Travel Doctor Visit

I am SO glad I decided not to work at Cheesecake Factory this summer. I felt like I needed to work 7 days a week since I would be loosing a whole month of work. However, I need so much time to get ready for the trip, I wouldn’t be able to do it if I had to work weekends at Cheesecake. Anyway…

I wanted to write and talk about my trip to the travel doctor. My mom had told me the doctor's office offered an International Travel Clinic and that sounded like it was worth my time to check it out. I knew I would have to get multiple shots, and that there was a specific amount of time in-between the shots so we scheduled the appointment over winter break. Looking back I regret going that early, because the information the doctor talked about isn’t fresh in my mind right before my trip. It turns out I had already gotten all the shots I needed from trips to Jamaica and Cancun. The only ones I needed were Typhoid and Malaria which both some in pill form. So I actually didn’t need to go that early but I wouldn’t have known that until I went. Oh well.

Overall, I thought it was really helpful! I won’t know until I actually go ( I could get sick and say “Why didn’t he tell me about that!”) but I learned a lot and my mom took some notes. He talked about basic international travel tips and health concerns. He calmed my nerves (and my moms!) about the likelihood of getting sick. He said that the most common cause of death in the US, as well as abroad, for my age group is trauma. He warned me to be careful about any type of transportation that doesn’t look safe. Thankfully, I’m traveling with a large group that prearranges transportation. The Dr had been backpacking to Africa, so he knew what he was talking about! He slept in a tent next to zebras!

The same rules apply in Africa, like to always travel with a buddy and never go anywhere alone. Always let someone know where I am going and when I expect to return. Silly stuff like that, but is important to keep in mind.

He encouraged me to research healthcare in Africa. In case of an emergency, we wouldn’t want to be researching locations...we should already have them on hand.

I’m a big dog lover, but he said that the last thing I would want to do is touch a dog or even interact with a dog. They are the most common way to spread rabies and it is just not worth risking.

He gave me a prescription for Typhoid prevention. I can take it anytime before I leave. 4 pills to be taken over 6 days. Once I’ve done that, it works for 3 years. Sent the prescriptions to Price Club yesterday. It takes a little longer since most pharmacies don’t keep them on hand.

He talked a lot about the food and water. The guidelines are ones that will be difficult because it's simple things you do everyday in your routine life but in Africa they are critical to follow. Cannot drink any untreated water or ice. He suggested that alcohol or anything bubbly/carbonated would be better than unbottled water. He also warned that sometimes they will try to refill waterbottles so I have to be sure they are sealed.

My next door neighbor gave me some water purification drops! A small bottle that will be perfect for my trip and will make me feel better…I just want to be sure its clean water!!!

MUST STAY OUT OF LOCAL LAKES, RIVERS, CREEKS ETC.

As a general rule, he said hot foods should be eaten hot. Avoid buffets, no street vendors. Hot meat is okay but hot meat and vegetables is questionable. Only eat fruits that can be peeled. Do not eat fruits or vegetables that have been washed with water. No salad.

He said to watch the local ex-patriots for where to eat, what to drink etc. We have already heard of a good place in town…its called Tasty Bites!

Even at restaurants, he said to be sure to ask for soda without ice. And to bring individually wrapped straws because you don’t want to put your mouth on the cup. But he said its important to be polite and not insult the locals. He told a horror story, but I forget the details. I just remembered that the moral of the story was to bring straws!

What we spent the majority of the time talking about was diarrhea! Haha Sorry this is a little personal but it’s a serious issue when traveling internationally, so I’ll share!

He explained 3 kinds of diarrhea. The first kind is a change of bowel habits due to travel and different kinds of food and meal times. It’s common- basically just learn to deal with it.

Food poisoning comes on quickly from eating contaminated food. You will vomit and have diarrhea. Very important to keep hydrated and will probably last about 24 hours and you will feel very weak after.

The 3rd is traveler’s diarrhea and its explosive. He gave me two prescriptions to go ahead and fill and bring with me in case I will need them for this. One is an antibiotic and you should be better before the second pill if it is truly traveler’s diarrhea. The other pill is Imodium and it will slow your bowels so the diarrhea is less frequent. Must keep hydrated.

You need to see a DR if any of the above come with a fever, blood or pus. Dehydration is a real problem and if you are not peeing then you are dehydrated and you need to see a DR.

Lastly, he talked about the 3 options for the Malaria pills. (I explained that in the previous post below)

To avoid mosquito bites he recommended sleeping nets over my bed and wearing PJ’s with elastic ankles and waist. Africa is the real outdoors, and “Off” mosquito spray doesn’t do a darn thing. He recommended a spray with a high concentration of DEET. Luckily my neighbor went to Honduras a couple years ago and gave me her extra DEET spray!!

The doctor was great and really helpful. But he used a lot of big words and important language that was a little over my head. My mom and I talked about it when we were driving home and I often went “ Oh that’s what he was talking about!” haha I’m glad my mom was able to explain it to me! So most of what I wrote above is notes she typed up for me to understand!!!