Travel Health

Vaccinations & Anti-malarials

Depending on where you are planning to travel, it is likely that you will need to check your travel vaccinations are up to date. You can see what you might need by visiting WHO (World Health Organisation) but check in with your GP or travel nurse who will have records of what you have had in the past. Plan ahead, if you can, some travel vaccinations need to be administered over a 6 week period.

Also talk to your GP or travel nurse about anti-malarials (if you need them) – they will advise you on the best option taking into consideration your medical history. You can shop around for anti-malarials – take a look at Boots.com, Superdrug Health Clinics, MASTA, TravelPharm. Just make sure you take enough with you in case you’d like to extend your stay – it might be hard to obtain the right prescription when you are overseas, depending on where you are going.

Avoiding mosquito bites is important – cover up in the evenings, use a mosquito net over your bed and use a good insect repellent. For further advice, visit Fit for Travel.

Drinking water

It is easy to buy bottled water if you are out and about but if you are staying somewhere for a while it will be cheaper to boil water from the tap to sterilise it, leave it to cool and it will be ready for you to consume. You could also take some iodine drops or sterilisation tablets for emergencies when you can’t access clean fresh water.

Travel & Medical Insurance

If you fall ill while you are away it is important to seek medical advice and this means you will need to have some form of medical insurance or travel insurance in place to cover the cost. You may need to settle the bill yourself and claim when you get home so make sure you know the procedure before you go.