When you are traveling internationally for medical treatment, your biggest concern may be the medical procedure or treatment that you’ve scheduled. However, there may be precautions you need to take weeks or even months before traveling to protect your health, including getting medical travel vaccines.
Travel to many regions of the world, including those where medical tourism is popular, can expose you to diseases that are rare or uncommon in the United States. Examples include malaria, cholera, yellow fever and typhoid. Infections from these diseases can often be prevented by vaccines or medicines; in some cases, medicine may need to be taken before, during and after travel.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides country-specific travel and vaccination requirements and guidelines on its website. It’s a good place to gather information about pre-travel preparations.
The Importance of Pre-Travel Counseling
You’ll also want to talk to your doctor about protecting your health while you are outside the United States. This will likely include a review of your vaccine history. Even if you are traveling to a destination where there is little risk of contracting an infectious disease, you may be due for routine vaccines that prevent diseases such as tetanus, polio, typhoid and hepatitis A. Although they’re often overlooked, some booster shots are needed throughout your lifetime.
You’ll want to make an appointment for pretravel counseling as soon as you identify a country and clinic you are considering for medical treatment. Some vaccines require four to six weeks or multiple shots, administered weeks apart, to provide full effectiveness. Some medicines taken to prevent diseases such as malaria must be started well in advance of travel.
Ask Questions if You Are Immune-Compromised
If you are immune-compromised, your doctor may recommend that you skip some vaccines that are generally recommended for people traveling to your destination. The CDC’s website includes a tool where you can search for recommendations by county for immune-compromised travelers. Instead of getting vaccines, you doctor may suggest you take precautions in country to protect your health. For example, he or she might recommend that you wear long sleeves and use insect repellant to prevent mosquito bites, if malaria is a concern.
Immune-compromised travelers can get specific recommendations by country on the CDC’s website.
Precautions Everyone Should Observe
All travelers, whether they are immune-compromised or not, should be careful with what they eat or drink, particularly in developing countries. This includes skipping food prepared by street vendors and dining only in established restaurants; only eating food that is cooked or peeled; and only drinking beverages that are hot, bottled or canned. Consuming contaminated food and water puts all travelers at risk of traveler’s diarrhea. If your immune-compromised, you are more prone to getting traveler’s diarrhea, which can quickly lead to dehydration. It also can be extremely uncomfortable.
When Medical Travel Assistance is Necessary
If you are planning medical travel or tourism, you need to consider what you’ll do in a worst-case scenario. If a procedure doesn’t go as planned or you develop a serious post-procedure infection, how will you get back to the United States? Who will help you if you need medical assistance during the flight home?
Many people assume that an air ambulance will be their only option in such situations. In most cases, however, they can travel in safety and comfort on a commercial airline with the help of a medical travel assistance company.
SentinelMED coordinates travel logistics and arranges medical transport, medical repatriation, and medical escort services to people who need assistance to travel long distances. In many cases, people who are sick or injured can travel on commercial flights with care provided by a medical escort – a cost-effective alternative to air ambulance services.
SentinelMED’s medical escorts are typically ICU or emergency medicine-trained nurses, physician assistants and paramedics who are skilled problem solvers. They can provide care and assistance during all stages of medical transport, including from discharge to a medical facility to arrival at a care facility or home of a loved one.
The SentinelMED team understands the complexity of delivering exceptional care to patients who need assistance during travel. Please contact us to learn more about the services that SentinelMED offers or its staff.
