ADVENTURE DOC-Travel Checklist

Globetrotting physician Erik McLaughlin, M.D., emphasizes essential trip preparation.

Getting ready for a vacation can be wonderful. The anticipation of good times, adventure, and relaxation is almost as good as the trip itself. To make sure you stay healthy during your travels — especially if you’re going somewhere remote or exotic — a little more preplanning than simply packing a bag is required. Ideally, this planning should start a few months ahead of your adventures.

After the reservations have been made, begin researching the destinations. I’m not talking about finding that ideal restaurant or perfect beach; I’m talking about learning what health risks are unique to the area you will be visiting. One of the best ways to do this is to visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Travel Health website at cdc.gov/travel. Here, you can select your destinations and see exactly what illnesses and other health issues you might be facing.

After this preliminary research, make an appointment with a travel health professional, ideally 3 to 4 months before you depart. You may need this extra time to ensure all vaccines are properly given because some immunizations require multiple doses spread out over several weeks. Also, if you need anti-malarial medicine, it may be advisable to start them before you land in mosquito country. Travel doctors are experts on keeping people healthy around the world, so besides vaccines, you will also get valuable advice on how to avoid diarrhea, what to do in the event of an emergency, how to prevent mosquito bites, and other tricks of the travel trade.

Personal responsibility is important for travelers and can range from being a good ambassador of your country to traveling with the environmental consequences in mind. When a travel doctor talks about personal responsibility, one of the first things that comes to mind is having your own medical kit to deal with small problems.