Health advice for Emirates holidays or living in property in Dubai
Most normally healthy people won’t experience any particular health problems when they take an Emirates holiday or a Dubai city break. Similarly, living in your own property in Dubai on a more permanent basis will not expose your health to risk. However, the unexpected has a habit of happening, so the best advice for anyone moving to the UAE or setting off on vacation is to have adequate travel or health insurance.
Vaccination recommendations
According to the International Travel and Health 2005 manual published by the World Health Organisation, travelling to the United Arab Emirates on holiday or emigrating to their property in Dubai do not require any vaccinations. Although there are mosquitoes in mountain areas outside Dubai and in the wadis in the evening, malaria is not considered a significant risk for anyone staying in the city itself so tablets are rarely prescribed to travellers to the region.
Water and food contamination
Although tap water in the city is perfectly safe, it comes from desalination plants so it doesn’t taste particularly good. Consequently, most people in Dubai on city break holidays prefer to drink bottled mineral water. Those who have bought or are renting a property in Dubai usually have a supply of water delivered to their home every week and connect it up to a water cooler so that it is instantly available as a cool drink when required.
Food hygiene is generally of a very high standard but exercise some caution when eating from roadside stalls as you travel around the Emirates on holiday.
Going to the United Arab Emirates on holiday means plenty of sun. Take care!
The most serious health risk for the majority of Brits taking Dubai city break holidays or buying property in Dubai comes from the weather – probably one of the main reasons you wanted to there in the first place! Protect yourself from sunburn and heatstroke with adequate sun creams and sun blocks, hats and sunglasses, and be sure to drink plenty of water; it is easy to become dehydrated in such an unrelentingly hot climate.
