In all the previous travels that we have made, we never went to the Travel and Immunization Clinic before any of our trips. We went this time because our doctor told us that he was not able to provide us with the necessary immuniztion shots as they have to be now obtained from the Travel Clinic in Windsor. We were were surprised with the details that had to be given to the nurse in the clinic so that she could determine what immunization we should have for our trip to South America. She prepared a lot of information about the hazards that we could face on such a trip and what precautions we should be taking to avoid getting into trouble on our trip. I have gone over all the information that she has given us to read and am really surprised to learn so much about the diseases, food and water problems that we could encounter. I love to swim and was very surprised at the hazards in swimming in fresh water in South America as well as swimming in the sea where I thought that the salt water is usually safe to swim in. This has been a real learning experience for me.
I also obtained from the Travel Clinic, the web site where Canadians travelling abroad should register their travel plans with the Canadian Government before leaving on their trip abroad. This registration would enable the government to assist a person in case of an emergency abroad or to inform a person of an emergency at home. I have already registered our trip with the Canadian Government and do hope that they will not have to become involved in any event with us. Also I obtained from the Travel Clinic, the Canadian Government web site that gives warnings about travel in any country in the world. I checked the first country that we are visiting and was surprised about the warning that the Government had listed on visits to that country. This was very useful information to be aware of.
Previous to this trip, I had always made my reservations through a travel agent and had expected a travel agent to tell me any travel problems that I should be aware of. I am glad that our doctor sent us to the Travel Clinic as it has made me more aware of all the items that I should be aware of on a trip that we are about to take in less than 4 weeks time.
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Immunization necessary for a trip to South America
For any extensive trip that we make, there is always a lot of anticipation and preparation. We are going through this phase now. We received our tickets from the shipping line, and we were advised to see our physician for any immunization that is required. Before seeing our physician, I checked with the web to see what was being recommended there for immunization. for South America.They simply advised that we should have shots for Hepatitis A&B, Yellow Fever, Typhoid and Rabies if we will be in contact with animals.
I phoned our physician and asked to have these shots and was told that they do not give these shots and that I should go to the Windsor Travel and Immunization Clinic. They gave me a phone number to call. When I phoned, I was told that I would have to make an appointment which I did for both of us on Monday, 22nd of August. When we went for the appointment, the nurse had to know precisely all the places that we would be visiting and the dates and time of all our shore excursions. She also had to know details of our past medical history. She took all this imformation and inputted this information into a special program on her computer. Being interested in computer programs, I asked if I could access this program on my computer. She said this is a special program that was quite costly to buy for their travel clinic. As my wife, Dorothy had another appointment, we could not wait till the nurse imputted all the information into the computer and rescheduled another visit yesterday ie Friday 2nd of September for our necessary shots.
On the second visit the nurse had prepared a lot of information on each country that we planed to visit and all the diseases that could be picked up in the different areas in each country. She gave us a copy of what she found on each country. She recommended that we have shots for Hepatitis A&B, Yellow Fever and Typhoid. She did not recommend Rabies shots as they require a series of shots and could be hard on the body to take. However she did suggest that we verify if the ship we are on can give treatment for Rabies. Otherwise we would have to be immediately flown back to Canada or the USA. She also gave us medication that we should take before our trip and if we may have diarrhea during our trip.
Now these shots are not covered by our Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan (OHIP) so we had to pay for these shots. This amounted to $670.00 for the both of us. These shots were once paid by our medical insurance but now are not included in our plan. I guess the Government reasoned that if we had the money to pay for a trip to another country, we could afford to pay for the immuniztion that was necessary.
I phoned our physician and asked to have these shots and was told that they do not give these shots and that I should go to the Windsor Travel and Immunization Clinic. They gave me a phone number to call. When I phoned, I was told that I would have to make an appointment which I did for both of us on Monday, 22nd of August. When we went for the appointment, the nurse had to know precisely all the places that we would be visiting and the dates and time of all our shore excursions. She also had to know details of our past medical history. She took all this imformation and inputted this information into a special program on her computer. Being interested in computer programs, I asked if I could access this program on my computer. She said this is a special program that was quite costly to buy for their travel clinic. As my wife, Dorothy had another appointment, we could not wait till the nurse imputted all the information into the computer and rescheduled another visit yesterday ie Friday 2nd of September for our necessary shots.
On the second visit the nurse had prepared a lot of information on each country that we planed to visit and all the diseases that could be picked up in the different areas in each country. She gave us a copy of what she found on each country. She recommended that we have shots for Hepatitis A&B, Yellow Fever and Typhoid. She did not recommend Rabies shots as they require a series of shots and could be hard on the body to take. However she did suggest that we verify if the ship we are on can give treatment for Rabies. Otherwise we would have to be immediately flown back to Canada or the USA. She also gave us medication that we should take before our trip and if we may have diarrhea during our trip.
Now these shots are not covered by our Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan (OHIP) so we had to pay for these shots. This amounted to $670.00 for the both of us. These shots were once paid by our medical insurance but now are not included in our plan. I guess the Government reasoned that if we had the money to pay for a trip to another country, we could afford to pay for the immuniztion that was necessary.
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