Traveling out of the country is always an exciting experience. You might be taking a vacation with your family or planning a business trip to countries around. Whatever the case is, even before you book your flight tickets, plan for travel immunization, as it is extremely important.
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What is travel immunization?
In simple terms, if you are planning to stay away from your country’s borders, you must take immunization shots. Specific diseases, unheard in the USA, might be very common in other countries. In some special cases, you will definitely need to be immunized before you take your trip. However, the number of vaccines needed and the intensity of those depend on the following criteria:
-Your age and gender
-The health scenario in the country you are planning to visit
-Your medical history
-The number of weeks/months you will be staying in the country
Starting the process
Once you have decided that you are traveling abroad, 1-2 months prior, make sure you visit your medical practitioner/healthcare provider and discuss the immunization details. They will give all relevant information and help you with Travel immunizations and vaccines you should be checking out. You can directly get these shots from your healthcare provider, free clinic or any local healthcare department. The key here is to be truthful about your travel plans not missing out any place you might be visiting and to get these done well in advance as travel immunization takes time to work in your body.
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What vaccines do you need?
The US health department mentions a detailed list of routine vaccines that every adult and child should take irrespective of whether you travel or not. Apart from these, the government is very concerned about Immunizations for Travelers, especially when they go down to the less developed countries.
Below is a list of common travel immunizations you might need wherever you go.
-Hepatitis A and B
-Typhoid
-Paratyphoid fever
-Yellow fever
-Rabies
-Meningococcal disease
-Japanese encephalitis
-Diphtheria/tetanus
-Measles
-Hib
For instance, when you travel to any part of South America or Africa, the yellow fever vaccine is compulsory. Similarly, a trip to a part of the Saudi might need you to take the vaccination for the Meningococcal disease. Japanese encephalitis is very common in India because of mosquitoes and hence if you travel to these countries, these vaccines might definitely be on your list.
How important is this process?
A person’s immunity levels increase when the body is periodically exposed to a particular germ or infection-causing microorganisms. However, when you travel to an exotic destination and your body faces an unknown disease for the first time, your natural immunity levels are not strong enough to fight these diseases. Every country has its own travel immunization requirements, and you can check these on official health websites. If you feel your healthcare provider is not aware of the detailed needs of such travel immunizations, you can always take help from travel health specialists. These people constantly deal with travel vaccines and will have a specialized team and provide better assistance.
Are these vaccines worth the cost?
You definitely might have to shell out considerable money to get yourself vaccinated. This is the reason most travelers ignore these vaccinations. However, think of the long-term health implications and your physical and mental agony when you fall ill. Keep yourself protected and do not let diseases ruin your travel plans!
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