A Triad Doctor’s guide to International travel

A Triad Doctor’s guide to International travel

Dr. Christopher Ohl with Atrium Heath Wake Forest Baptist shares health tips for traveling abroad

Updated: 10:27 AM EDT Apr 9, 2024

WHETHER IT’S SPRING BREAK OR SUMMER VACATION, IT IS PEAK TRAVEL SEASON FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE WORLD. MAINTAINING YOUR HEALTH WHILE TRAVELING IS A TOP PRIORITY, ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE TRAVELING INTERNATIONALLY. SO HERE TO SHARE SOME TIPS WITH US. IS DOCTOR CHRISTOPHER OHL, WHO IS AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT AT ATRIUM HEALTH WAKE FOREST BAPTIST. GOOD MORNING, DOCTOR OHL. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. GOOD MORNING. GREAT TO BE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING OTHER THAN COVID. YES I KNOW YEAH WE’RE USED TO SEEING THOSE UPDATES FROM YOU. SO IT IS GOOD TO TALK ABOUT SOME TRIPS. BUT OF COURSE THERE ARE HEALTH FACTORS THAT PEOPLE SHOULD BE CONSIDERING AHEAD OF THOSE INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL PLANS. CAN YOU TOUCH ON A FEW OF THOSE? YEAH, WELL, YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU’RE HEALTHY. SO IF YOU HAVE SOME UNDERLYING MEDICAL PROBLEMS, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE OR MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF HEART DISEASE, UM, YOU WANT TO CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR AND MAKE SURE THOSE ARE WELL CONTROLLED BEFORE YOU TRAVEL? UH, LAST THING YOU WANT IS TO HAVE A HEALTH EMERGENCY WHILE YOU’RE OVERSEAS. SO, UM, JUST CHECK IN, MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS COPACETIC, AND THEN WE CAN START PLANNING ABOUT THE TRIP. SO, DO YOU HAVE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS ON COMMON VACCINATIONS THAT PEOPLE SHOULD GET AHEAD OF TRAVELING? WELL, IT DEPENDS A LITTLE BIT ON WHERE YOU GO AND WHEN. WE HAVE A TRAVEL CLINIC APPOINTMENT OR A TRAVEL CLINIC VISIT, WE’LL TALK ABOUT WHERE YOU’RE GOING AND WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO BE DOING THERE. SO FOR INSTANCE, A BUSINESSMAN GOING TO BANGKOK FOR THREE DAYS IS PRETTY LOW RISK. IT MAY NOT NEED A LOT OF VACCINES, BUT IF YOU’RE GOING ON A SAFARI FOR TWO AND A HALF WEEKS OUT IN THE OUTER REACHES OF BOTSWANA, YOU’RE GOING TO NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE. SO SOME OF THE VACCINES THAT WE MIGHT CONSIDER ARE HEPATITIS A VACCINE, UH, TYPHOID FEVER VACCINE. IN SOME AREAS OF THE WORLD, UH, MAYBE YELLOW FEVER VACCINE. UM, AND THEN OUTSIDE OF THE WORLD OF VACCINES, UM, MEDICINES. WELL, IF YOU GET IN A TIGHT SPOT WITH A LITTLE BIT OF TRAVELER’S DIARRHEA OR MONTEZUMA’S REVENGE, IT’S NICE TO HAVE AN ANTIBIOTIC GET, UH, TO GET THAT TO STOP AND TEN, UH, AND THEN A MORE SERIOUSLY, UH, MALARIA. SOME AREAS OF THE WORLD THAT HAVE MALARIA, AND YOU MIGHT NEED TO BE TAKING MEDICATIONS TO PREVENT THAT. YEAH. SO GOOD TO CHECK ON THOSE TRAVEL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOUR SPECIFIC LOCATION BEFORE YOU HEAD OUT. GET PREPARED WITH THOSE. UM, AS WELL AS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE PRESCRIBED MEDICATION. WHAT SHOULD THOSE PATIENTS BE DOING BEFORE THEY LEAVE THE COUNTRY. WELL, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE MEDICATIONS THAT PEOPLE, UM, ROUTINELY TAKE, UM, PARTICULARLY NARCOTICS OR CERTAIN MEDICINES FOR, UM, ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER ARE ACTUALLY PROHIBITED IN A LEGAL IN SOME COUNTRIES. SO YOU CAN ALWAYS CHECK THE WEBSITE OF THE EMBASSY OF THE COUNTRY. YOU’RE GOING TO REFINED, UM, THERE ARE LISTSERVS THAT THAT WILL TELL YOU THAT, UM, BECAUSE YOU MAY WANT TO YOU MAY HAVE TO LEAVE SOME OF THOSE AT HOME. OTHERWISE GENERALLY, IF YOU HAVE A LIST OF YOUR MEDICATIONS, UM, WITH YOU AND YOU PUT YOUR MEDICINES IN A PILL BOX SO THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN TAKE IT DAY BY DAY, UM, THAT’LL USUALLY BE FINE. AND THEN OR YOU CAN JUST TAKE THE MEDICINES IN THEIR ORIGINAL BOTTLES. AND THAT WOULD WORK AS WELL. OKAY. AND LASTLY, DOCTOR, ALL TELL US ABOUT THE NEW LOCAL TRAVEL CLINIC. YOU HAVE. THIS IS THROUGH ATRIUM HEALTH, WAKE FOREST BAPTIST. IS THIS NEW AND WHAT CAN PEOPLE RECEIVE THERE? NOT YEAH, IT’S NOT SO NEW ACTUALLY THE ATRIUM HEALTH NAME IS A LITTLE BIT NEW, BUT WE’VE BEEN DOING IT HERE FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS NOW. UM, AND SO YOU COME IN, YOU SEE ME OR, UM, PEOPLE WHO WORK WITH ME, AND THEN WE TALK ABOUT WHERE YOU’RE GOING, UM, WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO BE DOING THERE. UM, AND THEN WE’LL ADVISE THE CERTAIN VACCINES, UH, MEDICATIONS, UM, AND EVERY NOW AND THEN I’LL THROW IN A TIP. YOU’RE GOING TO LIVINGSTON’S ZAMBIA. I KNOW A GREAT ITALIAN RESTAURANT THERE THAT IF YOU GET SICK OF AFRICAN FOOD, YOU CAN GET SOME LASAGNA OR PIZZA. SOME EXPERT ADVICE THERE. THANK YOU SO MUCH, DOCTOR, FOR SPEAKING WITH US. AND, UH, IN ADVANCE OF MAYBE SOME FOLKS SPEAKING WITH YOU ONE ON ONE, GETTING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND TIPS SEEMS LIKE A GREAT RESOURCE TO. AND HERE’S THAT LOCATION AND INFORMATION FOR YOU NOW FOR ATRIUM TRAVEL CLINIC. IT’S ON COUNTRY CLUB ROAD IN WINSTON-SALEM. VISITS ARE BY APPOINTMENT ONLY.

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A Triad Doctor’s guide to International travel

Dr. Christopher Ohl with Atrium Heath Wake Forest Baptist shares health tips for traveling abroad

Updated: 10:27 AM EDT Apr 9, 2024

A trip overseas can pose various health hazards, depending on the location, individual traveler’s health, type of travel and length of stay. Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist physician Dr. Christopher Ohl joined the Local Vibe to go over his top health tips to consider before your international travel plans. Watch his full interview in the video above.Ohl also recommended visiting the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Travel Medicine Clinic, located at 4614 Country Club Rd. in Winston-Salem. Visits are by appointment only. Each visit includes a 30-minute consultation with a specially trained physician who develops an individualized, destination- and itinerary-specific plan of immunizations and preventive and remedial medicines for the traveler.Find more information here.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. —

A trip overseas can pose various health hazards, depending on the location, individual traveler’s health, type of travel and length of stay.

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Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist physician Dr. Christopher Ohl joined the Local Vibe to go over his top health tips to consider before your international travel plans. Watch his full interview in the video above.

Ohl also recommended visiting the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Travel Medicine Clinic, located at 4614 Country Club Rd. in Winston-Salem. Visits are by appointment only. Each visit includes a 30-minute consultation with a specially trained physician who develops an individualized, destination- and itinerary-specific plan of immunizations and preventive and remedial medicines for the traveler.

Find more information here.