Important Health Concerns

DEHYDRATION

Vegas is a very, very dry place.
You will dehydrate.
You probably will not notice it.
It can be dangerous.

It is extremely important that you drink water regularly. Plain water. Water with alcohol or caffeine or diet soda additives will add to the process of dehydration. Water will reduce dehydration.

At the same time, ironically, there are practically no drinking fountains in Vegas. You should carry a little bottle of water with you. If you are gambling, water is free for the tip to the waitress. One good habit: every time you order a free alcoholic drink, order a bottle of water with it. That makes the water free, and you can take it with you when you quit gambling. The bars will give you water if you ask. Vegas water is not the tastiest, so bottled water or fruit juice in the room is very helpful when you wake up thirsty in the middle of the night or to start your process of hydration in the morning.


FOOT CARE

Vegas is all walking and standing. Even if you took a cab from casino to casino, you would have to walk long distances inside. A single casino can be as big as a shopping mall. Blisters come easily. Have good walking shoes or sneakers and plenty of changes of socks. I grease up my feet in the morning with vaseline and that precludes blisters. I also pack some of those little blister pads and tape so if I am careless, and blisters appear, I can keep walking anyway with the blister protected.


MEDICATIONS

I hear so much hype about restrictions on medicine on airplanes. On the plane you cannot take liquids unless you have prescription in your name. But pills are no problem. Anything can go in your carry on. It is so much easier to bring what you need than try to find a drugstore in Vegas. You will not be around very many drugstores. Aligator Mudgriff Dan reports that there are some on the strip:

"There Is a Walgreens drug store across the street from the Stardust Casino. Also there's is another drug store(Walgreens I think) farther north on the strip, still on Las Vegas Blvd.. I think on the corner Charleston and Las Vegas Blvd. There is also 1 that is susposed to be built next door to the Venetian Casino. However, I do not know if it has been built yet. There was a sign there saying a Walgreems was going to be built there. The last time I was in Las Vegas."

Still, they are at best few and far between.


Some people also swear by a vitamin mixture invented by an elementary school teacher called Airborne. It is supposed to reduce colds and other difficulties when flying. Rite Aide has a duplicate for $3 less. I'll include a site that argues it is all a scam, but I figure if it works as placebo and I don't get sick, what the hey.

http://whohastimeforthis.blogspot.com/2006/04/created-by-school-teacher.html

Add tums and a traveler's diarrhea med to your list of essentials. Some pain reliever is good too. I use aspirin for nights when I drank too many free ones. Aspirin and guzzling a large bottle or two of water precludes hang over. Most of the uncomfortable feeling of hang over is due to dehydration.

And so we are back to the beginning of this post.



And in addition this note on dryness:

From the Vegas trivia calendar:

"Be sure to include body lotion, moisturizer, lip balm, eyedrops, and a good hari conditioner. The desert winds dry out your skin, eyes, and hair in a hurry, even in winter."