Around 1 year ago (apparently since that is when we posted the video above), we made the decision to go on a trip around the world. This trip will include locations neither of us have been to in Europe and South East Asia. An important part of traveling is staying healthy. To accomplish this, we got all of the travel vaccines that our doctors recommended before leaving for the trip. It is recommended to do this at least a few weeks before your trip as there are certain ones that can take longer for your body to process.
****We are not medical professionals, these were recommendations we received from our doctors based on our medical history. Please speak to your doctor before making any medical decisions and take care of yourself in the way that is appropriate for you. Our bodies and experiences are all different.****
General Recs
These are just general vaccines that were encouraged per our doctor:
- Flu Shot
- COVID – we both got the original one and have each had a couple of boosters since then.
- Tetanus Shot
Overall, we have consistently received our vaccinations throughout the years with our doctors so we were pretty up to date on the others.
South East Asia
My doctor had the list of everywhere we were going and she wasn’t too worried about Europe. The main vaccines she recommended were for South East Asia.
- Typhoid – This was actually an oral medication that I took every other day for 8 days, I personally had no reaction to this oral vaccine and neither did Ross.
- Malaria Prophylaxis – Our doctors both prescribed us a daily medication that we are taking with us. It is a once a day dose and they told us to start them a few days before our first country in South East Asia and to continue it for another week or two after we get home.
- The doctor also recommended to wear bug spray and avoid mosquitos as much as possible . We looked up the symptoms of Malaria and it is a big no from us so we will be following this recommendation. (I’d really like to find a natural bug repellant so if you have a rec, drop them below!!!)
Other Ways to Stay Healthy
While at home we are very consistent with washing our hands and eating well balanced diet with lots of exercise. While traveling it will be harder to do some of this so here are some ways we plan to stay healthy:
- Antibacterial Wipes – I always pack these when going on any trip whether to be used before meals or perhaps you touched something sticky in a foreign country….or maybe a bird pooped on you while on a boat tour (yes this happened), I like these ones — https://amzn.to/3Rm1O7T
- Daily multivitamin – We took them out of their bulky containers and put them in a small bag to save space.
- Water purification – There are lots of options for this including expensive bottles that do it for you, we chose to use these tabs — https://amzn.to/3EO87JG
- Any already prescribed medications – We discussed our trip with the docs and were able to get plenty of our regular medications to go with us.
- General OTC medicine – This includes pepto, excedrin, and dramamine.
- Mole Skin – This is great for blisters! Along with the moleskin we included bandaids and antibiotic ointment. This is the mole skin we got — https://amzn.to/3ZlYSdi (this one is already cut into different shapes and sizes so that’s less work for you!)
Before leaving, the Vitamin C and Elderberry has been daily in our house. The new hiking shoes have been broken in so that we don’t get blisters (fingers crossed!). While on the trip, we plan to spend plenty of time walking and trying to go for healthier food options. Alcohol will be limited for the trip since we are going for such a long time. Generally we like to go to happy hours and try the different options but for health reasons and to save money, we will be trying to not drink very much on this trip.
Things to Consider
If you plan to have layovers in other countries, check with your doctor if there are any recommended vaccines for those countries. Always take your own health and experiences into account when deciding how to plan your trip. If you have any concerns, talk with your doctor and give yourself plenty of time before leaving on a trip to do so. Some vaccines can cause some not great symptoms right after and it would not be fun to be sick for the first few days of your travels.
Thanks for tagging along with our trip! We are so excited to share this experience with you all and hope to continue to provide helpful info along the way. If you have any tips or tricks to share, feel free to reach out to us on our socials!!! To see our recent travels click here — World Wonder – Machu Picchu Inca Trail 2-Day Excursion or here — The Beautiful Island Experience in Isla Mujeres, Mexico.
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