Sophia Brockman, 25, knew it was dangerous to consume iced drinks in Vietnam but didn't expect to spend her trip with severe stomach cramps, lying in the fetal position in bed while her friends were on the beach.
"I would totally say that we had a YOLO [you only live once] attitude during this trip," Ms Brockman said. "We knew we weren't supposed to be drinking the iced drinks but we wanted to have cocktails and try the ice coffee and street food that South-East Asia is famous for."
Ms Brockman fell "violently ill" with food poisoning on the fourth night of her holiday after drinking a Vietnamese iced coffee with contaminated ice cubes, forcing her to spend $300 on antibiotics and half of her trip in bed.
"Looking back we should have gotten those vaccines that were recommended to us cause we're lucky we didn't get typhoid [fever]," said Ms Brockman.
The recent survey of 1004 Australian travellers by pharmaceutical company Sanofi found that 40 per cent had admitted they had a "YOLO" attitude by partaking in potentially dangerous activities.
Australian travellers are putting themselves at risk by not doing their homework before eating food from street vendors, falling asleep outdoors or eating exotic foods.
One-third of the travellers believed it was better to purchase travel insurance than vaccinations, while 50 per cent failed to have the recommended vaccinations and more than 60 per cent did not consult their doctor before travelling overseas.
More than 40 per cent of the travellers surveyed admitted to falling sick abroad with potentially preventable health issues, such as food poisoning, insect or animal bites or contagious viruses.
Of the top 10 countries Australians love to visit, seven are considered high-risk for contracting infectious diseases and travel health specialist Dr Sarah Chu says holidaymakers should be "extra vigilant" when travelling in these regions. Some 61 per cent of all Australian travellers visited an at-risk region in the past five years.
"It's quite common for travellers to think they're safe if they've travelled to the destination before, or that travel insurance is enough protection and vaccinations aren't needed, but I can assure you the risk of falling sick is very real and can happen to anyone," said Dr Chu.
Smartraveller and Dr Chu recommend discussing travel plans with their GP six weeks before departure, getting necessary vaccinations and researching common health risks in the region.