Step 1: Plan your itinerary

This is the most important step. The places you are visiting, duration of your travel, season you are planning to go and any potential for communicable diseases. (if you are going to a developing world region in a rainy season, you need to be prepared for transport disruptions, power interruptions, diseases such as cholera). Understand what access you may have for emergency health needs. Sometimes access to healthcare could even be days away.

If you are visiting to the northern hemisphere (most overseas travel) you will be going in the opposite season. For a long Christmas Holiday to Europe, you need to be prepared for winter based diseases such as influenza/Covid, whereas in a tropical region, it could be the time of diseases such as Malaria and dengue.

Step 2: Do your research

Start with your medicine cupboard at home. What have you used in the last 6-12 months. Common medicines such as paracetamol (Panadol) and ibuprofen (Nurofen) tablets. Do you use things like deep heat, heat packs, knee/ankle/wrist braces? Do you use (contraceptive) pill? (or condoms). Organise a medicine bag and these should be the first to go inside. These may be available in a country you are visiting, but you could end up half a day trying to find these as well.

For specific health needs there are good websites as well. Australia government, World Health Organisation as well as Center for Disease Control (USA, if available) are some reputed sources.

Common items

• Medicines for nausea & vomiting
• Medicines for diarrhoea
• Your regular prescription medications
• (consider) Antibiotics for urinary infections, if you are a female.

Special situations

• Blood clot prevention needs
• Birth control
• Morning after pill
• PreP (pre-exposure prevention)

Travel Vaccines