Be As Safe As Possible On Your Trip With Travel Vaccinations

by erin on June 10, 2011

Traveling is fulfilling. There’s so much you can gain from simply traveling that can’t be taught in books or read about online. It’s true that getting ready for a trip can be frustrating, but the things you learn and the memories you glean from a great trip outweighs the stress a hundred times over. Two of these stressors are passports and travel vaccinations, both of which can keep you from traveling if you don’t have them. A passport you can get online, but you have to visit a doctor plenty of time in advance to get your vaccinations.

Health Risks

When you travel, you come into contact with health risks we normally don’t have to worry about here in the United States. Because you’ve never come into contact with these pathogens, your body has not built up an immunity to them. Vaccines work by introducing a small amount or a very weakened sample of these pathogens into your body so that your immune system can create a resistance to it. You have most likely had various vaccinations before, probably when you were a child to prevent diseases like the chicken pox, smallpox, HPV, and others.

Three Levels

There are three different levels of travel vaccinations: required vaccinations, recommended vaccinations, and routine vaccinations. There is only one required vaccination, and it’s for yellow fever. That being said, the recommended vaccinations are recommended for a reason. Diseases that are certainly able to ruin your trip like Hepatitis A and Typhoid Fever can be prevented with a vaccination. Routine vaccinations are those administered to children at young ages for things such as tetanus and mumps. These vaccinations should definitely be up to date prior to your trip.

Various Locations

Depending on where on Earth you are traveling, your list of vaccines can vary greatly. One person traveling to one part of the world can have a vastly different list than someone traveling to another part of the world. Your own personal circumstance can alter this list as well.

Medicine Clinic

Generally, it’s best to get your vaccines four to six weeks before you leave, so visit a doctor or travel medicine clinic to set up an appointment. This is the ideal time frame for letting your immune system beat and recover from the vaccine, and it also allows time for vaccines that take more than one administering. If you are leaving on an emergency trip or if you have less than four weeks until you leave, still call the doctor and see if there are any vaccines or medications that can still protect you.

Other Necessities

Similar to vaccines, passports are a necessary component to traveling. If you don’t have a passport, you won’t be able to travel. If you need to get one right away, go online to a passport expediting site. These sites provide official passport applications that you can submit right from your home computer, and they can help you get a passport and have it get to you as quickly as you need, even in as little as 24 hours. Services like online passport renewal, passport replacement, and more are also available and are eligible for expedited shipping as well.

Trip Preparation

While you’re preparing for your trip, make sure to get your vaccines and your passport plenty of time in advance. This way you won’t have any last-minute emergencies. Do some research and see what sort of vaccines you could benefit from and get in contact with your doctor or a travel medicine clinic. Also remember to get your passport online. Expedited online passport renewal, replacement, and more can have your passport ready as fast as you need.

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