“Travel Is The Best Medicine.”

— Annonymous

About This Department

Travel medicine is a highly dynamic speciality that focuses on pre-travel preventive care. A comprehensive risk assessment for each individual traveller is essential in order to advise on the most appropriate risk management interventions to promote health and prevent adverse health outcomes during travel.

As a part of this, vaccinations might also be required; our travel medicine department can administer these accordingly.

The Travel Medicine Clinic at Global Doctors Hospital covers the following areas as recommended by the International Society of Travel Medicine:

Services

 TREATMENTS:

Patient Risk Assessment Itinerary, activities, relevant medical history – We cater services for special populations (eg, elderly patients; those with chronic illnesses; children; women who are pregnant or breastfeeding; those visiting friends and relatives; immunocompromised patients; expatriates)
Pre-Travel Assessment Review special itineraries (eg, visiting armed conflict zones; diving; visiting extreme, wilderness, or remote regions; entering high altitudes)
Advice on Prevention & Self-Treatment Chemoprophylaxis, personal protective measures, self-treatment (eg, traveller’s diarrhoea, malaria), travel health kits
Advice on possible contact with risks of communicable diseases Animals, close interpersonal contact (eg. STIs), fresh and saltwater, food and water consumption, safety and security.

Useful info and health tips

From infectious diseases and physical injuries to exacerbating pre-existing medical conditions, travelers can face a variety of health-related threats during their journeys abroad. Fortunately, many of these issues can be mitigated or even prevented prior to your departure. Let’s take a look at some basic pretravel health measures to take before your next big international trip.

Consult a healthcare physician

One of the first calls you should make after booking your trip? To a healthcare professional’s office to find out which vaccines you should get and how you can prevent any other infectious diseases.

Contact your health insurance carrier

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 50 percent of international travelers visiting developing countries become ill during their trip. Since medical assistance abroad can be extremely expensive, it is important to ensure you have adequate health insurance before leaving.

Properly pack medications

Travelers with chronic diseases that need to bring medications with them on their trip will need to do their homework. Medications that are legal in one country may be highly regulated or even prohibited in another country. Failure to follow local laws may result in confiscation of medications, imprisonment for drug trafficking and even the death penalty.