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TRAVEL MEDICINE

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Take good health with you!

Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, we will help you prepare for your international trip.  We have a longstanding interest in travel medicine and are an authorized Yellow Fever Vaccination Clinic, so you will get the latest information and immunization requirements. Call today for your journey-specific travel appointment, and bring your itinerary with you.  Based on where you are going, how long you will be there, and what kinds of things you are planning to do, we’ll help you decide exactly which vaccines, medications, and other measures you need to take to stay healthy on your trip.

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How can I stay healthy while traveling?

  • See your doctor and dentist for a checkup well in advance of your trip so you can obtain any necessary vaccines or medications and be prepared for common travel-related medical problems.

  • If you are going where the risk of traveler’s diarrhea and other food and water-borne diseases is high, eat and drink carefully.

    • Water can carry germs. Drink water from sealed bottles and avoid ice cubes. Use bottled water when brushing your teeth.

    • Steaming hot food and fruits and vegetables you can peel are safest.

    • Although it may be tempting and provide some true local flavor to your trip, street vendor food can be risky.  Fruits and vegetables that can’t be peeled or cooked, such as salads, are also risky, as they may have been washed in dirty water. Unpasteurized dairy products and raw seafood may also carry diseases.

  • Remember that mosquitoes can carry disease. If you are going to places with mosquito-borne disease, make sure your bed is covered with a mosquito net. Use effective insect repellents.

  • Some freshwater lakes and streams carry parasites.  Check before you jump in.

  • Avoid overcrowded transportation. Wear a helmet if riding a motorcycle. Avoid driving at night in unfamiliar areas. 

  • Bring a first aid kit.

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What should be in my First Aid Kit?

  • Antibiotic ointment and bandages

  • Scissors, tweezers, nail clippers, or Swiss Army knife. A mirror may be helpful.

  • Cortisone and antifungal creams

  • Pain medicine such as aspirin, Tylenol, or ibuprofen.

  • Over the counter medicines for common problems like traveler’s diarrhea, colds and coughs, and allergies. Medication for motion sickness, if that is an issue for you or your travel companions

  • Hand wipes and hand sanitizers.

  • If you wear glasses, take an extra pair of glasses and a prescription for them.  If you wear contact lenses, bring extras.

  • Bring enough of your routine medicines to last your whole trip, with some extra in case your trip home is delayed. And if possible, bring the medicines in the original prescription bottles.

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Prescription medications you may need for your trip:

  • An antibiotic for traveler’s diarrhea and other common infections.

  • A medication to prevent altitude sickness if you are going to high altitude.

  • Malaria prophylaxis if you are traveling to a country where malaria is present. We’ll check to see if malaria transmission occurs in the specific areas you will be visiting in that country or countries, the species of malaria that occur there, the presence of drug resistance, and the recommended preventive medicines. We will do an individual risk assessment for you, considering factors including your health history, potential side effects of the malaria prophylaxis medicine, and possible interactions with medications you are already taking.  Malaria prophylaxis is taken before, during and after travel to endemic regions.

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Vaccines 

There are a variety of vaccines that you may need before you travel, including: 

- Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, or a combination Hepatitis A & B (Twinrix)

- Influenza

  • Japanese Encephalitis

  • Meningitis-Menomune

  • MMR- Measles, Mumps, Rubella

  • Polio

  • Pneumococcal pneumonia

  • Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, attenuated Pertussis) or Td (Tetanus & diphtheria)

  • Typhoid- oral

  • Yellow Fever

  • Zostavax- Shingles (60 years and up)

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