Unique Holiday Gift Ideas

Looking for unique gift ideas? I found ‘em. These neckties, boxers, scarves and more combine health, education, science, art and fashion. Infectious Awareables has something for everyone on your list. How about a dust mite tie? A polio scarf? Or Ebola boxers?

Unless you know your micro, you’d never know exactly what the abstract design is that you are wearing. Is that dental plaque bowtie or HIV?

There must be at least one person on your list that’s fascinated with science, microbiology or health care. These are not just for the fashion conscience but also for those who wish to start amazing conversations that can lead into mini micro lessons just about anywhere you go.

So don’t wait, wash your hands and go to Infectious Awareables and be the hit of the office grab this year. Won’t your boss be impressed!

Choosing a Travel Clinic

The American Travel Health Nurses Association (ATHNA) offers these guidelines for consumers to help them choose a travel clinic.


1. Look for a clinic that offers customized care. Your pre-travel visit should include an in-person assessment and focus on an individualized plan specific to your health history, destination, and potential activities.


2. Ask about counseling to reduce the non-vaccine preventable risks of travel. Pre-travel preparation is more than just immunizations. Your visit should include sufficient time to address issues such as malaria, altitude illness, dengue, jet lag, and traveler's diarrhea.


3. Ask about clinic charges and payment. Charges vary widely and many travel health costs are not reimbursed by health insurance. Costs for vaccines continue to rise. Know that some clinics work on a commission basis and providers receive a percentage of the total bill. Be aware of potential conflicts of interest.


4. Inquire about the training and experience of your provider. Quality pre-travel care is offered by many health professionals, including MDs, NPs, RNs, PAs and pharmacists. However, there are few national standards for entry into practice. While membership in a professional organization, such as ISTM, ASTMH, and ATHNA, is no guarantee, it may suggest a larger commitment to the specialty.


5. Think about finding a clinic early, even before you make final payment for your trip. While most travelers need only one visit to prepare for their journey, others may require multiple visits. Ideally, you should start 4 to 6 weeks ahead of departure. However, it is never too late to receive pre-travel care. Travelers seen just hours before a flight can still reduce important travel risks.

Dental Malfunction

When I was 12, I chipped my front teeth. I have had caps since then and over the years, they have fallen off and one cracked when I bit into a chicken leg once. Fortunately, I was home and was only inconvenienced because it happened on a weekend. But what if I was traveling? How available is quality dental care where you travel? What would you do if a filling came out, a bridge broke or a cap came off?

A year ago, a travel clinic client told me she had been on a cruise ship when she had a dental malfunction. She went to the infirmary. They pulled out an emergency dental kit, made a temporary repair and charged her $200. She knew she could’ve made the repair herself but didn’t have the right stuff. She asked if emergency dental kits were available for sale. And they are. For about $25.

The dental emergency kit allows you to do basic, temporary repairs for most dental emergencies. There are several types on the market and most include tweezers, a dental mirror, floss, picks, cement, temporary fillings and topical and oral analgesics. This compact kit comes with full written directions and takes up little room and has a long shelf life.

Travel Health of New Hampshire carries one and it costs $25. Got caps? Get EDK- Emergency Dental kit.

Fight Germs with Style

We have an arsenal of products to keep germs at bay these days- antibacterial soap, wipes, sprays, gels, face masks, gloves. In order for them to work, you have to carry them around with you, which can be a hassle when you travel. Some people walking aroung airports look like they should be walking around an OR. But now there is something new to protect you that you wear and actually looks good, too.

GermBana is a new antibacterial fabric that is soft and comfortable for you but kills germs including MSRA on contact. It does so by breaking down the negatively charged fibers in bacterial membranes with its positvely charged fibers. So, no smell or chemicals and it keeps its germ killing properties wash after wash. GermBana comes in black or khaki and is made into a pocketed scarf, neck/face gaiter and gloves. Go ahead, cough or sneeze into that scarf. Germs are killed on contact. Enviornmentally friendly, washable, good looking, and long lasting. A new, fashionable way to kill germs to add to your packing list.

Counterfeit Drugs Abroad

Recently I saw a young woman in my travel clinic who was planning on spending the summer in India. She was behind on her immunizations and had made an appointment to find out what she needed but didn’t want any vaccinations. She wanted to know which malaria drug and antibiotics to use but planned on getting them in India to save money. She had heard they were easy to get and much cheaper there.

What she doesn’t know is that WHO (World Health Organization) estimates that 3 in 10 pharmaceutical products in the African, Asian and Latin American markets are fake. And 50 to 60 percent of anti-infective medications in parts of Asia and Africa have been shown to have substandard active ingredients. That means that many of the drugs purchased abroad won’t work properly, if at all.

Not only is this a risk to the traveler for contracting the very diseases they are trying to prevent but it is a public health risk to everyone. When a traveler is under-medicated he or she then becomes an evoluntionary vector in which drug resistant super bugs develop. The traveler then spreads these bugs as they travel and brings them home.

Counterfeit medications are posing an increasing threat to patient’s health worldwide, because they offer high returns and low risks for criminal organizations, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said last week.

There are many ways travelers can save money when planning a trip. But doing so by purchasing medications and vaccinations abroad is a very dangerous and ineffective way to do so.

What do George Clooney, King Tut, Mother Theresa and JFK have in common?

Malaria. A potentially fatal illness so named by the Italians for bad "mal" air "aria" thought to be caused by the marsh airs. It is actually caused by a parasite spread when the female anopheles mosquito bites someone who has malaria and then goes on to bite someone who doesn't. In colonial times we had summer outbreaks in Washington DC, Philadelphia and Boston. Malaria was controlled in the US by clearing the swamps and by mosquito eradication. But it still exisits in many places in the world and unsuspecting travelers can get exposed. Malaria exists in some places in the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America as well as Africa, South East Asia, India, Pakistan and other surprising locales.

If you are traveling outside the US, you can go to CDC web site and look up malaria area maps. If you are traveling to a malaria area protect yourself by avoiding bites between sunset and sunrise covering exposed skin and using 30 % DEET. Talk to your primary care provider or travel clinic about taking pills to help prevent malaria. These need to be started before you leave, and are taken while you travel and for a week or a month after you leave the malaria area.

All it takes is one bite from one mosquito, one time. Protect yourself. For more information go to www.malariahotspots.co.uk.

It's not too late for a flu shot

Flu shots in February? Yes. Flu is active all over the U.S. Getting a flu shot during flu season can still help protect you. Flu season sometimes lasts into May. If you get vaccinated now, your full immunity may take about 2 weeks , but you do get some protection right away. Limited protection is still better than no protection.

Flying on an airplane this winter will increase your chances of getting sick. Let's say you are headed on vacation. You are flying for several hours in an enclosed area with lots of people from all over the world, all breathing the same air and touching the same surfaces. Now, add to that, that the humidity of air in an airplane is close to that of the Sahara dessert.

Our mucous membranes that line our mouths and noses are our main defense against viral invasion. Dry air caused micro cracks in mucous membranes that then act as open doors to the viruses you inhale. It is estimated that your risk of catching a cold on an airplane is 100 times that of exposure on the ground. So, in about 1-2 days, the average incubation period for influenza virus, you come down with the flu- fever, chills, cough. You know the feeling. Not only have you ruined your vacation, but then in a few days you'll get on a plane to head home where someone else is going to breath your air and the whole process just continues.

So, why not just get a flu shot? Call your primary care provider or travel clinic. It's not too late and there is no shortage of vaccine.

Heading South Soon?

Dreaming about a warm, sunny beach in a tropical paradise? If you are heading south this winter, I bet you are not dreaming of traveler’s diarrhea, dengue fever , or malaria , which can be found in Paradise, too.

To prevent diarrhea, don’t drink the water, brush your teeth in it, have drinks with ice cubes or frozen blended drinks. Don’t eat food unless it is piping hot and thoroughly cooked. No fresh fruit or vegetables unless they are peeled. Mangoes, papaya, pineapple and banana can all be peeled. It’s a very good idea to get vaccinated for hepatitis A, a viral infection of the liver, transmitted from contaminate foods and water. Staying at a resort that tells you their water is filtered? Still don’t drink the water and follow all the precautions because you don’t know what kind of filtration system is used and how well it is maintained. It is a good idea to bring a prescription antibiotic to self treat diarrhea just in case.

Avoid mosquito bites day and night. One bite from one mosquito can result in a case of dengue fever or malaria. Dengue fever, nicknamed broke bone fever, is increasing in the tropics. There is no treatment or vaccinations, so the only protection is by covering up and using 30% DEET insect spray all day and night. Find out whether you need to also take malaria pills before you go.
To get information, consult a travel clinic and the CDC web site on travel health. A visit to a travel clinic will be sure your immunizations are current and will provide you with prescriptions for traveler’s diarrhea or malaria. Don’t want to worry about malaria or dengue fever? Consider talking to a travel clinic before you book your trip for advice.

So, when you are laying on that beach , the only thing you’ll need to worry about is getting sunburned. Then the only things you’ll bring home will be great photos, good memories and a few souvenirs.