Whether you’re embracing a gluten-free lifestyle because of personal preference or you’ve been advised to cut out or limit gluten due to a medical condition, traveling gluten-free can be a little intimidating. But, sticking to your gluten-free diet doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the flavors that season the streets of your next vacation destination. Many top travel destinations offer a wide variety of authentic, gluten-free street food. Thailand is one of these destinations.

Comfortably settled on the coast of waters that share a mix of the Indian and Pacific oceans, Thailand is a country with a lot to offer. Nestled between Cambodia and Malaysia, the country’s cuisine is as vibrant and diverse as its people. From captivatingly sweet desserts such as Kluay Tod to mouth watering spicy favorites like Som Tam, Thailand is a foodie’s playground. With such a striking range of dishes, it’s no surprise that Thailand has an abundant amount of options for those on a gluten-free diet.

The Savory

If you’re craving something savory while in Thailand, you don’t have to ditch your gluten-free diet. While one of the most popular street foods in Thailand, pad thai, is definitely not gluten-free because of the soy sauce, there are some other appetizing options that won’t take you off of your gluten-free diet.

Som Tam is one dish that would make you happy you skipped the pad thai and saved room for something better. This simple but flavor-packed dish is made with shredded green papaya, tomatoes, carrots, peanuts, dried shrimp string beans, sugar, garlic, fish sauce, lime juice and chilies. Plenty of chilies. Usually served on a bed of white rice with a fried egg on the top, Som Tam is free from wheat, barley, rye or soy sauce, making it safe for those who are avoiding gluten. The dish is often spicy so if your tolerance level is low, make sure to ask the street vendor for it “mai pet”, which in Thai means “not spicy”.

Another tasty gluten-free dish that Thailand serves up is Sai Ooah (pronounced: sa-yee oh-ah). Thai sausage bathed in a medley of aromatic spices, Sai Ooah is particularly famous in the northern city of Chiang Mai. The sausage is mixed with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal (similar to ginger) and red chili paste. It’s then grilled in an intestine wrapper until it is golden and crispy.

Gai Tod is Thailand’s twist on a Western classic. This is like a version of Thai fried chicken. Chicken wings marinated in a mixture of spices and battered in rice flour, Gai Tod is another dish that’s safe for those that are gluten-free. Typically served with a spicy dipping sauce, make sure to verify that the sauce doesn’t contain soy in order to enjoy Gai Tod in all of its gluten-free glory.

The Sweet

Khanom Buang is a popular Thai street food that is safe for those sticking to a gluten-free diet. This dish resembles a crispy crepe and is made of rice flour. It’s sometimes topped with a rich, meringue of sweetened egg yolk. In addition to the rice flour, Khanom Buang is made with mung bean flour, eggs, sugar and water.

Another sweet treat that those eating gluten-free can enjoy in Thailand is Kluay Tod. This is an addictive dessert made of deep fried mini-bananas. Deep fried might be a foreign concept to gluten-free foodies since most deep fried delicacies are battered in wheat flour. However, Kluay Top is coated in desiccated coconut and sesame seeds, resulting in a crunchy and golden gluten-free sweet treat with a warm and creamy center.

Enjoy gluten-free in Thailand

There are so many other gluten-free street foods in Thailand. Guay Teow, Poh Pia Tod and Massaman Gai only graze the surface of tantalizing gluten-free options that the streets of Thailand serve up. With so many dishes to choose from, it’s relatively easy to stick to a gluten-free diet while enjoying Thai street food. If you get a particularly daring food vendor and you know a few words in Thai, you may even be able to ask for a specific dish without soy sauce or with rice-noodles instead of egg or wheat noodles, making it suitable for a gluten-free diet. So why not visit Thailand and see why there’s no need to limit your appetite while traveling gluten-free!

While gluten-safe options can help avoid some tummy troubles, traveler’s diarrhea, typhoid and other diseases are always a risk. Make sure you are prepared with Passport Health. Call or book online to schedule your appointment today.

Ese Agboh is a student nurse who wants to specialize in pediatric nursing and wound care. In her free time, she enjoys reading and writing articles related to medicine and the pathophysiology of communicable diseases. Ese currently lives and studies on the east coast of the United States.

Living with a disability can make it hard to get around sometimes. This is especially true when it comes to traveling. There are many destinations that cannot be accessed by people in wheelchairs and walkers. A number of steps have been taken by Jerusalem to make their guests’ experiences memorable, and most importantly, accessible.

The city itself has a large portion of stone streets. In the past, this made it rather difficult for those who are in wheelchairs to enjoy the sights and sounds of Jerusalem in all of its beautiful glory. The Israel Ministry of Tourism put in ramps along their stone streets, as well as improving four miles of alleyways across the city.

For those who are hearing-impaired, Jerusalem has taken great steps in providing information for their guests with Step-Hear. It is a Bluetooth-controlled app that you are able to download on your phone. There are currently 60 of these beacons across the Old City of Jerusalem. They plan on installing 160 more throughout the city. Currently, English and Hebrew languages are supported, with Arabic coming very soon.

In Israel, they too are making changes to create a more accessible trip for their guests. They are working to put elevators in the Tower of David, as well as adding ramps. Certain Tel Aviv beaches have access mats that go right up to the shoreline, so everyone can relax and enjoy the beauty around them.

These improvements have been on the mind of the Jerusalem Development Authority, the Israel Antiquities Authority, the East Jerusalem Development Company, the Israel Ministry of Tourism, and the Jerusalem and Heritage Ministry. All have come together for a common cause, to make tourism more accessible to everyone.

If you are interested in traveling, and you are in need of any vaccinations or have any health concerns, you can contact Passport Health, where someone will be able to help you with what you need to get you where you want to be.

Planning a trip to Israel? Make sure you are protected from any potential infections from meningitis to travelers’ diarrhea. Call or book online to schedule your appointment today.

Jennifer Passmore is a stay-at-home mom, writer and beader. She loves creating art with her words and through her jewelry. She is also a passionate mental health advocate. You can find more writing at her website Positivity In Pain.

Many people confuse tickborne encephalitis with lyme disease. While both are risks to the health of thousands of people, the two types of disease do differ from one another. To understand the difference between tickborne encephalitis and lyme disease, it’s important to first understand what each disease is.

Tickborne encephalitis (TBE) is a type of disease that is transmitted to humans through the bite of a tick or mosquito, according to Columbia University Irving Medical Center. While ticks on their own don’t cause the disease, they do carry it. TBE is a type of viral infection that can affect a person’s spinal cord and brain, which is why there is growing concern around the disease. This means that those infected with TBE can suffer from permanent brain damage, mental impairment or paralysis.

Symptoms of TBE often don’t show, but if a person does experience symptoms, they will typically come in two phases. The first phase includes fever, muscle pain, fatigue, and other flu-like symptoms. The second phase consists of meningitis, myelitis or encephalitis.

While both TBE and lyme disease are transmitted to humans through ticks and can have long-term effects, unlike TBE, lyme disease is not a virus. Instead, lyme disease is a bacterial infection. Ticks that cause lyme disease also need to be attached to a human for about 36 to 48 hours to transmit the disease.

Both diseases are similar in how they are transmitted and that they can have serious effects, but they do have differences. Unlike TBE, lyme disease usually does come with symptoms that are easy to pinpoint, such as a red “bullseye” rash. This rash often has a clear center. While this symptom doesn’t necessarily occur in everyone who contracts lyme disease, it is a well-known symptom of the bacterial infection.

Another difference is that as a viral infection, there isn’t a specific treatment method for TBE. But unlike TBE, as a bacterial infection, lyme disease can use antibiotics for treatment.

If you’re planning on traveling to an area that’s known to have lots of ticks, there are preventative measures you can take to help stay safe. If you haven’t already, consider getting the vaccine for TBE. This will protect you against TBE. There is no vaccine against lyme disease for humans.

But, you can still protect yourself against ticks, which will reduce your chances of getting Lyme disease. You can do this by using insect repellent, wearing clothing, such as socks, that contain insecticide, and by wearing protective clothing that covers your skin, such as long sleeve shirts, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

While most ticks aren’t infected with TBE, it’s always better to be safe than sorry, especially when you’re traveling out-of-country.

Passport Health offers repellents, tick-borne encephalitis vaccines and more to help you travel safely. Call or book online to schedule your appointment today.

Written for Passport Health by Elle Johnson. Elle is a freelance journalist and social media content creator in Florida. Not only does she enjoy working as a freelancer, but in her free time she enjoys working on fictional stories.

Meningococcal disease, more widely known as meningitis, inflames the meninges – which are three membranes that cover the brain stem and spinal cord. Once the meninges become infected, that is when meningitis happens. It affects mainly infants, young adults, and teenagers at risk of being infected with meningitis.

Through close contact, it spreads from person to person, such as kissing or sharing the same drink out of a cup. It is spread through saliva and can also be caught if you are close to someone who has it and coughs. It will tend to spread quickly within a community setting, dorm rooms, for example, or if you share a home with roommates.

There are five different types of meningitis; viral, bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and non-infectious meningitis. But the most common of them are viral and bacterial. Bacterial meningitis is considered very dangerous, as it can strike and kill a patient within hours of the onset of symptoms. Those who recover from meningitis may have permanent disabilities, including hearing loss, learning disabilities, and brain damage.

Meningitis can kill you if not caught and treated within time. Around 5 to 45 percent of children who contract the infection will die from bacterial meningitis. 20 to 50 percent of adults will die. That is even with the proper treatment. It can be a very deadly disease if not caught in time. It is essential to look out for the signs and symptoms of meningitis. They can include:

• Headache
• Stiff neck
• Fever
• Nausea
• Confusion
• Vomiting
• Trouble staying awake

Symptoms to look out for in children include:

• Being cranky or irritable
• They might move slower than usual
• Vomit
• Have poor reflexes.

If you or your child has any of the above symptoms, you must get seen by a medical professional right away.

Patients are typically given a combination of an antibiotic and sometimes a corticosteroid to be delivered intravenously. There are ways to protect yourself from meningitis, and the best line of defense is to get vaccinated if you have not already been.

It is imperative to get your children vaccinated, especially since they are often in a community setting at school. The first vaccine, MenACWY, should be given to children between 11 and 12 years old, and they should also get a booster of it between the age of 16. Children between the ages of 16 through 23 may get a MenB vaccine.

At Passport Health, we carry the A, C, W, Y, and B vaccinations. They are available at any of our clinics. Call or book online to schedule your appointment today.

Jennifer Passmore is a stay-at-home mom, writer and beader. She loves creating art with her words and through her jewelry. She is also a passionate mental health advocate. You can find more writing at her website Positivity In Pain.

Rapid tests have been used for years to help detect malaria, which have been a key factor in preventing a high prevalence of the disease in many areas. But after 15 years of use, many malaria parasites are learning to hide from these rapid tests.

These stealthy malaria parasites have evolved over the years to go undetected when an individual uses a rapid test. This poses a huge threat to areas with high malaria prevalence, like many countries in Africa.

“This is a major threat to malaria control,” Jane Cunningham, with the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Malaria Programme in Geneva, told New Scientist.

Many countries in Africa rely on rapid tests when it comes to treating patients. If the rapid test comes back negative, a patient won’t be treated. This could lead to increased cases of malaria in Africa if a patient has an evolved version of the disease and their test comes back negative.

The malaria parasites that have evolved to hide from the rapid tests were first noticed in 2016 when children in Eritrea were showing signs and symptoms of being sick with malaria. However, when tested, their rapid tests came back negative. When Cunningham and her team looked into the malaria parasites, they found that 80% were mutated in Eritrea.

This meant that the parasites weren’t making pfhrp2 and pfhrp3, two proteins that the rapid test detects when testing for malaria.

“It was a crisis situation. They thought there was something wrong with the test,” she told New Scientist.

“Continued use of these rapid tests is selecting for [parasites without the two marker proteins] to proliferate,” Cunningham said.

The rapid test that detects the two proteins previously provided consistent results, which made it a popular choice among many African countries, according to Ars Technica. The drugs used when a test comes back positive are used to kill the malaria parasites.

“As such, they provide a selective pressure that can drive evolution,” Ars Technica said. “That selection can potentially produce resistance to the drug. But it can provide selection against the proteins that caused it to be present in the first place – the ones recognized by the rapid test.”

African areas that see a prevalence of the mutated malaria parasites are now switching to a different rapid test. However, they have not proved as reliable in detecting the disease.

Many viruses evolve over time to resist specific treatments; however, it’s not often seen that they evolve to hide from rapid tests. With the new knowledge that malaria can mutate to hide from these tests, other viruses, such as COVID-19, could also start to hide from rapid tests.

Passport Health provides antimalarials, repellents and more for international travelers going to regions with malaria. Call or book online to schedule your appointment today.

Written for Passport Health by Elle Johnson. Elle is a freelance journalist and social media content creator in Florida. Not only does she enjoy working as a freelancer, but in her free time she enjoys working on fictional stories.