Pre-Travel Medical Visit: What to Expect

Traveling to other countries can be fun, exciting, and enlightening. It can also be a health risk if you aren’t adequately prepared. One of the most important components of international travel is educating yourself about the disease risk at each stop on your itinerary and taking the necessary precautions to avoid contracting a potentially dangerous illness. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends seeing a healthcare provider between four and six weeks before your trip to get the necessary vaccines or medications. Even if your international trip is lastminute, you can still protect yourself by meeting with a healthcare provider before you go to get important medicine and health advice. If you are planning a trip abroad, whether for business or pleasure, practice travel safety by calling BASS Primary Care today and scheduling your pre-travel medical visit.

Preparing for Your Pre-Travel Visit

In order to create a comprehensive international travel plan, your healthcare provider will need as much information as possible about your trip, your health, your history, and other factors that could play a role in your risk of disease. The following are some examples of details you can write down ahead of time to prepare for your pre-travel medical visit:

• Where you are traveling 
• How long you plan to stay at each destination
• Whether you have traveled abroad in the past
• Where you went
• What vaccinations you have had in the past
• Whether you have any allergies
• Past illnesses and surgeries you have had
• Your current health status
• Any underlying medical conditions
• What medications you are currently taking
• Whether your immune system is suppressed

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By gathering this information in advance of your visit, you can ensure that your healthcare provider has everything he or she needs to advise you on the best way to reduce your risk of illness during travel. 

What to Expect During Your Visit

Pre-travel counseling is an essential component of any international travel plan. During your pre-travel medical visit, an experienced medical professional will review your medical history and develop a prevention plan based on a number of different factors. This includes your: 

• General health
• Travel destination
• Trip duration
• Time of year
• Planned activities
• Vaccination history

You may need certain travel vaccines before you go, which you will have to make plans to get ahead of time. This is one reason why the CDC recommends scheduling a pre-travel consultation several weeks before your scheduled departure. Depending on your travel plans, your healthcare provider may decide to give you a certain prescription or over-the-counter medications to address specific diseases or ailments you may encounter on your trip. If you have a medical condition, such as heart disease or diabetes, your health care provider can also give you advice on the best way to manage your health while you travel.

Staying Healthy During International Travel

The primary goal of a pre-travel medical visit is to provide you with the tips and tools you need to stay healthy while traveling. Even if you are in good health, traveling to other countries where the disease risk is higher could expose you to a range of potentially serious health problems. Fortunately, many of these risks can be mitigated by taking certain precautions before, during, and after your trip. Wherever you plan to travel in the new year, taking the necessary precautions to ensure a safe and enjoyable trip can help you minimize the risk of contracting diseases and avoid unnecessary trip interruptions. 

Call health experts at BASS Primary Care today for more international travel recommendations and essential travel safety tips.