Travel Clinic
Following lifting the Covid restrictions and opening the borders, we all are excited to travel again. Our experienced team at Shire Doctors and Dentists likes to help you enjoy a healthy overseas trip. At our Travel Vaccination Clinic, we provide the care needed to help you and your family ensure that your trip is enjoyable and free of any unexpected adverse health concerns.
Vaccination
At Shire Doctors and Dentists, we provide patient-centered care and involve you in all the decisions we make about your health. After taking a thorough medical history including previous routine vaccinations (often given during childhood) and consideration of your itinerary, our doctors will advise you on your needs and recommend vaccinations based on specific travel risks, including the following:
- Tetanus/Diphtheria/Pertussis (Whooping Cough)
- Malaria
- Polio
- MMR (Measles, mumps and rubella)
- Varicella (Chickenpox)
- Typhoid
- Influenza
- Pneumonia
- Hepatitis A (Yellow Jaundice)
- Hepatitis B
- Cholera
- Meningitis
- Japanese Encephalitis
- Rabies
- Tuberculosis
- Dengue fever
Because many of these vaccines do not provide complete protection from the disease targeted, we will also explain other non-chemical methods can prevent illnesses.
Considerations for the Safe & Healthy Travel Overseas
Safe food and water ingestion
- Do not drink or brush teeth with unboiled tap water.
- Only drink reputable bottled or canned drinks and ensure the bottle seal is intact as re-filling of water bottles is a common practice in some foreign countries.
- Ice is commonly made from tap water and is unsafe.
- Boil water for at least 2-5 mins or longer at high altitude countries where there is a change in boiling point.
- Avoid salads (including fruit salads), uncooked seafood (e.g., fish, oysters, prawns, mussels).
- Iodine tablets and possibly a water filter is necessary for water purification where bottled water is unavailable.
Last minute travelers are usually best advised to have part of the recommended vaccination regime rather than none. For example, Hepatitis A vaccination works almost immediately (virtually on the same day as travelling to the airport) , Typhoid vaccination takes at least one week to be effective, Rabies vaccine even if given on an incomplete basis will avoid post bite immunoglobulin treatment.
Airline travel keep yourself well hydrated during the flight. Frequent movement on board and wearing 20mm or greater compression stockings lower the risk of DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis).
Altitude sickness Travelers usually experience the symptoms at 3500 meters but some people notice mild symptoms at 2500 meters. The rate of ascent should be limited to 300 meters each day. A sudden rise in altitude will greatly increase the risk of altitude problems. Organize your itinerary allowing for a gradual and progressive increase in altitude and where possible include some rest days to allow body adjustment to the new higher altitudes. The younger and fit travelers often have greater risk with altitude problems than the less fit and older travelers, perhaps because the latter is less likely to overextend their performance level. At Shire Doctors and Dentists, our doctors will discuss the symptoms of altitude illness and how to prevent and manage it and may prescribe medications to reduce this risk of altitude sickness in addition to the certain medications which may speed up acclimatization. Travelers need to avoid straight flights to the high altitude destinations from sea level (e.g. Lhasa in Tibet or La Paz in Bolivia)
You may need to take Malaria tablets such as Malarone or Doxycyline for certain areas of travel. It is important to complete the full course of Malaria pills if you are prescribed Malaria tablets.
At Shire Doctors and Dentists , we recommend the following contents for your travel kit: antinauseant, antidiarrheal medications, oral rehydration, antibiotic such as norfloxacin or Azithromycin (when travelling to Thailand or India), EpiPen if there is a history of anaphylaxis, Thrush treatment for women taking doxycycline as an antimalaria medication, Soframycin drops for those at risk of tropical external ear infection e.g. surfers.
For further discussion about your travel, book your appointment with one of our experienced general practitioners at Shire Doctors and Dentists.