Take the steps towards health protection before traveling

Before traveling to any other country, international travelers need to do lots of preparations. Getting vaccinated for different diseases is a necessary part of these preparations. You may not realize it but you are always at the risk of catching viruses or infections in other nations. To avoid the risk of getting sick on a trip, you need proper vaccinations. You can get at any travel clinic.

However, process of vaccination should be completed in several steps. You can follow these steps:

Research – Before traveling, you need to research about the countries you are going to. You can take the help of internet for it. With this research, you can gather information about different diseases. You can know about the potential risks and common infections in different nations etc. In many countries, vaccination certification for some certain viruses like yellow fever is necessary. You can also get the list of these nations by research. This information will also clear your doubts about going to some certain places due to the risks of infections.

Discussion with doctor – After completing research, you can visit your doctor or clinic. You can discuss your trip with them and tell them about your concerns. You can tell doctors about the countries you are going to visit and the common disease there. With this information, physicians can provide you right guidance about vaccination. They can also check your medical history for any previous records of vaccine shots.

Vaccination – After your discussion with doctors, they can give you proper vaccine shots. They will give you vaccine shots for every common infection in those countries, you are going to visit. If you already had vaccine shots for a particular disease and still in its immune period, then you won’t need more vaccination.

In different continents, there are risks of different diseases like:

Africa – Yellow fever, Hepatitis B, Typhoid, Polio, Meningitis (in some countries)

South and Central America – Yellow fever, Hepatitis A, Typhoid

Asia - Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid, Polio, Japanese Encephalitis

Middle and Far East - Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid, Polio, Meningitis (Saudi Arabia)

Europe - Hepatitis A and B, Polio

Australia - Japanese Encephalitis in tropical north east areas

Disease like Tetanus and Rabies are common worldwide, which makes it ever more necessary to take vaccine shots.

After getting proper vaccine shots, you will be safe from any infection or disease in other countries. You can enjoy you time in other nation by having fun instead of lying in bed with sickness.

Vising African countries? Get vaccination for Yellow Fever first

African is one of the hottest holiday nations in world. However, in African countries, several types of diseases like Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid are very common. Common diseases make it important for travelers to get proper vaccination before visiting African countries. However, most important vaccination for Africa is of Yellow Fever.

It is a very common disease in the tropical areas of West and Central African countries. In many countries, certificate of yellow fever vaccination is a necessary document. This certificate is valid for 10 years and this period starts from 10 days after shot. Travelers cannot enter borders of these nations without proving that they had proper vaccine shots. This disease is also common in some of the Central and South American nations.

Yellow fever is a viral disease, which is spread due to the bite of female mosquitos. Mosquito’s bite releases RNA virus in body, which starts illness. It is dangerous for humans and primates. It can be fatal, however there is no permanent damage caused to body.

Symptoms – Yellow fever has symptoms like fever, headaches, chills, vomiting, loss of appetite, nausea, pains in back, stomach and other muscles. It can also damage liver by jaundice, which causes yellow skin tone. Symptoms start showing in early days of infection like three to six days. Due to its flu like symptoms, sometime people misunderstand it for other infections or sicknesses.

Diagnosis – Diagnosis of yellow fever can be done by the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). It can be done in after six to 10 days of sickness.

Prevention – this disease can be prevented by getting proper vaccination before visiting risky areas. If you are visiting African countries, then you must get vaccine shots at least 10 days prior to traveling. In most people, vaccines start protection after ten days of shots. So, it is always good to be on safe side. Good thing about this vaccination is that it can last for 10 years. Just after one shot, you can forget your worries about yellow fever for years. In many people, this vaccine protection can last for even 30 years.

It is always good to discuss with your doctor even if you already got your vaccination years before. During your trip, you must protect yourself from insect or mosquito bites. Avoid going in the risky areas.

If you are visiting any African nation, it becomes necessary to discuss with your doctor and get proper vaccine shots. You can also visit a travel clinic, where vaccines shots for this disease are available. Doctors there can also give your health safety instructions for trip.