When you embark on a longer international trip, being prepared can be the difference between comfort and misery. Catching a nasty bug while abroad can cause you to miss out on exciting experiences. We’ve been there – it sucks. But don’t let that stop you from taking the trip of a lifetime! Countless people have paved the path before you and we’ve created this travel wellness guide just for you. Learn from our the research we did to prepare for our 5 month, 21 country vegan voyage around the world and the mistakes we made along the way.
Most of this information has been collected from personal experience, internet research, phone calls to travel clinics, a consultation with a travel nurse, and speaking with a physician. Even after reading this travel wellness guide, it is important that you do your own research and speak with proper professionals. This needs to be done well in advance of your trip to make sure your specific conditions and itinerary are compatible with keeping you well. We all want you to be healthy on your trip.
Do your research!
The Center for Disease Control (CDC), has a lot of information on their website to direct your initial research regarding your destinations and the associated health risks. You must make sure you’re up to date on all of your routine vaccinations (there are many of these so I won’t cover them all). Then, find a record of your vaccination history and plan to see a medical professional with travel experience. Your primary care physician will suffice for simple/short itineraries. For longer trips with a long list of destinations, I recommend getting an appointment at a travel clinic.
Clinics
We went to WellnessMart which is a private clinic and well-specialized in this area. Our meeting was at their office but we met virtually with an amazing travel nurse. She was incredibly knowledgeable and provided us with perfect tips on stay healthy. The consultation covered more information than vaccinations as we also discussed preventative and emergency measures.
We paid a reasonable $25 per person consultation fee. However, the above-market cost for vaccination or $35 per person fee for them to write you any prescriptions you may need was not so reasonable.
There are many other travel clinics out there. Private clinics may offer more complete care but are likely to cost you more. Many larger cities have travel clinics as a government service. They still aren’t free but their costs may be much lower than private clinics. Wherever you go, don’t put this off to the last minute. Try to go in at a least a month before your departure date. Since appointments can be booked out in advance, it’s critical to start this process sooner rather than later.
Travel Wellness Guide for Vaccinations:
I will discuss the critical ones we ran into for our trip but once again, do your own research and speak with a qualified medical professional as soon as you can.
Malaria
Malaria is a common issue in countries with mosquitos that can carry this disease. You cannot receive an injection or long term vaccination for Malaria. A couple oral options are prescribed to be taken during the days you are most at risk and the days before and afterwards. We decided to travel with Malarone as it has the least impact on your body while still providing immunity to Malaria.
While in Thailand, we read that the Malaria risk was so small and the locals strongly prefer that tourist don’t take medications preventatively as it can increase the disease’s resistance to the drug. Instead, bite prevention, knowing the symptoms of Malaria, and having Malarone to take in an emergency is recommended.
Do your own research and talk to a doctor so you have a plan of your own that fits your needs and itinerary. If you choose Malarone, it’s prescribed by a physician and can be picked up at most pharmacies without much delay. Insurance may or may not cover it.
Typhoid
You will likely need to be vaccinated for Typhoid Fever. You can get Vivotif which is an oral vaccine that last for 5 years. You’ll need to keep the tablets refrigerated and consume one every two days on an empty stomach. There are four tablets so this process takes one week. Vivotif may or may not require a prescription (ask your pharmacist) and it may or may not be covered by your insurance.
Yellow Fever
Yellow fever is much less common of a risk but is much more complicated. There are a limited number of countries with high risk of yellow fever but this is the one disease that requires proof of vaccination at immigration for some countries, so it depends on your itinerary. If you are in a country with high risk or traveling from a country with high/low risk to another country that has an immigration requirement, you will likely need to get vaccinated. If you are in a high risk area, you’ll need to find one of the very limited clinics in the country that has the vaccine and make an appointment, often weeks in advance.
Vaccination can cost up to $250 and comes with its own risks so if your itinerary doesn’t require yellow fever vaccination, don’t do it. If you’re in a gray area like we were, consult an experienced travel medical professional for what to do.
I recommend contacting a clinic that specialized in this vaccine to save the hassle. You can search for clinics here. At the non-profit AITC Immunization and Travel Clinic in downtown San Francisco, we were fortunate to get an official World Health Organization waiver for our immigration requirement for the vaccination since our exposure risk was very low. Similarly, if you previously got the Yellow Fever vaccine, you can go to a clinic and get your paperwork updated. (They recently upgraded the vaccine from 10 years to life.)
Bite prevention:
Vaccinations may help prevent some of the most common diseases but they also carry other strains of sicknesses that you’ll want to avoid on your trip. Bite prevention is a critical way to stay healthy on your trip! My packing blog already discussed (check out our gear packing blog here and our clothing packing guide here) bite prevention through the clothes that you wear. Here are more ways to avoid getting eaten on your trip:
- Sawyer Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent: apply this spray to some or all of your garments that you’ll be wearing in mosquito prone areas. It stays on your clothes for up to 6 weeks or 6 washings.
- Sawyer Controlled Release Insect Repellent Lotion: controlled release protects you for longer from a trusted brand. Target 20-30% DEET for best protection for the least amount of chemicals.
- SunSect Insect Repellent and Sunscreen Lotion: our travel nurse said this was the only lotion she could recommend for both bug and sun protection. If you don’t use SunSect but need sun and bug protection, put sunscreen on first then your bug prevention on top.
Water filtration:
For longer trips to any countries that don’t have drinkable tap water, having water filtration with you is key to save time and money buying bottled water. Both options are from well-recognized brands and allow you to drink from any water source on the go.
The LifeStraw Go Water Filter Bottle is perfect if you like drinking from a bottle with a straw. Be sure to buy extra carbon capsules to keep your water tasting great throughout your trip.
The Grayl Ultralight Water Purifier Bottle is perfect if you don’t like drinking through a straw or want to have an option to fill up a bladder or another container as you go. Simply fill up the outer bottle then press the inner bottle to filter the water through. It only takes 15 seconds!
Over-the-counter items:
Having a small pharmacy of over the counter drugs and items with you is worthwhile for big trips to new places. It’s difficult to avoid getting sick when you aren’t used to the native bacteria. Couple this with being somewhere you don’t speak the language can make getting the relief you need very difficult. We checked to make sure everything on this list is vegan to save you the time!
We determined which items to bring with the help of this list from the CDC.
Here’s our portable pharmacy:
- GeriCare Anti-Diarrheal: diarrhea is the most common travel illness so this is a must have
- Robitussin Coughgels: these vegan capsules will help suppress your cough if you start to come down with something
- Rolaids Antacid: these tablets will help with minor indigestion issues
- Dramamine Motion Sickness Relief: these were the only medicinal vegan option we could find. But lookout, it causes drowsiness!
- Sweet Ginger Tummydrops: these natural ginger candies help with motion sickness without the drowsiness or medication
- Ibuprofen: great light pain killer. Take with some food to keep your stomach happy and healthy.
- Acetaminophen: another great light pain killer. Avoid with alcohol but you can take it on an empty stomach.
- Garden of Life Multivitamin (for Women or Men): these organic, natural, vegan supplements help your body be at its prime in new environments
- NOW Probiotics: taking probiotics during your trip is SO CRITICAL. You’ll encounter all sorts of foreign bacteria while traveling. Probiotics give your gut extra power to take down the bad stuff you’re not used to. They reduce the risk of getting a stomach sickness, like traveler’s diarrhea.
- Handzies Wipes: these wipes use soap and oils to keep your hands and surfaces clean, not alcohol. This keeps the micro-biome on your hands healthy, unlike hand sanitizer, which is critical on big international trips. These are also cruelty free 😊
- Electrolyte Mix Powder: whether you’re recovering from being sick, a little hungover, or just feeling dehydrated, this vegan powder will rescue you when you need it most.
- Portable Pill Cases: these cases will help consolidate your medications so you don’t need to lug a bunch of bottles in your daypack. Use a label maker to keep track of what’s what. Take pictures or keep the labels in a baggie so you know the directions for taking them!
- A first-aid kit is very wise to have on your for big adventure trips. For a quality kit that is lightweight, pick up this Adventure Medical Kit. We went with the 0.7 kit but you can size up or down to fit your needs.
- Dr. Fredericks Blister Bandages: add a pack of these per person to your first aid kit. As soon as you notice your skin become irritated, put one on – it’s life-saving.
Travel Wellness Guide for Prescription Medications:
This topic is a bit more complicated as each person’s situation will be different based on their needs an insurance. Here are a few pieces of information/tips that you may find helpful.
- You may be able to get a vacation override for your prescriptions by calling your insurance provider. This may help you get more of your medications in advance of your trip if it’s longer than a month.
- If your insurance won’t cover your prescriptions for a long trip, you may be able to buy them out of pocket. Ask your pharmacist if they have any coupons – this can save a lot of money!
- Timing is critical for filling prescriptions before a big trip. Talk to your pharmacist well in advance to formulate a plan. Our pharmacist instructed us to wait until a week before our trip to place the overrides. From there, we had to make several trips to the pharmacy in our final days but we ended up getting everything we needed.
- Some drugs which are prescription in the USA are over the counter abroad. If you’re having trouble getting your medications before you leave, it may not be so difficult to get them on your trip.
Travel Wellness Guide for Birth Control:
Getting your favorite birth control around the world is not the easiest project. On a trip like this we ran into some roadblocks for getting birth control so here are a few things you should know.
- Insurance will often give an extended “vacation” amount of your medications (three months).
- Getting birth control in some countries is pretty easy, and in others it is very difficult. There are some countries where it is even difficult to get condoms.
- Some birth control options must be refrigerated or at least kept away from extreme heat and cold which can be very difficult when you are traveling.
- Zika is prevalent in some countries that we are going to, so faulty birth control comes with extra risks.
For those reasons, I decided to get the Nexplanon birth control implant. My very short summary on Nexplanon is that it works, but it comes with some tough side effects. I experienced these side effects and many friends have had the same experience.
My side effects were loss of period, anxiety attacks, mood swings, nausea, and headaches.
I’m definitely excited to get it taken out as soon as I get home.
Look into birth control a little while before you leave so you know what your options are. If it is a short trip no more than a couple of months you should be able to get birth control from your home pharmacy that will cover you.
Thanks for checking out our travel wellness guide!
Check out our essential travel blogs on:
Xo,
Seyka & Brian
Author
