Travelling and Vaccinations – Everything you Need to Know

While you may think you’re prepared for your trip, you may not be taking everything you need to know into consideration. Without the proper precautions, you are exposing yourself to the risk of communicable diseases. Many travelers embark on trips, only to encounter unexpected illnesses, diseases and problems. One of the most commonly encountered issues is as simple as Traveller’s Diarrhea, which is easily avoided with proper hygiene, food preparation, and suitable antibiotics. The risks of travelling go up when travelling with pregnant or breastfeeding women, small children or immunosuppressed or immunocompromised individuals. For these reasons, it’s incredibly important to have all the knowledge possible before you travel for any reason. For your benefit, we’ve accumulated a number of tips about travelling. While these tips are not a replacement for an in-person travel consultation with a qualified travel medicine specialist, we hope that these tips will help you stay aware and prepared during your upcoming travels.

Before Travel Checklist

1. Do your research: Before you leave, you should take the time to research your destination and the risks associated with it. We recommend you take at least a few weeks to go through risks, the vaccines and preventative medications you may need, and take the time to learn about safety precautions you can take. A travel clinic such as ABC Travel Clinic can provide you with all this information and more.
2. Get vaccinated: Getting vaccinated is one of the safest ways to prevent infectious diseases. Being up to date on routine vaccinations such as Tetanus, Polio, Measles, Mumps and Rubella in addition to an annual Influenza and Pneumonia vaccines is incredibly important, even when travelling to developed countries.
3. If your travels take you further, stop by a travel clinic: If travelling for a longer period of time for work, relief missions or any other purpose which might increase your risk due to length of stay or unsafe conditions, take the time to stop by a travel clinic. Reduce your increased risk for diseases by consulting with a travel medicine specialist and getting all the necessary vaccinations and preventative medications for infectious diseases you may encounter.
4. Take extra precautions where the risk for potentially dangerous illnesses exists: Travellers going to areas where potentially hazardous diseases such as dengue fever, malaria or yellow fever are commonly encountered should take extra precautions in addition to vaccinations. Purchasing proper insect repellents, netting, preventative medications and other important accessories can greatly reduce your risk, especially if you plan to spend a great time being outdoors or in rural areas.
5. Take extra precautions if pregnant, breastfeeding, travelling with the elderly or young, or immunocompromised: Certain vaccinations may be ineffective or less effective if the travellers in question are pregnant, breastfeeding or immunosuppressed. The efficacy of these vaccinations depends largely on the person in question. Certain countries may require proof of vaccination, or may not allow entry to people who do not have specific country-required vaccinations. Children and elders are especially at risk for infectious diseases such as Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Varicella and Shingles. Those who have not previously had the disease(s), or are not vaccinated are especially at risk. Consult with our travel health practitioners if travelling with any at-risk individuals.
6. Purchase travel insurance: A must before travelling is purchasing a travel insurance. You may encounter medical problems or complications during your travel, which without travel insurance may be difficult to treat. Travel insurance allows you to rest easy about medical bills, access to hospitals and in the event of a life-threatening illness or accident, provides you with an assured return to a safe area of treatment.

This information above is intended for information purposes only. It is in no way intended to replace professional travel medical consultation by one of our qualified travel medicine specialist. We recommend visiting our clinic before embarking on your trip.

ABC Travel Clinic offers complete personalized travel consultations, on-site care, vaccinations and medication and information about your destination. We can help you be safe and know everything you need about your upcoming trip. We recommend booking an appointment for 4-6 weeks before travelling.

For more information about our clinic, send us an email or give us a call anytime! To learn more about travel destinations, associated risks, vaccines, and medications, browse our website. Remember to be safe during your upcoming vacation/trip, and book your travel consultation with ABC Travel Clinic today.

 Call  647-242-2177 or email us at: info@abctravelclinic.ca.

 

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References

Centre of Disease Control and Prevention (2017). Travel health notices. Retrieved from: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/

The government of Canada (2017). Travel abroad. Retrieved from: https://travel.gc.ca/travelling

The government of Canada (2017).Traveller’s checklist. Retrieved from: https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/publications/travellers-checklist

The government of Canada (2017). Registration of Canadians abroad. Retrieved from: https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/registration