The first essential is to visit a good travel clinic so as to make certain you are up to date with all your injections, especially Hepatitis A and typhoid. You should also be inoculated against polio, tetanus and diphtheria. You should discuss with the travel clinic the possibility of having anti-rabies, in my old practice we always recommended it for anyone likely to stay in areas where rabies was a problem. I tend to take a medical chest rather than a pack with me but I am a pessimist. I would suggest that you have with you at all times treatment for uncomplicated travellers diarrhoea (such as Lomidal or Immodium) and that you have sugar and salt so that you may make up your own rehydration liquid. I invariably travel with an antibiotic suitable to treat persistent gut infections and a more general antibiotic for other troubles.

It is as well to have dressings for cuts, boils and blisters and a supply of creams. These should include Fucidin for minor infected spots and sores and hydrocortisone cream for itches, bites etc. Antihistamine tablets are useful for very severe irritations and a sleeping pill or two may not come amiss. Discuss the best anti-malarial measures to take with the clinic. These measure include those to keep you from being bitten by mosquitoes as well as the anti-malarial treatment to improve your chances of not catching is. These should be taken before you go and continued after your return to the UK. The best bit of advice I can give you is to buy a copy of Dr Richard Dawood's book, Travellers' Health: How to Stay Healthy Abroad (Oxford University Press). It is not cheap but worth every penny to you and your companions.

Could using a hand sanitiser before eating while abroad help prevent stomach upsets? Tracey Harris, Crawley

Yes. Always wash before you eat, preferably even before you touch your face and mouth. Any medicated soap will do but one which has a detergent property is more effective, especially if there is a shortage of water. Medicated detergents should always be applied to the hands before they are washed and then washed off.

I suffer from very bad sinus pain when I fly, particularly when the plane is circling to land. What would you recommend I take for this? Keiran Dodd, Bedford

This sinus pain can be agony, especially as you will find out when the plane is losing height. If the tube that runs from the ear to the back of the mouth is involved you may also find that you are deafened for some minutes after you have landed. Consult your doctor for long term forms of treatment but first term measure I usually recommended is Sudafed.

My girlfriend refuses to drink local tap water whenever we go on holiday. We are going to Crete in a couple of weeks and I am assured the local water is safe to drink. Is she being over precautious? Name and address withheld

My rule is not only to never drink water in Mediterranean or southern European countries, let alone those further afield, but not even to use it for cleaning teeth, diluting drinks or washing fruits. Your girlfriend is being wise. Stick to bottled water, and make certain you are able to watch the waiter open the bottle and that it was sealed when it was given to you.

The recent heat wave seemed to give me a red neck irritation suggesting an allergy to my sweat. Is this possible? Rose Francis, Pontypridd

This is not an uncommon problem. Sometimes the irritation set up may persist for weeks. It is possible that the initial rash has been secondarily infected with a fungus. Just in case this has happened you should try treating your neck with a cream that contains hydrocortisone and a fungicide. Daktacort is the one I recommend but the danger of it is that it does stain clothes and so is better applied at night.

One quite often sees blue, brown and purple jelly fish washed up on the beach in the UK. Presumably they are in the water too. Are their stings strong enough to do damage such as skin irritation or itchiness? Sometimes on a Cornish beach I have seen huge jelly fish of dinner plate size. I do try and avoid them but the tentacles are long. Carol Smith, Sawston

European jellyfish stings are a nuisance and may cause severe irritation, but they are not dangerous. Dangerous jellyfish stings are caused by the Box jellyfish that is found in the Indian and Pacific Seas. They may need immediate hospital attention because as well as causing serious skin reactions, may induce respiratory and cardiac failure. European stings should be treated with the application of commercial-strength vinegar, followed by hydrocortisone cream.

I am taking my grandmother on holiday to Jersey. She has never flown before and is rather nervous about the flight. How can I reassure her and are there any mild medications you can suggest which might help her relax a little? Dorothy Blaine, Nantwich

The best mild tranquiliser is Frisium, but this is not available on the NHS. Valium is almost as effective but induces sleepiness. The risk of flying is negligible but inexperienced travellers are not likely to be impressed by statistics. It is a great help to the nervous passenger to have someone with them who is able to explain the changes in engine note. This and the other everyday, but to a novice flyer worrying, happenings on an aircraft lose their terror once the cause is understood. The tranquiliser should be taken at least 40 minutes before embarking.

My wife and I are travelling to the Dominican Republic in the Carribbean and have been told that I will need various jabs (for, I think, hepatitis A, tetanus, diphtheria, and polio). However, we are staying at a resort hotel near the beach and do not intend to travel around very much. Are the jabs strictly necessary? David Walsh, Wilmslow

It doesn't matter where you stay or how grand it is. What counts when it comes to picking up infections is where the cooks, waiters, greengrocers and baker live, what their sanitary arrangements are and how often they use them. You need all the injections available when you go abroad, they are not unnecessary precautions but wise procedures.