Travel Precautions and support

Travellers should seek advice from a pharmacist or their GP at least 8 weeks before they are due to travel, as some vaccines may need to be administered in advance, so that the body can develop immunity.

Other vaccines may need to be given in scheduled doses over a given length of time.

Some countries require proof of vaccination (for example, for polio or yellow fever vaccination), which must be documented on an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP) before entry or when you leave a country. For example, Saudi Arabia requires proof of vaccination against certain types of meningitis for visitors arriving for the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.

Being the most accessible healthcare professional within the community, pharmacy is ideally positioned to help their customers stay healthy when they travel.

Health matters when visiting a country abroad, be it for a holiday, taking a gap year to adventure the world or visiting friends and relatives.  Ensure to highlight the following holiday tips to your customers before they go away. After all it's better to be safe than sorry.

• Customers need to be aware of all the different risks associated with visiting another country. The GOV UK Foreign Travel Advice has all the information yourself and your customers will need. It is worth mentioning that many travel insurance policies with be invalidated if the customer travels against this advice.
• Ensure their passport is valid. Many countries, airlines and / or cruise operators require at least 6 months validity in a passport at the return date.
• Advise them to take a photocopy of their passport and certificates and store them digitally. Leave a copy with friends and family in case of emergency.
• Take enough money to cover for any emergencies, try and keep this money in different places.
• Take a money belt and avoid displaying cash in open public. The same goes for any expensive digital equipment such as cameras. 
• Never leave personal valuables in a hotel room, keep them locked in a safe (if available)

If your pharmacy provides a private travel health and vaccination service, you can recruit into the service.

Numark has lots of free travel health support (including how to set up a travel health and vaccination service) on our website at the Travel Health and Vaccination Service link.