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John D. Wilson, M.D. |
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John D. Wilson, M.D. |
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If you prepared carefully for health hazards you might encounter during your trip, you have a 99% chance of avoiding an infection or infestation. Unfortunately, nothing is 100%. After you return from your trip, you may wish to access medical care for any of the following reasons: • You have some persistent symptom, such as diarrhea, may indicate a bacterial or protozoal infection. If so, it will be to your advantage to collect a fresh, liquid stool specimen (in a dishwasher-clean jar with a tight lid - write your name and date on the outside with a marking pen and put it in a sack) just prior to your visit with us, and bring it with you when you see us in the office for your appointment.. • You were not able to adhere to good food/water precautions or your trip was longer or riskier than the average trip, we may want to see if you picked up a worm, which could be there even if you feel well. Collect a stool specimen as above, though it is not so important to be fresh, and it need not be liquid. • You were in an area with malaria and were subject to many mosquito bites. You may be a candidate for additional antimalarial treatment (even though you took your antimalarial prophylaxis medicines just right), since antimalarials are probably only 99%. This may be important even if you feel well. • You need to finish any vaccine series you have started, such as hepatitis A or hepatitis B vaccine. If you needed immune globulin for this trip, you should start hepatitis A vaccine soon after you return so you don't need to spend your money needlessly on immune globulin again. • You were in an area with schistosomiasis (such as Africa) and could not avoid being dunked in fresh water. A blood or stool test can indicate whether you were exposed to this parasite. Treatment may be indicated if either of these tests is positive. • Fever needs prompt attention. Possible causes include malaria and typhoid fever, though there are many other causes for fever.
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© John D. Wilson, M.D. 1999-2004; Last Update 11/12/2003 |
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