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When people phone up Health Klinix asking for travel health advice, the most common question they ask is what vaccines do I need for such and such a place. But it’s not just about the travel jabs.
There are many non-vaccine preventable risks that you can be exposed to so it's vital that you're aware of how to prevent them. It’s preferable to treat minor symptoms, cuts and bruises with a well-prepared travel health kit rather than having to try and find a pharmacy or doctor in unfamiliar surroundings for basic items such as band aids. paracetamol etc.
In this article, we’ve listed our top items to pack for your travels.
Top Must Haves:
Basic Health Essentials to Pack
First-Aid Supplies:
This is a really useful item for your travels, and you can create your own simple first aid kit consisting of basic items such as plasters, some gauze, medical tape, antiseptic wipes.
If you’re travelling to remote areas for prolonged periods, then you’ll want to include additional items such as wound bandages, dressings, sutures, sterile needles, cannulas, safety pins, scissors etc. You can find out more about first aid kits here. Alternatively, we sell ready-made travel health kits in our travel health clinic.
Pain and Fever Relievers:
There’s good chance (unfortunately) that you may end up with aches, pains, sprains or even a fever. So do some pack paracetamol, ibuprofen and aspirin. A few words of caution though. Don’t take ibuprofen if you’ve had stomach or duodenal ulcers as it can make ibuprofen can irritate your stomach. Aspirin, on the other hand, shouldn’t be given to kids under the age of 16yrs as they can develop a rare illness called Reye’s Syndrome
Prescription Medications and Over-the-Counter Items
If you’re taking prescription medicines, don’t forget to get enough of a supply from your family doctor for the whole of your trip and a bit extra in case you get delayed. GPs in the UK are usually willing to give you a script for 3 months as long as you’re stable on your medications.
Think about other over the counter medications; there are 4 main groups:
Antihistamines - like cetirizine tablets but remember they can sedate you. For insect bites and stings, you might be better packing some topical creams/ointment like Anthisan® cream or hydrocortisone ointment
Antidiarrhoeals – The commonest medication is loperamide (“Imodium”) This is quite useful when you need to catch a bus or a plane and you have diarrhoea. You should only take it if it’s absolutely necessary, and is not intended for children under 6 years, this is because by stopping the diarrhoea, you can mask symptoms for more serious conditions.
Cough medicines and Decongestants - These are useful even if you’re travelling during the Northern Hemisphere summer because coughs, colds and flu are more common in our summer, elsewhere. For example, influenza and upper respiratory viruses are more common in the monsoon season in Southeast Asia (June – October)
Travel-Specific Medications
Motion Sickness Remedies:
Of course, you’ll need to think about those medications that are specific to travel, for example, motion sickness. A common medication used is cinnarizine (“Stugeron”) but don’t immediately resort to tablets if you can help it. There are other ways to reduce the sensation of motion sickness without medications.
Anti-malarials or Travel Vaccines
Of course, travel jabs and anti-malarials form the core of any travel preparations. The travel vaccines you need will depend on the destination, duration of travel and your activities. For expert advice on what travel injections and malaria tablets, you can book an expert consultation with Health Klinix
Sun-protection
Ultra -Violet (UV) radiation from sunlight (there are two types: UV-A and UV-B) is what causes skin damage, so it’s important protect yourself.
Please note that:
The sun is strongest nearest the Equator
Most intense between 10-4pm
Be aware that the water and snow can reflect UV light
Even on cloudy days, you can be exposed to UV radiation
We’ve advise on skincare and sun protection extensively in our dedicated blog. Essentially pack a Sun Factor Cream (SPF) of at least 15.
Insect bite avoidance
Diseases spread by mosquitoes, midges, ticks and flies, such as dengue, zika, chikungunya, malaria and trypanosomiasis are a huge burden on the health of whole populations in the tropics. As our world climate becomes warmer, some of the infections such as dengue, are spreading to Europe.
Insect repellents (IR) and mosquito nets are the crucial parts of your armoury as we don’t yet have travel vaccinations for most of these diseases.
Insect repellents
There are 4 ingredients in insect repellents that have been proven effective in studies:
DEET 50%. Must be 50% for maximal effectiveness. Any higher concentration isn’t any more effective but more toxic
Picaridin containing IR
Saltidin containing IR
Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (completely natural)
Mosquito nets
Ideally these should be compact, rectangular or dome shaped, and should have at least 156 holes per square inch. The most effective nets are treated with a chemical called permethrin which acts as a repellent.
We have both insect repellents and mosquito nets available in our travel health clinic.
Hydration and Food Safety
With food and water safety, you’ll need to ask yourself 2 things before you travel:
What do I need to pack so that I’ve got access to safe drinking water?
If despite being as safe as possible, I end up with traveller’s diarrhoea, how can I treat my symptoms?
Water Purification
In many places around the world, water quality can be variable and tap water is not usually suitable for drinking or brushing your teeth. You can, however, take steps to make water safe for drinking. To do this, you’ll need to use methods that either kill or trap not only bacteria, but parasites and viruses. To achieve this, you have several choices, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. These are listed in the table below:
Methods to remove microbes from water for drinking:
Method and effectivenesson microbes | Parasites | Bacteria | Viruses | Advantages | Disadvantages |
Boiling to 100c for >1 min | Yes | Yes | Yes | Effective | Time and effort, need facilities. |
Iodine or chlorine | No | Yes | Yes | Convenient | Not effective on parasitic cysts. Leaves aftertaste |
Chlorine dioxide | Yes | Yes | Yes | Effective. No aftertaste | Only effective if instructions followed properly |
UV radiation (UVR) | Yes* | Yes* | Yes* | *Effective but need accurate UV intensity and timing | Water must be clear. Needs power and equipment |
Filtration | Yes | Yes | Yes/no* | Effective. Convenient. Can also remove harmful chemicals | *Viruses not cleared if pore size not small enough. Filters need changing |
Bottled water | Yes | Yes | Yes | Convenient | Risk of counterfeit bottles. Not environmentally friendly |
At Health Klinix, we have chlorine dioxide tablets and ‘Water to Go’ filtration bottles for sale, as we feel they offer the best combination of effectiveness and practicality for travellers.
Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS)
Despite your best intentions, you can still suffer from traveller’s diarrhoea. This term is used loosely for travellers (a bit obvious we know) who develop a short illness characterised by diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and possibly vomiting.
It’s usually mild and self -limiting but you can easily become dehydrated and deplete your body salts and electrolytes needed for effective functioning of your cells. So it’s worth packing oral rehydration salts that can help restore your body’s electrolytes and fluids. They usually come conveniently in small sachets of powder which you can mix with clean water.
Even if you don’t get diarrhoea, ORS is still important for rehydration in extreme heat. So it’s an important part of your travel health kit list.
Special Considerations Based on Destination
Depending on the type of journey you make, you’ll need to consider other things to pack into your travel health kit. For example, if you’re going to areas of high altitude then you may require altitude sickness tablets such as acetazolamide (Diamox). If you’re trekking or hiking through dense vegetation or woodland, then specialised tweezers for tick removal maybe appropriate. So do think about the journey that you’re making but remember travel vaccinations will still play a central role in your planning.
Conclusion
Knowing and pre-planning your journey is therefore important to ensure you have a safe and enjoyable trip. We can help you prepare for your journey and advise on the risks, what travel jabs you might need and what to pack in your travel health kits.
If you’d like expert travel health advice, travel vaccinations and/or support in preparing a travel health kit, you can book an appointment with us.
References:
Written and approved by:
Dr Ravi Gowda
Consultant in Infectious Diseases
MBBS, MRCP(UK), MRCGP, DTM&H, DCH, DRCOG, DFFP
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