Shots? Who needs shots?

 

 

So my friend that went to India asks me, “Did you know you are supposed to have shots before you go to India?” My first response was to laugh and then say, “Of course.” It seems that the travel agent he used assumed since he lives in Japan he would know this so they did not mention it.

No matter where you go you need your tetanus up to date and a flu shot during flu season is highly recommended.

Off the top of my head I know I have had Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Dengue, Tetanus, Polio, Smallpox, Typhoid, and Diptheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) vaccines. I have taken so many malaria pills that the mere mention of them makes me taste them. Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) is given now and it was not when I was a child we all just suffered through the measles and mumps. Not all vaccines are shots some come as pills as well.

So then my friend says, “The next time I go somewhere I will make an appointment a few days before at my doctor and get all the shots.” Again I laughed. I explained that your family doctor will not have the vaccines in the office they are generally given at the Health Department. Also, many of the vaccines must be given several weeks to months ahead of time to insure full effect.

The best source of this information is from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website, http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/

It is simple to go to the website and they list all the vaccines you need and they give travel tips and safety information for the various countries of the world. It is easy to enter the country you plan to travel to and it will bring up a whole webpage for the country.

Anytime you travel outside of the US be sure to check this information when you make your travel plans so you can get the appropriate vaccines or medications you need. For example with Malaria you will given pills to start before you go into the country, take while you are in the country and to continue for sometime when you get home to the US.

Taking the proper precautions with vaccines can help you have enjoyable memories of a wonderful experience in another culture. Not taking them can result in illness and in extreme cases death. So as the saying goes an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Safe travels!

 

What is a VISA? A travel Visa is a document issued by the Embassy of the country you are traveling to which allows a non-citizen of that country entry generally for a specific purpose and specific time frame. The document is generally a stamp that goes in your passport. Some countries also require an exit visa to leave the country. Some countries charge a fee to issue a visa. Some countries do not require visas for US citizens.

I recently had a friend travel to India. The day he showed up at the airport to go the agent at the airport asked for his Visa to which he replied, "Visa I am getting it over there." Well, they would not let him on the plane. Fortunately, he was only four hours from the Washington DC area home to most countries Embassies and also where I live. He was able to come and stay with me that night, go to DC the next morning for a 10 am appointment to get a Visa from the Indian Embassy. He waited in DC until 6 PM that night to get his Visa and made a flight the next day at 1 PM.

Do NOT let this happen to you! My friend even used a travel agent. The travel agent since he lives outside the US that he knew all about Visas.

So how do I find out if I need a Visa? The best source is the Embassy of the country you are going to visit. Remember, when visiting places like Europe where you may visit several countries to check on Visa requirements for each country you plan to visit. Some areas have "common" visas wherein you can enter several counties on one visa.

Travel Insurance

Travel Insurance

To buy or not to buy that is the question when it comes to travel insurance. One consideration is the cost of the policy which is generally based on the cost of the vacation. For example, in my research for this blog, I checked 24 travel insurance companies for a trip that cost $2,000 to the Caribbean. Cost of the travel insurance was $28 to $498! Quite price gap.

For many people they make the assumption that their health insurance will cover them where ever they are. This is not always the case. Your US policy is at times limited to the US. There is also medical evacuation to consider. What if you get sick and can not go on the trip? What about a sudden need for surgery, such as appendicitis?

I have been on several cruises and witnessed folks being medically evacuated. On one cruise it was a member from our group that had a heart attack and was evacuated to Texas where he had open heart by-pass surgery. He was in Texas several weeks. He lives in Maine. Not something he planned on, thankfully he did recover completely.

As for me, I booked a trip to sail on Carnival Cruise Lines over a year in advance of the trip. Thankfully, I decided to purchase the $75 insurance policy. One of the reasons I did was I had seen the member of my group medically evacuated. Little did I know that when time came for the cruise I would be unable to sail. I had bronchitis, double ear infection and a horrible sinus infection. I had been to my primary doctor and several specialists all who instructed me not to travel and agreed to complete the medical paperwork for the insurance company. I called the cruise company, Carnival, and cancelled my trip with in the specified time. I called the insurance company, Berkley Care, and notified them of my need to cancel the cruise in the specified time. The insurance company sent me the forms I completed them in the specified time. I called and followed up and I received three payments that covered my cruise and airfare.

Be sure you know what benefits are and are not included. For example, trip cancellation, medical evacuation, lost baggage, rental car coverage, accidental death benefit, cancellation for family member funeral, pregnancy or trip interruptions are some considerations. Baggage lost, delayed, or stolen. Know the time limits for notifying the insurance company which can be 24 to 72 hours generally. Read the policy before you go on your trip, and take the policy with you as it includes the phone numbers you may need. If you cancel because of illness you must be examined by a physician and he must sign the necessary paperwork

As with any type of insurance you do have to meet deadlines for timely filing and notification. However, I found the process rather easy and definitely worth having. For me travel insurance is always something I never leave home without!

Bathrooms of Ireland

To left - is the double button.

Above - note the paper behind you and the high tank flush.

Everyone has to use the bathroom at some point in their travels. It is always a bit of an adventure in foreign countries. Every time I leave the US I find something to marvel about in the bathroom. Ireland did not let me down!

I have found that when I enter a bathroom in a foreign country there are two things I have to take note of. First where is the necessary paper – sometimes it is behind you, under the sink, hidden in a cubby, or just hanging on the wall.

Second is to figure out where the flushing mechanism is. This means you have to look high and low. Sometimes, it is a pedal on the floor, or a button on top of the tank, levers on the front or sides of the tank, pull chains from the ceiling if the tank is high or any manner of other hidden combinations. I have been in some countries that do not flush as continuous flow of water over a trough type contraption. The Irish do provide the necessary paper in the bathroom. I have been in places in Europe where you had to pay for the paper or carry your own. The Irish have two buttons on top of many of their toilets. One button gives you a small flush and the other delivers a full flush to meet your individual needs and conserve water.

In Ireland you do need to carry your own facecloth, washcloth, as very few hotels provided them. During my stay in four hotels, all of which were four and five star hotels, only one had facecloths. I usually buy some cheap white facecloths that I can leave behind when traveling.

As a nurse I am always concerned about hand washing, it is scientifically proven to be the best method to prevention of infection. In Ireland I was impressed with the cleanliness of the bathrooms, availability of soap and individual paper towels to perform proper hand washing. Occasionally, there would be one of those electric hand dryers similar to what we have here, but
the majority of places had individual paper towels. I did see one or two of those old rolls of real towels where you pull out some fresh towel and then it retracts back into the machine. I have not seen them in use in the US for years.

All in all, Ireland gets an A for adventure in the uniqueness of some of their bathroom. To get an A one must be clean first and have something I have not seen before, the double button was the new thing for me!