Thursday, December 29, 2011

Guard your health abroad by visiting one of many travel clinic located in New York

Going abroad? Before taking off ask yourself these questions to see if you’ve taken the right steps to guard your health from disease and infection while in another country.
Have you made an appointment to visit a travel clinic?
Everyone living in the tri-state area that is traveling overseas should visit one of the many travel clinics in New York before leaving to get accurate, up-to-date information on the health risks you take by visiting a particular country. You should meet with a travel physician 4 to 6 weeks before traveling to guarantee enough time for certain medications to take effect, especially for some vaccines that are distributed in a series, with days and sometimes weeks lapsing between each shot.

Do you know what vaccinations you need?
A trained travel doctor will tell you what immunizations you need, but it’s helpful to do some research about the country you to plan to visit and see what the Center for Disease Control recommends for Americans traveling there.  The CDC breaks down travel vaccines into three categories: those that should be routine, those that are recommended, and those that are required.
Routine Vaccinations
Routine travel vaccinations protect from diseases that, while uncommon in the United States, are oftentimes endemic in other parts of the World. Every adult planning to travel should update his or her immunizations. Adults should get one dose of the influenza vaccine every year, a tetanus booster every ten years, 1 or 2 dozes of the measles/mumps/rubella vaccine before age 50, and all women should get the 3 doses of the Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine before age 28, to name a few. Check with your travel physician to see what routine vaccinations you are in need of.
Recommended Vaccinations
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the CDC organize and inform us of the recommend vaccinations for U.S. travelers. They are based on the country they wish to travel to but can also depend on how rural the area, the season you’ll be traveling in, how long you’ll be there, how old you are, your current health concerns, and whether you’ve had any previous immunizations.
Required Vaccines
Currently there are only two vaccines that are required by law for travel into certain countries. The first is the yellow fever vaccination for travel to tropical parts of South America and parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The second is the meningococcal vaccination required for entry into Saudi Arabia. You will need to visit a certified travel clinic to receive an authorized travel immunization certificate to get clearance for these vaccinations.
Are you traveling with children?
There are different recommendations and vaccination procedures for children traveling abroad that adults need to take special care with before traveling with them. Children are especially susceptible to infectious diseases overseas, especially infants; for example nearly one million children under the age of 6 die every year from malaria. If you are traveling with children it is especially important you visit a travel clinic to access their needs.

If you’re looking for travel vaccination clinic New York visit this travel clinic located in Midtown. It’s located in between 39th and 40th street, two blocks from the Grand Central and Bryant Park transit locations. This travel clinic in Manhattan staff is incredibly personably yet professional, and can answer all your concerns about how to maintain your health while you’re abroad. To make an appointment you call 212-696-5900 or visit TravelClinicNY.com.

1 comment: