No one wants to be sick on vacation. So, our advice is that you make a plan to be healthy when you leave and stay healthy while you are gone. We can’t avoid every bug out there, but we can do our best to have the best possible defences in place. That simply takes a little preplanning.

In Part 1 of our Plan to Travel Healthy travel tips we talked about preparing to be healthy when you leave on a trip and to stay healthy while you are away by getting enough rest, staying hydrated, and eating well. In Part 2, we will provide you with some tips on where to get health travel advice regarding your specific destination and how to determine which vaccinations you may want to consider. 

One of the best places to get up to date information, including the best recommendations for someone traveling from your region to anywhere in the world, is your local travel clinic. Medical travel clinics can be found in most major cities in North America but if you live in a more rural area contact your family doctor or local hospital/medical centre to see if they can help you (if they can’t they will be able to refer you to someone who can). The costs associated with a visit to a travel clinic will vary by region and specific clinic but the potential benefits of getting informed advice can be priceless. When you visit a travel clinic, they will review your itinerary and ask you questions about where you will be staying and what you will be doing while you are away. This is important because a week in a 5-star lodge carries less risk of exposure to certain diseases then, say, a month of DIY fly fishing and camping on a remote beach.

After your consultation session the clinic will discuss any specific risks, that they are aware of, which you may encounter at your destination. They will also recommend any vaccinations that will help you to stay healthy. Keep in mind that some vaccinations need to be completed in stages and you may require a month or more lead time to be fully protected, so give yourself as much lead time as possible. The clinic we use provides an ‘Immunization Booklet’; essentially this is a paper booklet where you can record all of your immunizations, the date you received them and how long the immunization is effective. Great for keeping track of all your ‘shots’.

Want to do some research on your own? To be sure that you are getting the most up to date and relevant information be sure to research reliable resources. One of our favourites is the Canadian government travel health website (www.travelhealth.gc.ca). The US government also has an excellent site for travel health information (www.cdc.gov/travel).

One last thing to keep in mind, preparing for the worst can be a little overwhelming and some of the information you may read during these preparations can be a bit frightening. Doing the research and being prepared is definitely worth it – just in case. If you run into questions or concerns that you just can’t seem to find answers for, or if you just aren’t sure about something please let us know and we will do our best to answer your questions or put you in touch with someone who can.