamol just to keep safe.
Being fit and healthy is important for tourist because how else will they enjoy
their vacation if theyre sick all the time? Of course it will bother them while on
vacation and they wont be able to enjoy themselves. Not only it is troublesome to
become ill in a foreign country, the cost for medical help is very expensive.
Therefore you have to be fit and healthy while travelling.
Indonesia is one of the developing countries. The health care and services for
these countries has become much better than it used to be. Even if facilities for
medical care have improved, new and improved diseases also appear. With the
tropic weather, pollution and increased number of pollution, people often
complaint of gastrointestinal diseases, respiratory diseases, heart diseases, stroke
and so on.
Firstly, the most common illness that the people of Indonesia have is coronary
heart disease. Why? Its because of the unhealthy lifestyle. The Indonesian
community doesnt get a lot of exercise; they do not prefer going anywhere while
walking. They eat fatty foods with large portions of it and they dont work out.
This makes chances of getting heart diseases even greater. Also, half of the
population in Indonesia smokes and this is one of the factors of getting a heart
diseases.
The second most common illness is diarrhea. Why diarrhea? Because
Indonesia is one of the developing countries and not a lot of people know how to
live a healthy life. Most of the population still has middle to low state of
economy. Diarrhea is caused by bacteria from dirty food or dirty places. Thirdly is
Diabetes Mellitus, the elderly is suffering to this illness. It can be inherited, but it
doesnt mean you cant get it while living an unhealthy and irregular lifestyle. Its
the same as heart diseases, because their etiologies are the same. Fourthly are
strokes which can be found in big cities. Elderly is also vulnerable to strokes,
people with a mindset of working and stress is also vulnerable to strokes. The fifth
most common are upper respiratory infection, with the tropical climate and hot
weather in the cities; it can make someone prone to infection. In cities, the dirty
pollution is increasing because of people already having their own vehicles plus
the public transport which uses solar greatly affects this. People also do not wear
face mask while going anywhere to avoid breathing the pollution.
TB is the next most common illness. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the cause
of TB. TB causes great number of deaths in these last few years. TB is easy to
transmit, usually to breathing the bacteria through air from an infected person.
Weak immune system also contributes to this illness.
If youre gotten bitten by an insect called Aedes aegypti, youll probably have
dengue fever. This insect lives in tropical climate and Indonesia is one of those
endemic areas for this illness. AedesAgeypti transmits viruses to human beings
and infects them. The surroundings are an important factor to this disease.
Standing water and rubbish areas are where they grow, this is why its important
to keep your place and surroundings clean.
As you get older, hypertension is always a problem. People suffer from this, as
youre blood pressure is getting higher, it will cause hypertension and a risk factor
to other diseases such as stroke, cardiac arrest and mostly the cause of chronic
heart failure.
Lastly, conjunctivitis is also common amongst the population. With pollution and
tropical climate is the cause of Indonesian community suffering from
conjunctivitis. Conjunctivitis is inflammation of the conjunctiva, the outermost
layer of the eye and the inner surface of the eyelids. The symptoms are epiphora,
irritation, loss of vision of the eyes. Its easy to cure because you can buy the
medicine in every pharmacy. However, you can easily get conjunctivitis, therefore
youve got to wash your hands before you cure your eyes and dont touch your
eyes with dirty hands.
In conclusion, in Indonesia, you can easily suffer from diseases to the body
system such as the gastrointestinal system, respiratory system and cardiovascular
system because of the unhealthy lifestyle and low state of economy. However,
dont be afraid to come to Indonesia because Indonesia is rich with cultural
background, clans, tourist sites and polite people, an experience you wouldnt
forget. Bali is one of the most favorites sites to travellers. In North Sumatra, Lake
Toba and Dwiwarna Waterfall is also where tourist likes to visit. Because of the
expensive medical care, it is better to prevent something than to heal them. Dont
be afraid to visit Indonesia because has improved on its update to medical
information and health care. So go and visit Indonesia especially to North
Sumatra. Thank you and Horas!