Will be happy to advise you on immunizations and other preparations necessary to ensure your holiday abroad is a healthy one.

We offer a comprehensive service and are an approved Yellow fever Centre.

Please leave at least 6/8 weeks before departure to obtain advice.

Please note that although the NHS will pay for some vaccinations, there is a charge for those excluded from this list.

Flight socks and medical travel packs are available from the surgery.

Appointments may be made at reception to see the travel nurse specialist.

Always consult the travel nurse as early as possible. Vaccinations always take a while to become fully effective.

The Dept of Health booklet Health Advice for Travellers (T6) is available from post offices and contains useful advice & information. If you are travelling within the EU form E111 explains how to get medical help in EU countries. It will also be required should you need treatment.

Keep records of any travel injections you have before you go.

It is sensible to take a medical kit, especially if you are going to a remote destination. A few basics like calamine lotion for sunburn, an antiseptic cream, insect repellent painkillers & anti-diarrhoea tablets should guard against most mishaps.

If you are taking medication for an illness be sure you have adequate supplies & carry them in your hand luggage.

Tell your doctor if you might be pregnant.

Reduced air pressure in an aircraft can cause discomfort. Travel in loose clothes and try and walk around the aircraft when you can. The dry atmosphere can cause dehydration. Drink little and often and remember that alcohol itself causes dehydration and won’t make you feel any better!

If you have recently suffered certain illnesses like peptic ulcer or a heart attack air travel may not be a good idea – ask your doctor first.

Some travellers use mild sleeping tablets on long flights. These may not be advisable for the elderly or those with respiratory problems.

Over exposure to the sun can cause burning, dehydration & even skin cancer. So be sensible- wear a hat and use sun blocks with an appropriate protection factor.

The commonest health problems overseas arise from accidents – in & around swimming pools & in traffic. Take care, alcohol can increase the risk of accidents.

Risks of a tummy upset can be reduced by drinking only bottled or sterilized water, avoiding ice in drinks & checking hygiene standards in restaurants. Illnesses like cholera ,typhoid & Hep A are caused by contaminated food or water. So salads & seafood from polluted sea water might be risky.

Diarrhoea might lead to dehydration, so drink plenty of bottled water with added salt tablets & sugar after long attacks.

Where there is a malaria risk , protective drugs must be taken & measures such as mosquito screens, wearing long sleeves & trousers at night, repellents & mosquito coils will all help to prevent mosquito bites.

Hepatitis A, Typhoid & Cholera caused by infection from contaminated food & water. Flu like symptoms which can progress to more severe illness e.g. jaundice & severe diarrhoea. Vaccinations available.

Aids/HIV, Hepatitis B serious viral infections spread by intimate person to person contact such as unprotected sex, sharing contaminated needles, transfusions with contaminated blood or using inadequately sterilized equipment. Protect by practicing safe sex (vaccine available against Hep B not HIV)

Malaria , Yellow Fever caused by ‘bite’ from mosquito carrying either parasite.
Vaccine available for Yellow Fever, tablets for malaria.

Polio caused by direct contact with infected person/airborne particles. Immunisation available.

Rabies caused by bite from infected animal . Vaccination available.

Tetanus usually caught through open wound, especially when in contact with soil. Vaccination available.

See Practice Nurse for further Information.

Fit For Travel website: www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk

For CHILDREN’S ASTHMA For general advice re childhood asthma, please speak to Anne Went Health Visitor or book an appointment with Helen Jones or Katie Schofield, our specialist Asthma Nurses.

The specialist Asthma Nurse will

	Help you to understand Asthma
	Give practical advice on how and when to use the inhalers
	Monitor your child’s asthma
	Listen to your concerns

 Anne Went Health Visitor 01252 873263

Free and Confidential to young people between 12 and 24

You will be able to discuss ‘issues’ that worry you

including relationships, families, drugs, pregnancy, sexuality, stress, bullying, feeling low, depression or anything else that worries you.

Contact the Youth Counselling Service by phoning 0845 600 2516. If there is no-one in the office then there is an answer phone.

Or contact by e-mail youthcounselling@ukonline.co.uk.

Or you can ask at reception and they will help you.

Other useful numbers