What are Travel Vaccinations: Overview, Benefits, and Expected Result

Traveling to a different place or country can expose you to a multitude of diseases that your body is not prepared for. Nevertheless, this does not mean that you have to cancel your travel plans yet. At present, travelers can protect themselves from endemic diseases by receiving proper vaccinations, depending on where you want to go.

Travel vaccines in New York are recommended to folks who are planning to travel outside the country. There are diseases that are very common in the areas you are traveling too. Thus, it is crucial to visit a clinic and get travel vaccines before you start travelling.

Travel vaccines in NYC basically work in the same manner as your daily vaccines. Vaccines, or immunizations, are solutions that offer immunity for a given disease. The vaccine normally contains a microorganism in its weakened or dead form. Alternatively, the vaccine may contain only a part of the organism, usually an antigen found on the organism’s surface, or one of its toxins. The vaccine elicits a response from the body, stimulating the immune system to produce antibodies against the organism. In this manner, if the body encounters the organism again, it will be able to fight off the microbe. Vaccines are generally safe, with rare occurrences of adverse reactions.

Travel vaccines are specific immunizations given to travelers prior to going to certain areas to protect them from acquiring serious, life-threatening diseases. Travel vaccines are divided into three general kinds: routine vaccines, recommended vaccines, and required vaccines.

Routine Vaccines: These are standard basic vaccinations that are included in most of the health programs. These vaccines are normally given to kids but may require a booster shot in order to provide effective immunity. Some diseases, like poliomyelitis, which have been eradicated in developed countries, may still persist in others. Surprisingly, a lot of adults are not updated with their vaccinations, and some have never been immunized at all, hence, traveling is a good way to get people vaccinated.

Routine vaccines include mumps, tetanus,  measles, polio, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, hepatitis B and H, etc. In certain countries, the vaccines for varicella, rotavirus, human papillomavirus (HPV) and BCG for tuberculosis have also been included in routine immunizations.

Recommended Vaccines: These are immunizations given to people traveling to places where there is a risk of exposure or contacting a specific disease. These vaccines likewise prevent certain illnesses from spreading to another region or country. Most of these vaccines target diseases that are prevalent in crowded areas with bad sanitary conditions. Suggested vaccines consist of cholera, raboes, typhoid fever, especially when traveling to South America. Additional recommended vaccines are immunizations for Japanese encephalitis, especially when travelling to specific Asian countries, and for tick-borne encephalitis, when travelling to Russia and the Baltic states.

Summing Up

Many travel health experts believe that patient education is the key to a successful, disease-free journey. A number of good websites, specifically the dedicated travel health web pages of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), can help you find the nearest travel clinic in your area, alert you to important travel health updates, and can guide you as to what vaccinations you may need for your trip.

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Things You Can Expect During Your Travel Clinic Appointment

So, you’re planning to visit East Asia with your family during winter vacations? Everyone loves spending their holidays away from their home country to some exotic place. Probably, you already might have started a discussion about your upcoming trip to the dinner table. Obviously, each family member has different desires and wishes when it comes to spending holidays in a foreign country. One person wants to do adventurous things, or the other just want to visit historical places and monuments. Just two months to go and counting would have started by now, hotels are booked, flight dates are confirmed, packing almost done and the places to be visited are also decided. 

Now, you must be relaxed - but you’re forgetting something. Have you visited a travel clinic in NYC? This is the most important thing you need to do before boarding, especially if you’re traveling to East Asia. Here, most countries are developing or under-developed. Hence, the risk of acquiring diseases like typhoid, malaria, yellow fever, hepatitis A, and rabies is high. By visiting a travel clinic, you will get to know whether or not you and your loved ones need any travel vaccination. And your health care provider will also instruct about the precautions you must take to keep diseases or illnesses at bay. 

Before you visit the best travel clinic in NYC, you must know what to expect during your travel clinic appointment. 

Bring your immunization records and your detailed itinerary, including travel dates, planned activities, who you’re traveling with, and exactly where you are going – the more specific, the better. This is important because the nurse or doctor’s advice will be tailored to your health needs and the places you’re visiting. Make a list of any health conditions and medications you are taking.

Preparing for your appointment at the travel clinic 

Usually, the travel consultation will take one hour or longer depending on how complex your itinerary is and wait for times post administration of your vaccinations. Do not forget to bring the necessary documents such as previous vaccination records, health history form and detailed itinerary of your trip. If possible, try to book your travel clinic appointment 6 weeks before boarding. 

What to expect during your travel clinic appointment?

During your travel clinic appointment, a nurse or doctor will ask you a few questions from your itinerary to your plans for the trip. Here are some of the common questions you can expect:

• When are you traveling? Which country are you planning to visit? 
• How long are you planning to stay there?
• Are you traveling for work, vacation, study, or any other reasons?
• Where are you going to stay - hotels, local homes, on a ship, or camping?
• Are you taking any medications?
• Are you up-to-date with your vaccinations? 

Depending on your needs, your doctor can recommend you vaccinations and medications according to the place you’re visiting. 

After your travel clinic appointment?

If your doctor has prescribed you any medications, such as antibiotics to treat Traveller’s Diarrhea or antimalarial medication, go to a pharmacy to fill prescriptions and refill other important medications.

In conclusion 

Always remember, prevention is better than the cure. You definitely want to bring lots of memories from your trip, rather than sickness or disease. So, to have the best and safe foreign trip, visiting a travel clinic is crucial at least a few weeks before boarding.

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