Five types of malaria prophylaxis vaccination drugs available for travel protection

Malaria has been extinct in the United States since the early 1950s. Thanks to intense government interventions in the early 20^th century, contracting malaria within the U.S. is now almost impossible.

What is not impossible, however, is catching the sickness in another country and carrying it back into the country. Every year, about 1,500 United States travelers bring malaria home with them.

If you know the country you are traveling experiences malaria outbreaks, you must seek the proper malaria prophylaxis, or, medicines that prevent malaria. Nobody living in the United States should visit unindustrialized nations or rural parts of the world without looking into getting a travel vaccination. Even if you’re originally from the country you plan on visiting, you are not immune to its local diseases. People who don’t take preventative measures to protect their health while abroad are putting their bodies at risk for infection.

For malaria, there are five types of malaria medicine available for travelers, each with different benefits and issues:

Doxycycline
This inexpensive medicine can be taken a day before taking off, which can be very convenient for travelers who do not visit a travel clinic at least two weeks before leaving. But this cheaper brand has common side effects such as stomach ache and skin sensitively. It may also trigger yeast infections in women who are prone to them.

Atovaquone/Proguanil (Malarone)
This drug can also be conveniently taken only one to two days before landing in your destination country, but it tends to be more expensive. However, unlike its cheaper counterpart, Doxycycline, Malarone affords little to no side effects.

Primaquine
This is the final daily medicine available that can also be taken one to days before leaving. It’s different in that it is specifically designed for the P. vivax species of malaria. If the area you plan on traveling to carries this species of malaria, then Primaquine is right for you.

Chloroquine
If you’re taking a long trip somewhere, this pill is convenient because it is only taken weekly. It is also safe for pregnant women.

Mefloquine (Lariam)
Just like Chloroquine, this drug is taken weekly and is safe for pregnant women. Also similar to Chloroquine, travelers need to start taking Lariam two weeks before leaving the country.

These drugs cannot be taken by everybody and are not efficient everywhere. People taking other medications or that have certain health problems need to speak with a physician about possible complications. There are also parts of the world resistant to certain types of malaria medication. For example, Chloroquine will not protect travelers going to Brazil, Afghanistan and many other countries.

Before you leave the country, meet with a travel physician that will help you decide which malaria prophylaxis is right for you. For medication that yields the fewest side effects, plan on starting the medicine two weeks before taking off. You may also need another type of travel vaccination for diseases such as typhoid, hepatitis A and hepatitis B, which are common in many parts of the world.

Meet with Dr. Slava Fuzayloff, a travel clinic NYC physician located at 274 Madison Avenue, for a complete evaluation. To learn more about him and his services, you can visit travel vaccination. Don’t let malaria end up as a bad souvenir you bring home with you; get the proper preventive medicine.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Plan Your Next Vacation at a Travel Clinic

Have you ever traveled flown? Sure enough, most of us know what it’s like to travel by car, train, or bus, but not everyone has used a plane.

Airplanes, for the most part, are preferred only for far travel, whether nationally orabroad. As we board, we’re hopeful for that vacation soon to come or the next adventure about to begin, but what we fail to realize oftentimes is that being on the plane is a break itself.

Buildings become toy blocks, parks look like small patches of farmland, and the people disappear from view in a few seconds. Aside from the initial air sickness, the rest of the flight is generally smooth, and all you mostly see are the cotton candy soft clouds and an endless baby blue hued sky.

            Too quiet for you? Whether fortunately or unfortunately, you can always run into some turbulence while in the air. With lights flashing seatbelts on, frightened crew gripping the railings, and a suspenseful heightened sense of fear, you’ll have that adrenaline pumping before you even land.

            That and along with the view, you get complimentary food and drink (doesn’t always happen in the hotel). Smiling stewards and stewardesses wish you well, all the while you can recline back in your seat, watch the movie playing, or listen to music. Nowadays, you can even bring the laptop with you for internet access, or then again, just sleep. And this is all before the actual vacation starts. (Gasp!)

            Before you book your next travel flight though, make sure that if you’re flying internationally, you get your travel vaccines early. Travel clinics will make sure you’re ready to enjoy the trip as well as the plane ride.

            Start today: our travel clinic is located at 274 Madison Ave, Suite 304, New York, NY.  For more information, check out travel clinic NYC.  Don’t worry, you’ll be on the flight before you know it.  

Travel To Cambodia To Experience Breathtaking Angkor Wat The Magical Temple Complex & Prudent Protection Via Inoculation

For the non-denominational spiritually-minded amongst us, nowhere on Earth conjures such mystical feelings as the famed temple complex at Angkor Wat, Cambodia. A simple gaze at its spectacular geometrical towers against the bright sun-streaked sky (or even better: under the yellow moonlight of a star-studded evening) and one feels closer to whatever deity he or she currently holds closest to their heart. There is a mysterious aire to this destination, as if the prayers and esoteric beliefs of millions of ancient devotees are somehow synergized directly into its strange and secretive stone carvings. However, in this era of non-arcane points of view and the almost-complete failure of mystery schools for the knowledge of medical schools, a visit to a travel vaccination clinic may offer better protection than a talisman or amulet of your particular divination when visiting this complex complex.

This priceless and shining jewel of Cambodia is the largest Hindu temple in the world, dwarfing others by great magnitude. Its iconic shape and structure adorns the national flag and is known worldwide for its pilgrims. In fact, this twelfth century labyrinthine religious place is still a prime destination for pilgrims of not only the Hindu faith—but for millions of others who are absorbed by its aesthetic beauty, respect for its culture, and veiled-but-profound sculptures of deities, demigods and demons. Cambodia is a region of the world still infused with magic. Unfortunately, their reliance on this mystical way of life may have contributed to its high infant mortality rate, almost nonexistent industrialization, and its high ranking as a source of infectious disease. For anyone planning on traveling to this spiritual paradise it is highly recommended that they visit a travel vaccinations clinic four-to-six weeks before the beginning of their trip to help protect against contracting one or more of Cambodia’s dangerous diseases.

                                                                       

According to all reigning disease specialists—including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—the sheer number of infectious diseases still continuing to be contracted in Cambodia compiled can create quite a frightening list. Things often look worse on paper than they do in the real world, so remember that if Cambodia is calling for business or pleasure, for religious reasons or any other, a simple vaccination or two can protect you against becoming infected with any or all of its insidious sicknesses.

The list of diseases virulent in Cambodia that a vaccination may be recommended for at a travel clinic of your choosing include:

Hepatitis A

This is a viral disease that interferes with the liver’s functioning and is spread through ingestion of food or water contaminated with fecal matter.

Hepatitis E

A water-borne viral disease that also damages the functioning of the liver.

Typhoid fever

A bacterial disease spread through contact with food and/or water contaminated by sewage or fecal matter.

Malaria

A worldwide killer, Malaria is caused by the parasitic protozoa Plasmodium which is transmitted to humans through the bite of the female mosquito. The interruption of blood supply to the brain can cause damage to vital organs and death.

Dengue fever

A mosquito-borne (Aedes aegypti) viral disease associated more with urban living than jungle and that begins with a sudden fever and head pain.  Death occurs in approximately five percent of cases.

Japanese Encephalitis

A mosquito-borne (Culex tritaeniorhynchus) viral disease associated with rural areas in throughout all of Asia. Can cause paralysis and/or coma and death rates of this insidious disease can be as high as thirty percent of those acutely infected.

If travel to the wondrous Angkor Wat, Cambodia is in your future, please get to a licensed travel clinic for an in-depth consultation with a board-certified doctor regarding what vaccination (or vaccinations) would be best for you. This decision can be best made by a medical professional who will closely peruse your itinerary in order to pin point the most dangerous diseases that may be in your vicinity.  This is calculated through season, age, general health of the traveler, etc. and should only be made by a certified travel doctor.

If you are in NYC, please log onto Cambodia vaccination for more information on the city’s premiere travel clinic of its type. Call 1-212-696-5900 to arrange an appointment. They are discreet, affordable, friendly and conveniently located just blocks from Grand Central Station. Enjoy your trip.