Travel Health Advice 

Many people travelling abroad underestimate the health risks involved. 

While the travel agents will gladly tell you about the unspoiled beaches, the nightlife and the interesting food, you will not always hear about the risks of gastrointestinal infections, Malaria and Hepatitis. A study of more than 25,000 holiday makers carried out by the British Consumer Association revealed that 15% of long haul travellers and 11% of those on 
short-haul trips fell ill while on holidays. 

The study gives a list of countries where illness was most common among travellers. Many of the worst offenders were places where thousands of Irish holiday makers travel every 
year such as Egypt, Tunisia, Kenya and India. 

Many of the more serious infections are avoidable. Vaccines are available against Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Tetanus, Polio, Rabies, Meningitis and Yellow Fever. These are all available at Wine Street Medical Centre. 

Travel Vaccine Clinic

Travel Vaccine Clinic at Wine St. has been a HSE Registered Centre for the administration of the Yellow Fever Vaccine since 2005. Vaccines are also available against Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Tetanus and Diptheria, Polio, Rabies and Meningitis.

 Telephone 071 9151288 to find out if travel vaccines are required for your trip. We will detail the schedule of vaccines and the cost involved.

 There is a reduced consultation fee for students, couples attending together
and groups.

 Simple Precautions

A number of simple precautions may also help you avoid food poisoning. These include:

• Drink bottled water only and avoid drinks with ice cubes
• Don't eat anything you don't recognise!
• Shellfish may be a local speciality but it is also a common source of food 
  poisoning.
• Peel all fruit before eating
• Avoid salads and ice-cream
• Make sure food is freshly cooked for you and not reheated 

Malaria is another serious illness contracted by over-seas travellers. The infection is spread by mosquitoes who inject the malaria parasites into the blood stream while biting the unsuspecting traveller. Because the parasite which causes Malaria may remain dormant for weeks after the initial infection, travellers may not develop symptoms for weeks after they have returned making the diagnosis more difficult to establish. 

Unfortunately despite increasing awareness of this problem and increasing resistance of 
the infecting organisms to drug therapy, numerous deaths occur every year in the UK from this problem.

The risk of Malaria can be reduced significantly by taking simple precautions against mosquito bites and also by taking tablets which help protect against the infection while travelling and for four weeks after return. Further advice on this is available from Dr Caroline Tansey at the Medical Centre and from the Travel Medicine Centre in Scotland. 

Deep Vein Thrombosis and Air Travel 

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) has recently been identified as a significant risk to travellers on long haul flight. A study in the Lancet this year suggested that up to 10% of long haul travellers might develop symptomless DVT and that the wearing of elastic compression stockings during long haul flights could reduce the risk of DVT. 

The main risk factors for DVT are:

• Age over 40
• Pregnancy
• Those with cardiovascular disease
• Those with a family history of DVT
• Use of the oral contraceptive pill
• Recent surgery
• Obesity
• Smoking
• Varicose veins
• Presence of malignant disease
• Immobility

If you fall into any of these categories, contact your doctor before you fly. In general however you can reduce your risk of DVT by doing the following: 

• Keep moving. If you are unable to walk around the cabin, exercise your calf muscles by moving your ankles up and down regularly during the flight.
   
• Don't put your luggage under your seat as this will give you less room to
  keep your legs moving.
   
• Avoid smoking.
   
• A low dose aspirin tablet (75mg) can be taken if you are not on other pills which might interact with this.
   
• Wear graded compression stockings especially if you are in one of the risk
  groups.
   
• Drink plenty of fluids (not alcohol!)
   
• Report any suspicious symptoms early. These may include pain, swelling or tenderness in the calf muscles.

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