Every year more and more Americans are traveling internationally — for vacation, business, and volunteerism, and to visit friends and family.
Whatever your reason for traveling, there are precautions you should take to be proactive, prepared and protected when it comes to your health—and the health of others—while you are traveling.
EvergreenHealth's Dr. Frank Riedo is an expert in travel medicine, and offers some advice for anyone exploring outside of the US.
Why would someone need to see a travel medicine doctor?
Dr. Frank Riedo Globalization facilitates the spread of disease and increases the number of travelers who will be exposed to a different health environment – an estimated 80 million travelers go annually from developed to developing countries.
Travel medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention and management of health problems of international travelers. This typically includes pre-travel consultation and evaluation, contingency planning during travel, and post-travel follow-up and care.
What are some of the most common things I might encounter while traveling?
Dr. Riedo Many health hazards that can plague a traveler are dependent on the country or region you are traveling to.
It also depends on the type of activities you’ll be doing on your trip–a jungle safari carries a much different risks than a food tour of Thailand.
The medical problems most acquired by tourists include the 6 I’s:
How can I better prepare for my next international trip?
Dr. Riedo Before going on any international trip you should take time learn about the country you are going to, and determine the specific health risks. A good source of information is the CDC.gov website.
You should also visit a doctor for a pre-travel consultation to:
What do you recommend people bring with them or pack to prepare for possible illness?
Dr. Riedo While you may not be able to prevent every illness or injury, you can plan ahead to be able to deal with them. I advise people to pack a travel health kit that includes:
Watch Dr. Riedo's segment on healthy travel abroad on KING5's New Day Northwest.
We tend to bring more than souvenirs home with us - such as respiratory infections or gastrointestinal issues.
If you aren’t getting better, see your doctor and be sure to tell them where you’ve been traveling, because that changes the nature of the testing that will be done to determine the problem and the best treatment.
Before you set off, let our travel experts provide a pre-travel consultation for your entire family.
Our providers have traveled extensively and served on medical trips in remote areas and are considered experts in travel medicine and foreign infectious disease.
We'll look at your destination, length of stay, immunization history and general health and provide you with:
To schedule a travel medicine consultation, call 425.899.5100.
Dr. Frank Riedo is board certified in infectious disease medicine and practices at EvergreenHealth Travel Medicine in Kirkland, WA. Call 425.899.5100 to make an appointment with Dr. Riedo.
