Tonia Buzzolini*
My kids are aged 7 and 9. With relatives in Europe and North America, they’re now seasoned flyers.
So far there have been no major health issues (touch wood), although being a nurse armed with a well-stocked first-aid kit, I can get on top of minor illnesses or injuries early.
As you’d expect, I’m also fastidious about the whole family being immunised. Someone getting a serious, possibly life-threatening illness overseas would be my idea of a travel nightmare – especially when a simple jab would have prevented it.
But, not everyone sees it that way. Parents travelling overseas with young children for the first time often choose popular Asian or Pacific destinations in the mistaken belief that they somehow hold fewer health risks.
Their theory is “I’ve been to (insert Bali, Thailand, Fiji, other here) lots of times and only ever got travellers’ diarrhoea” so their kids can avoid having travel vaccines.
Weigh the risks of unprotected travel
While it may seem expensive to vaccinate a family for an overseas trip, the cost of a serious travel illness in medical bills, cancelled tours, and accommodation can run into the tens of thousands of dollars – especially if a medical evacuation was to be required.
And, what if not just one person gets sick, but the whole family? It does happen.
With today’s vaccines there’s a twin bonus: Not only are they highly effective, but many protect for life. Once the course is completed, no booster is required – ever.
So apart from having or renewing the less frequently recommended shots that might be required for a long-stay or off-the-beaten-track kind of overseas trip, my other concern with any destination (i.e. developed or developing country) is checking to see if malaria is an issue or what might current outbreaks might be occurring. You could say that getting vaccinated is a kind of travel health ‘insurance’. I think of it as a healthy investment that will return a lifetime of hassle-free holidays.
Vaccines last many years (and trips)
I love travelling with my children, especially as they’re now old enough to learn so much about the people they meet and the places they visit.
But, I learned from experience that kids of any age add both to the level of pre-travel preparation required and the challenges involved in keeping everyone safe and healthy during the trip.
Here are my 5 most important tips for healthy family holidays:
TIP 1: Check (or get) your vaccines early - You may be going to one or more places where specific travel vaccines are recommended - or even required for entry, such as many African or South American destinations. Travel medicine can be a complex field and getting expert, current advice from an experienced doctor is vital. Six weeks before departure is the ideal time, but even a late appointment is often still worthwhile.
TIP 2: Practice hand washing before you go - Yes, practice BEFORE you leave home. Because bacteria and viruses can be transferred from hand to mouth, hand hygiene is even more important in a developing country where sanitation and general hygiene may be lacking. Getting littlies to wash their hands thoroughly after play or after using the toilet, and before eating helps to make the practice become second nature for them. If you alternate between using soap and water, and hand sanitising gel, kids become familiar with the correct technique for each method and are ready for any eventuality. It is worthwhile: I found my kids reminding me to wash my hands, which gave them a sense that everyone has a part in keeping the family healthy on holidays.
TIP 3: Take special care about what you eat and drink - It really pays to think twice about what you eat – especially from markets and street stalls – but even in resorts. FOOD – Eat only well-cooked food and avoid uncooked food, including green, leafy salads and fruit already peeled. DRINK – Never drink tap water. It’s difficult to know if it is correctly treated or not. Best to stick with bottled water (check the seal’s unbroken), or water you’ve boiled or treatedyourself, both for drinking and brushing teeth. Don't put ice in drinks — freezing contaminated water doesn’t kill germs, it actually preserves them. Read more about safe food and water practices. The food and beverage rules are hardest for kids to remember and it’s often left to vigilant parents to ensure they don’t break them.
TIP 4: A travel first-aid kit is essential - Your traveller’s first-aid kit is another investment in travel health. Make it one of the first things you pack – once you checked it over and restocked outdated items and replaced those you used on your last trip. Travelvax offers a variety of travel first-aid kits for individuals and family groups for short or long trips, including adventure travel, but you can make up your own. Ideally, your kit should contain prescription items for treating common ailments and making running repairs quickly and easily. It should include such items as headache tablets, antihistamines, antacids, antiseptic lotion, cotton wool, band aids, latex gloves, and safety pins, thermometer, iodine swabs or other disinfectant, normal saline 30ml, sterile irrigation syringe, bandages, steristrips, dressings (absorbent &non-adherent dressings), triangle bandage, burn-aid gel sachet, alcohol-based disinfectant hand gel, oral rehydration solutions, topical first-aid antiseptic cream, and throat lozenges. Sunscreen and insect repellent are absolute essentials and come in strengths appropriate for different ages. My philosophy is to use those appropriate for the youngest person travelling, even if it means more frequent applications. Simply set your phone alarm and redo everyone at the same time (unless a fresh application is needed after a swim or sweating… I did say travelling with kids has its challenges?)
TIP 5: Travel insurance - with kids, you can’t afford not to - It may be a well-worn line, but it’s still true: If you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel. Hopefully, you'll never need it. But, if you’ve ever been sick, hurt or robbed overseas you'll know how glad you are that you’ve taken it out. The cost is negligible in the scheme of a big trip and just might save you hundreds - even thousands of dollars if your overseas adventure is marred by misadventure or illness. Just check the fine print so you know what you’re covered for (and not). Most travel insurance policies come with adequate medical cover but if you have a pre-existing medical condition, you're venturing well off the beaten track or engaging in high-risk activities, you may require special medical cover. (For a quote on travel insurance, go to the Travelvax website. Check the PDI to ensure the policy is right for you or your family’s particular needs.)
Call the travel health experts
Travelvax Australia offers a unique travel health service.
We provide Australians travelling overseas with no-obligation, country-specific advice over the phone on 1300 360 164 (toll-free for land lines). We recommend you call at least 6 weeks before you leave.
You can also make an appointment for an individual, couple or family with a doctor and nurse trained in travel medicine. The team will consider the length of your stay, type of accommodation, and plans after you arrive at your destination before making specific vaccination recommendations.
A ‘passport’ to healthy travel
Every family members’ general health, medical history, and individual needs will be assessed and you’ll receive in-depth specific and general advice and information.
Any immunisations can usually be completed in the same visit.
Each person’s vaccinations will be recorded digitally, and entered in individual international travel vaccination record books.
Keep each family member’s little yellow record book in a plastic sleeve with their Australian Passport. It’s their ‘passport’ to years of healthy travel.
Read more on Travelling with Children.
* Tonia Buzzolini is a registered nurse specialising in immunisation and travel health. She is the National Operations Manager of Travelvax Australia.