Here are health tips gathered from travel agents and travelers on planning for an overseas trip:
– Check health-insurance policies. See if they cover overseas treatment or hospitalization and medical air evacuation from a foreign country.
– Evaluate the need for additional travel health insurance. Read these policies and make sure they include the coverage you need.
– Get a physical. It’s better to learn about high blood pressure or heart disease while you’re still at home.
– Go to a library or bookstore and research weather conditions, food advisories and medical facilities.
– Get any needed immunizations. You should begin shots a minimum of two months in advance of your trip. Some shots must be spaced.
– Apply for a passport or visa at least three months before your trip.
– Make sure your passport or visa is valid for at least three months after the end of your trip, in case illness forces you to remain abroad.
– Check your travel agent with the Better Business Bureau.
– Check tour operators with the American Society of Travel Agents in Alexandria, Va., 703-739-2782.
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– Have prescriptions filled.
– Bring extra doses of usual medicines and carry extra scripts for prescriptions. Have your doctor use a medicine’s generic name because trade names vary from country to country.
– Carry prescriptions in original, clearly labeled bottles or boxes. Have your doctor or pharmacist write a letter explaining what drugs you use.
– Get a letter from your doctor outlining your disease and current treatment, if you have a chronic or terminal illness.
– Carry photocopies of your visa, passport, credit cards and traveler’s checks for ease of replacement.
– Look up, write down and pack the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the American embassies or consulates nearest your destinations.