Going Somewhere? Basics of Travelers' Health

Nobody wants to fall sick or get hurt during a trip, but sometimes these things happen. You may not be able to prevent every illness or injury, but you can plan ahead to be able to deal with them. Here's a bit of information to keep in mind whenever you're planning for a travel, especially international ones, in order to ensure a safer, healthier and more enjoyable experience.

Learn about your destination

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides health-related information on destination countries which includes disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and other events. Besides the information provided by the CDC, you should also gather as many details as possible about your specific destination. Take into consideration the modes of travel, lodging, food, and activities during your trip.

Seek travel health advice from your physician or travel medicine provider

Ideally, set up a visit 4-6 weeks before your trip because you may need some vaccinations that may take some time in order to be effective. Besides giving required immunizations, during the pre-travel visit, your doctor may recommend some medications to prevent specific diseases (such as antimalaria drugs) and give specific health advice for preventing and treating travelers’ diarrhea and other illnesses.

Consider your health status.

Avoid traveling when you're sick, especially if you have contracted a communicable disease. If you have a chronic medical condition or are taking medications, consult your regular physician for travel advices and be sure to pack enough medications for the duration of your travel. Travelers with infant or young children, those who are pregnant or breastfeeding, and people with weakened immune system may need extra care during their travel.

Know your vaccinations.

CDC divides vaccines for travel into three categories: routine, recommended, and required. Routine vaccinations protects you from diseases that may still be common in other parts of the world even though they rarely occur in your country of origin. Recommended vaccinations are given depending on your destination, whether you will be spending time in rural areas, the season of the year, your age, health status, and previous immunizations. The only required vaccinations are the yellow fever vaccination for travel to certain countries in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America and the meningococcal vaccination for travel to Saudi Arabia during the Hajj.

Prepare your personal travel health kit.

Generally in addition to personal medication, a good travel health kit contains:

• Basic medications for fever (acetaminophen or ibuprofen), diarrhea or stomach upsets (loperamide, oral rehydration packs, antacids), respiratory illness (antihistamines, cough preparation), anti-motion sickness medication, and anti allergic medications.
• Basic first aid and wound treatment kit
• Insect repellent
• Sunscreen
• Alcohol-based hand cleaner
• Contact card containing information about remaining family member or close contact in the country of origin, place of lodging, embassy contact number, and other emergency information.

Pay attention to your health during your trip and after you come back home.

Try not to take risks with your health and safety. Be careful about food and water. Wear proper protection such as insect repellants, sunscreen, protective clothing and gears during your travel. Some diseases like malaria and tuberculosis may have a long incubation time and symptoms can occur after you have returned to your home country. So pay attention to any suspicions health related complaints even after you got back.

The Flu Facts

The flu or influenza is a viral infection.

Influenza or the flu is a viral infection that affects the respiratory system, mainly the nose, throat, bronchi, and occasionally the lungs. The virus is transmitted via droplets whenever an infected person cough or sneeze. It can affect anybody from any age group and may cause epidemics, especially during winter season. Worldwide, these annual epidemics result in about three to five million cases of severe illness, and about 250.000 to 500.000 deaths.

There are three types of influenza virus: type A, B, and C. Type C influenza cases occur much less frequently than A and B. That is why seasonal influenza vaccines only includes type A and B viruses. In April 2009, a new type of influenza virus called the novel H1N1 swine flu developed in Mexico and rapidly spread worldwide. It caused the WHO to declare a flu pandemic which was finally over in 2010.

Most people recover within one or two weeks. 

The characteristic symptoms of influenza are sudden onset of high fever, non productive cough, muscle and joint pain, headache, severe malaise (feeling unwell), sore throat and runny nose. Most cases resolve within one to two weeks even without any treatment. However in infants, the elderly, and people with serious medical conditions, infection can lead to pneumonia and even death.

"Worldwide, annual influenza epidemics result in about three to five million cases of severe illness, and about 250.000 to 500.000 deaths."

 

Influenza vaccination is given annually.

While the influenza vaccine is available, the virus strain is ever changing so vaccination has to be repeated every year. In healthy adults, influenza vaccine can prevent 70% to 90% of influenza-specific illness. In the elderly, the vaccine reduces severe illnesses and complications by up to 60%, and deaths by 80%.


Annual vaccination is recommended for nursing-home residents, elderly individuals, people with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, pregnant women, health care workers, people with essential functions in society, and all children from ages 6 months to 2 years.

Antibiotics are not used to treat uncomplicated influenza cases.

Treatment consists of symptomatic medications to relieve pain and fever, decongestants, and antihistamines. Over-the-counter flu preparations often combine these types of medications. However, these drugs do not treat the viral infection itself. Depending on your condition, your doctor may prescribe antiviral medications like amantadine, remantadine, oseltamivir, and zanamivir that act against the influenza virus. Don't forget simple measures like getting enough rest, drinking plenty of fluids, and eating properly to help you recover faster.

Adult Vaccination At A Glance

The importance of vaccines.

Prevention is always the smarter and more cost-efficient step than treatment or rehabilitation. Vaccinations have saved the world from diseases like smallpox, polio, and diphteria. In fact, the reason why we never have to worry about most infectious diseases anymore is because we have developed an effective vaccine.

Vaccines give our immune system the opportunity to develop the tools to fight off the organism that causes a disease without having to suffer the disease itself. In this way vaccines are incredibly important for your personal health.

Influenza vaccine is given once every year.

 

Adults need vaccinations too.

Despite the success of vaccinations in children, many people still don't realize that vaccines work for adults too and the extent is not only limited to preventing infectious disease. For example, the HPV vaccine is proven to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer in women.

"It's never too late to get vaccinated."

The only reasons why you should not get vaccinations are if you are allergic to any component of the vaccine, has had a serious adverse reaction on previous vaccination, or if you suffer diseases that weakens your immune system.

One example of an important vaccine for adult is the influenza vaccine. It is recommended to be given once a year because the virus changes every so often every year. Therefore we have to retrain our immune system to fight it.

To learn more about other adult vaccinations such as tetanus, chickenpox, HPV, shingles, MMR, pneumonia, meningococcal, and hepatitis you can visit the CDC site and get a complete schedule. Or, you can consult your physician for the right vaccines for you.