CFP Travel Medicine
CFP can help you plan for your dream vacation, overseas business travel, or long-term mission appointments. Dr. Moody has over 15 years of experience preparing people for overseas travel to often remote locations. He has a Certificate of Travel Health™, which “recognizes individual excellence in knowledge in the field of travel medicine, associated with pre-travel care and consultation” from the International Society of Travel Medicine, of which he is a member.
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CFP Travel Medicine Clinic offers pre-travel consultations including itinerary-specific advice, medications such as malaria prevention, and vaccinations such as Rabies, Typhoid Fever, etc. We are a Federal and State certified Yellow Fever Vaccine provider. In addition, we offer diagnostic evaluation and treatment initiation of medical complaints arising from travel.
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Your travel consultation should be scheduled well ahead of your departure date in order to complete the vaccination series and have plenty of time to procure needed medications. Please call us to help with the early planning of your adventure. Complete the traveler’s questionnaire prior to arrival to give us the best information to assist you.
Getting ready for your trip: A valuable resource to get an idea of required, as well as recommended vaccines and medications to take with you, as well as practical advice on staying healthy, is CDC.gov/travel. Sometimes, the information can be overwhelming, and we can help you sort out what you need for a specific trip.
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The most common ailments that American travelers contract while overseas are travelers’ diarrhea, respiratory diseases and fevers, and various skin ailments. Prevention goes a long way towards keeping you healthy during your travels. We have included some basic tips for staying well.
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It is important to avoid contaminated food and/or drink while traveling especially in remote, tropical, and developing countries that may not have protected drinking and irrigation water. Remember the saying, “cook it, boil it, peel it, or forget it” when choosing safe foods. A useful link for information is food and water safety. Likewise, avoid non-bottled water, ice, and even tap water to limit your chances of contracting travelers’ diarrhea. However, in case you do, it is important to start treatment with an over-the-counter medication such as Imodium right away. Most causes of diarrhea overseas are bacterial, causing more severe symptoms unlikely to resolve right away. We will also discuss with you whether you should take a backup antibiotic in case of severe symptoms not quickly resolving.
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After eating or drinking the wrong things, the next most common reason to get sick is being bitten by mosquitoes or other biting insects, which cause many diseases (malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, zika virus, chikungunya, etc.). Some simple precautions can greatly reduce your chances of becoming ill just by reducing the risk of insect bites. First, consider long sleeves when possible, to reduce skin exposure. New fabrics are much more comfortable and protect from sun damage also. Take insect repellant with you; ones containing at least 20% DEET are most effective but also Picaridin-containing products work well also. Finally, treat your clothing, hats, and shoes with Permethrin prior to departure which repels many biting and bothersome insects including mosquitoes and ticks.
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Call 423.648.5026 to set up your appointment!