Travel clinic checklist: what to sort before your next trip

Flights and accommodation are easy to keep track of. Travel health can get left until the week before you go. Start earlier if you can: some vaccine courses take several weeks, and your advice depends on where you are going and what you plan to do there.

What to bring to a travel consultation

• Every destination and stopover, with travel dates.
• The type of trip, including rural stays, volunteering and outdoor activities.
• Your vaccination record, if you have one.
• A list of regular medicines, allergies and relevant health conditions.
• The same details for anyone travelling with you who needs advice.

It is not just about injections

A travel health conversation covers food and water safety, mosquito bite prevention, medicines and the care you can access while away. The right advice for a city break is different from the advice for a long stay in a rural area, even within the same country.

Travelling with children?

Bring their vaccination records and share the full itinerary. The clinician can check age-related guidance and discuss what to pack, including any regular medicines. Keep essential medication in hand luggage in its original packaging.

If your flight is close, still ask. A pharmacist can review what is useful in the time you have. Chesters Pharmacy is in Shard End, Birmingham. Browse the current travel clinic details and arrange a consultation before you go.