Travel Advice
This is the time of year when people are looking forward to booking holidays many of which are abroad to some exotic destinations. We are often asked in the surgery for advice regarding fitness to travel and what general precautions should be taken while travelling.
When on holiday in this country, the most important things to remember to take with you are your regular medication, a simple first aid kit and simple remedies such as Paracetamol, anti diarrhoea preparations and painkillers for children. Holiday makers frequently attend the surgery during the summer months asking for prescriptions for medicines left at home in the rush to pack up and travel away on holiday. The commonest requests are for inhalers for asthma, medication for blood pressure and heart disease and very often the contraceptive pill.
When travelling abroad it is essential to take out adequate medical insurance which you can obtain through your Holiday Company or travel agent. Advice regarding vaccinations and Malaria prophylaxis before holiday travel may be obtained by contacting the Medical Advisory Service For Travellers Abroad (MASTA) on 0906 550 1402 who will advise you on health requirements and send you a printed list of these.
Vaccinations for foreign travel are available from most G.P surgeries but it is advisable to book these well in advance of travelling.
Fitness to fly on an aircraft is generally not a problem for the majority of patients but there are certain patients with chest or heart disease who will require advice from their own doctor. It is best to seek this advice well in advance of the holiday in case there are problems particularly in respect of insurance cover.
There has been a lot of discussion recently regarding the risk of thrombosis or DVT in the legs in holidaymakers travelling on long distance flights. For the majority, the risk of developing a blood clot is low. On the rare occasions that a blood clot does develop early medical treatment can result in a good recovery. Most people can fly without concern however passengers who suffer from heart disease, blood disease, cancer or other history of thrombosis are recommended to seek advice from their G.P prior to flying. Risk factors include malignancy, hormone treatment, recent surgery, recent trauma involving lower limbs and abnormalities of blood clotting factors.
Simple measures to reduce the risk of DVT include wearing elastic stockings during the flight and wearing loose baggy clothing. If you can take Aspirin, have one tablet on the morning of travel and this reduces the stickiness of blood and decreases the risk of blood clotting. Drink plenty of fluids during the flight and avoid too much alcohol as this can lead to dehydration which can increase the risk of blood clotting. Doing a few simple exercises from your seat during the flight helps to promote blood flow in the legs and may also reduce the risk of DVT.
The vast majority of holidays are undertaken without any major medical problems and with a few simple preparations before going I hope that you will all have a trouble free holiday.
We can supply malaria prescriptions for you also stock a number of travel acessoreies such as mosquito nets sprays and first aid kits.
Dr. Paul Lutter.
