At the beginning of this year, most of us would have considered the words “Zika” and “Brexit” to be a combination of nonsense syllables. Today, we’re more than familiar with these huge news items from the past six months. Both stories (Zika: the neurological mosquito-borne disease sweeping through Central and South America, and Brexit: the recent vote by the British people to leave the European Union) have caused the news media to light up. As always when a big story breaks somewhere out in the world, the rhetoric and images associated with it start to have an impact on our individual states of mind. These two instances in particular have caused many people to consider abandoning travel plans. Here are some reasons why and why not that may be a good idea.

Brexit has many people concerned about the financial aspects of travel. The Brits’ decision to leave the European Union is unprecedented and largely unexpected. Yet, the process will move forward. The British Pound tumbled in the hours following the vote’s last call. And while this has been the message that most people remember, the Pound recovered quickly. While there is no way to know what the future holds for the British economy, it is certain that for a time at least, there will be no major changes traveling to England. In reality, there are many other nations in the world for which the travel situation is much more complex. Take Cuba, for instance, where it is still very important to get a NobelCom Top Up for your prepaid phone card, just to be certain you can communicate with the people back home at all! England’s situation is dicey, but their long history, economic strength, and strong cultural foundation will make Brexit much smoother a transition than it could be.

Zika, on the other hand, is a major concern for a certain kind of people. It’s a worry mostly for women who may become pregnant, as well as the men who may make them pregnant. Zika is a devastating neurological disease for a developing fetus. While adults can get through the symptoms with little more worry and pain than that associated with influenza, the disease can be fatal to babies in utero and the very old. There is also concern that Zika Virus may be spread sexually, meaning that people who are sexually active could potentially pass it along even if they themselves have no intention of putting children into the world.

Nonetheless, Zika virus is not uniforming spread across South and Central America. If you have business in these parts of the world, don’t take it for granted that the place you are traveling to will make you sick. Instead, do your homework and figure it out, just as you will before traveling to the UK following the craziness of the Brexit vote. Most of these concerns are media creations, even though there are real things to worry about beneath all the hysteria. Do your own research and you’ll be able to decide if your travel plans are good or not.