MedWise Occupational Health and Travel Health Services
Naas Travel Health Clinic
Travel Health Advice
This is some essential health information for those planning overseas travel.
Prevention is better than cure. Even a minor illness can ruin your trip. Hopefully this information will help you prevent ill-health while abroad so that you can enjoy your trip and arrive home safely.
There are three basic steps to preventing ill-health abroad
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Pre- travel health planning
Knowledge is the key to prevention. So, your first step is to identify the risks to your health while travelling. The main factors influencing your health are:
The destination:
Current disease prevalence
Quality and availability of health services
Climate and season
Length of stay
Accommodation
Purpose of trip:
Business
Pleasure
Sedentary (Beach/Touring)
Adventurous (Trekking/Backpacking)
The traveller:
Experience of travel
Age
Pregnancy
Underlying illness
Medications
The next step is to take action to reduce your health risks before you travel. This includes arranging travel vaccinations, but only 5% of travel related illness is preventable by vaccination. You should also be aware of the other 95% of health risks and equip yourself with the information and means to protect against them.
Immunisation
The most commonly occurring vaccine preventable diseases include Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Typhoid Fever. Other vaccine preventable diseases are Tetanus, Polio, and Yellow Fever. (Yellow Fever vaccination is mandatory in certain countries) .
Your vaccination requirements depend on the current disease prevalence at your destinations and your planned activities. Backpackers are undoubtedly more exposed to infection than package tourists and those staying abroad for more than 3 months are more at risk of disease than the short term tourist.
It is advisable to attend a doctor 6 weeks before travelling. This will allow adequate time to complete the recommended vaccines schedules. Those planning an adventurous trip should make an appointment 8-12 weeks before travel. -
Limiting health risks while travelling
The most commonly occurring health problem associated with foreign travel is diarrhoea. Gastroenteritis in the form of diarrhoea or vomiting will affect between a quarter and half of all travellers. Simple preventative measures include food hygiene, hand-washing, water purification and careful choice of food and drink.
Other common travel health problems are:
Accidents:
Give careful consideration before engaging in high risk activities such as motor biking and adventure sports. Pack a first aid kit. Be aware of the medical facilities that are available at your destination. Arrange adequate health insurance.
Security risks: travel in groups, avoid bringing attention to yourself and take care of your personal belongings.
The effects of the sun: sun burn, sun stroke and heat stroke – use a high protection factor sunscreen and UV filtering sunglasses, stay in the shade and drink plenty of fluids.
Malaria: this disease is carried by mosquitoes and is present in parts of Asia, India, Africa and South America.
The risk of malaria can be reduced using a combination of medication (anti-malaria tablets) and physical barriers, (mosquito nets and repellents). As with any illness, early diagnosis and treatment will limit the effects of the disease. Seek medical advice promptly if you feel unwell while abroad.
Finally, don’t drop your guard! Be sensible and careful at all times. Many accidents and illnesses are associated with alcohol consumption and complacency. -
Follow-up health screening on return
Some tropical diseases may present weeks or months after the traveller has returned. If you feel unwell on your return remember to tell your medical advisor of any recent travel.
Medwise/TMB offer a post-exposure service is designed to detect the presence of disease in the returned traveller.