For many businesses around the globe, travel over the past year and a half has been pretty limited due to pandemic constraints. However, with more state and international governments loosening travel restrictions in the near future, we wanted to emphasize the importance of Travel Medicine to keep your traveling workforce safe.
What is travel medicine?
Travel medicine encompasses a broad range of services and recommendations designed to keep your employees safe based on their destination(s), mode of transportation, etc. The CDC recommends international travelers visit their travel medicine specialist at least 1 month prior to travel outside of their home country to ensure proper timing of any recommended vaccines or prophylactic medications. If you are traveling internationally at the last minute, it is still recommended to consult with a travel medicine provider for vaccines and recommendations.
During your travel medicine visit, your provider may discuss several topics designed to protect you from injury or illness during your travels, including:
- Vaccinations recommended for your specific travel destination(s)
- Preventative medications, such as anti-malaria medication, are recommended for specific travel destinations
- Tips on how to prevent other mosquito/insect-born diseases
- Injury/illness prevention recommendations based on the location or type of activities you will be doing while traveling, including traveling at high altitudes, in rural areas, freshwater or ocean swimming, eat and water safety, etc
It is also highly recommended that all travelers, especially international travelers, pack a travel health kit to continue to ensure their health and safety while traveling. These kits may include:
- Prescription medications
- Regular medical supplies (glasses/contacts, blood sugar test kit, epi-pens, etc)
- Over-the-counter medications that may or may not be available in the destination location
- Supplies to prevent injury or illness (hand sanitizer, water purification tablets, insect repellent, sunscreen, etc)
- First-aid kit
- Documents (copies of passport and travel documents, copies of prescription medications, copies of health insurance and vaccination cards, etc).
For additional traveler health recommendations, please visit the CDC website or contact your travel medical provider.
