Dear Patients,
Hope everyone is enjoying the longer days of summer; here is a short newsletter that may be helpful to help prepare before your TRAVELS. Here are some helpful tips.
If you are planning a trip abroad, you may need to make an appointment at our local “travel medicine clinic” located in Sonoma Valley Hospital. According to Mayo Clinic infectious disease expert, Dr. Stacey Rizza, “Anybody who’s going abroad, particularly to a developing part of the world, should be evaluated or contact a local travel clinic because there are many things that need to be considered in general but specifically for infectious disease prevention.” Depending on where you travel, you may be advised or required to be vaccinated against typhoid fever, yellow fever, hepatitis, among other infectious diseases. If somebody is going to an area that’s endemic for malaria, they should take medications to protect them from getting malaria.
Should you visit a travel medicine clinic?
For most areas of Central and South America you should review your travel plans with a provider in the travel clinic. For Africa, Southeast Asia, many parts of the Caribbean, and some parts of the South Pacific, it’s worth considering visiting the travel clinic. Most of Western Europe, North America, Scandinavia, Australia are safe to travel to without having visited a travel clinic, but there are certain exceptions to that. If you’re going to an area in one of those places that has a particularly high incidence of certain infections, and you’re going to be in a very rural part for a long period of time, it’s worth visiting a travel clinic.
Other items to consider preparing for prior to traveling:
Medications – make sure you are well stocked with all of your routine medications.
Sleep – are sleep aids indicated or needed to help facilitate sleep and adjusting to time differences.
Traveler’s diarrhea – take along antidiarrheals (i.e. – Imodium AD or Peptpo Bismol).
Antibiotics – consider taking a supply of antibiotics case you get sick while you’re there, you can start therapy immediately.
Blisters – take comfortable shoes to prevent blistering. Take moleskin to help blisters heal quicker.
Travel pack – consider having a travel pack that is stocked.
Contacts:
1) Sonoma Valley Hospital Travel Medicine Clinic – call the hospital at (707) 935-5000 and ask to be forwarded to the “Travel Medicine Clinic.”
2) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides health travel notices, along with information on vaccines required for various destinations. Easily found on the internet at their website address: https://www.cdc.gov
If you have questions or concerns about your travels, please call and set up an appointment to speak with Dr. Guy. We can make a difference!
Dr. Guy
“A Care Beyond”
