Travel health: what to sort before you fly

Booking flights is the fun part. Sorting your health before you travel tends to get left until the fortnight before departure, which is often too late for some vaccination courses. Here is what to think about, and when.

Start six to eight weeks before you go

Several travel vaccines need more than one dose spaced weeks apart, and your body needs time to build protection after the final one. Six to eight weeks gives you room to complete a course without rushing. If your trip is sooner, still come in. There is nearly always something worth doing, even a week before you fly.

Know what your destination actually needs

Requirements vary enormously, and not just by country. Whether you are staying in a city hotel or trekking in a rural area changes the risk considerably, as does the season you are travelling in. At our travel clinic we assess your specific itinerary rather than working from the country name alone.

• Hepatitis A and typhoid for much of South Asia, Africa and South America
• Antimalarial tablets for malarial regions, started before you arrive
• Rabies for longer stays or remote travel where treatment is far away
• Tetanus and diphtheria boosters if yours are out of date
• Yellow fever certificates, which must come from a registered centre

Malaria deserves particular attention

Antimalarial tablets only work if you take them correctly, which usually means starting before you arrive and continuing after you leave. Bite avoidance matters just as much: repellent containing DEET, covered arms and legs at dusk and a treated net where needed.

Pack a travel kit worth having

A small kit saves a lot of grief when a pharmacy is hard to find. Include rehydration sachets, loperamide, painkillers, antihistamines, plasters, antiseptic and high factor sun cream. Keep prescription medication in its original packaging in your hand luggage, with a copy of your prescription in case you are asked at a border.

The most common thing that ruins a holiday is not an exotic disease. It is a stomach upset, sunburn or running out of your regular medication.

Book your travel consultation

Our travel clinic at Chesters Pharmacy covers the risk assessment, vaccinations and antimalarials in one appointment, and you leave with a written record of everything you have had. Book online or call us on 0121 748 1501 and we will find a time that works before you go.