BEFORE LEAVING
Planning ahead of time can make your travels smoother and help you avoid problems.
IMPORTANT ITEMS TO PACK
Important items to bring with you include:
Talk to your health care provider or visit a travel clinic 4 - 6 weeks before you leave for your trip. You may need to get updated (or booster) vaccinations before you leave.
ON THE ROAD
When traveling, know what steps need to take to prevent different diseases and infections. This includes how to avoid mosquito bites, what foods are safe to eat, where it is safe to eat, how to drink water and other liquids, and proper hand washing.
If you are visiting an area where traveler's diarrhea is common (Mexico, for example), know how to prevent and treat it.
Other tips include:
When traveling with children, make sure that they know the name and telephone number of your hotel in case they get separated from you. Write this information down and put it in their pocket or other same place on their person. Give them enough money to make a phone call, and make sure they know how to use the phones if you are in a foreign country.
See also:
Travel health tips
Chandy JC, Salata RA. Health advice for children traveling internationally. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap. 173.
Arguin P. Approach to the patient before and after travel. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap. 308.
Ericsson CD. Travel medicine. In: Auerbach PS, ed. Wilderness Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2007:chap 77.
Reviewed by: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., and David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine.
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