Prepare Patients for Summer Travel

As summer travel plans ramp up, pharmacists play a vital role in ensuring travelers stay healthy and safe.

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Pharmacists are often the first point of contact for individuals seeking advice and preventive measures related to travel health. They can provide personalized risk assessments based on the destination, duration of stay, planned activities, and individual health concerns. This includes offering guidance on necessary vaccinations, such as hepatitis A, typhoid, or yellow fever, and ensuring travelers are current on routine immunizations. Furthermore, pharmacists can counsel on malaria prevention strategies, including the appropriate prophylactic medications and insect bite precautions, and advise on managing potential travel-related illnesses such as traveler’s diarrhea with OTC or prescription medications.

Pharmacists can also recommend appropriate first-aid supplies to pack, advise on managing motion sickness, and provide guidance on preventing altitude sickness. For individuals with preexisting conditions, pharmacists can help ensure they have an adequate supply of their regular medications and offer tips for managing their health while traveling, such as proper storage of medications and strategies for adjusting medication schedules across time zones. They can also educate travelers about potential food- and waterborne illnesses, emphasizing the importance of safe food and water practices.

In this issue’s MTM Consult column, Jennifer Gershman, PharmD, CPh, PACS, reviews key travel health tips. It is crucial both for travelers and those at home to be up to date with the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Gershman provides a handy table of MMR vaccine recommendations based on patient age and vaccine status.

Also in this issue, the OTC Cases column reviews crucial summer skin care tips and how to counsel patients. Sunburn and bug bites are incredibly common, and advising patients on how to prevent and manage these concerns allows you to contribute to their holistic summer wellness.

Pharmacists act as accessible and knowledgeable health care professionals who empower travelers to proactively protect their health. By providing tailored advice, essential medications, and valuable resources, pharmacists contribute significantly to preventing illness and helping patients have a healthier and more enjoyable travel experience during the summer and beyond. Pharmacists’ expertise bridges the gap between general health and the specific health challenges that travel can present, making them an indispensable resource for anyone planning an adventure.

Safe travels, and thank you for reading.