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10 Top Reasons to Talk to a Travel Medicine Specialist

If you’re heading off to another country, there are many good reasons to consult with a travel medicine specialist well before departure day. Here are the top 10, some of which might surprise you.

  1. You may not be fully protected against illnesses present in other countries, such as polio and typhoid. Your travel medicine specialist can discuss routine, recommended and required vaccines.
  2. You’ll get a prescription for the medication that is best suited for you to prevent malaria, a potentially life-threatening disease.
  3. A travel medicine specialist tells you how to prevent and treat travellers’ diarrhea, a condition that can most certainly ruin your trip.
  4. You’ll discover whether you are at risk of developing altitude illness, which happens at elevations of 2,500 metres. Consider common destinations: Cuzco, Peru is 3,326 m above sea level. La Paz, Bolivia is 3,660 m.
  5. There are many diseases for which there are no vaccines, such as dengue fever. Awareness is vital. Travel medicine specialists give you information regarding all health concerns in destination countries.
  6. Get a thorough understanding of all the preventative measures you can take, including food and beverage precautions.
  7. You may need documentation for entry into certain countries, such as a certificate of yellow fever vaccination. Your travel medicine specialist will tell you what you need and make sure you have it.
  8. Find out what’s happening now, not 10 years ago. You’ll get up-to-date information on outbreaks, political unrest and natural disasters.
  9. You’ll receive a wealth of suggestions for staying safe, including accident prevention tips and embassy contact information.
  10. When you get home, you know your post-travel follow-up will be with practitioners trained in travel medicine who know you and know where you’ve been.

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