On a family vacation, keeping your children safe and healthy will ensure you’re free to relax and enjoy all that your destination has to offer. Family travel health starts before you leave Canada. Here are our tips for keeping your family well while abroad.
Making a travel health appointment for your family
Book your travel health appointments six to eight weeks ahead of your trip abroad. We’d like you to book one appointment slot per family member at our travel clinics in Calgary. This will allow the travel health practitioner to give advice that is personalized to each adult and child in your family.
Some of the travel vaccines we will recommend need to be given in multiple doses, which is why we prefer to see families well in advance on their trip abroad.
Your travel health appointment is a chance to ask any questions you have about staying well while travelling. So, ask away, and encourage your children to do the same.
Pediatric travel vaccines commonly recommended for children
Every trip abroad and every child is different, but the recommendations for travel vaccines may include:
There is a pediatric combined hep A and hep B vaccine, which can represent good value for money.
Your family may also need protection from malaria – children are particularly susceptible to this mosquito-borne feverish illness. We can prescribe and dispense courses of antimalarial tablets for your family if your trip includes time in an area where malaria occurs.
Getting up to date with routine vaccines ahead of your trip
The recommendations for your children’s travel health vaccines may include some catch-up shots for routine vaccines. We may be able to administer these at your family travel health appointment, or you can get them from your usual healthcare provider.
Some infectious diseases that are not common any more in Canada, thanks to the routine childhood vaccination program, are common abroad, so it’s important to make sure your family is fully protected.
Child travellers and diarrhea
Digestive upsets are common in child travellers, so be ready. Fluids and rest are the best treatments for younger children with diarrhea. Some over-the-counter remedies like loperamide are unsuited to smaller children, but oral rehydration sachets, which are commonly available from pharmacies, can be helpful. There’s no need to get medical attention for diarrhea unless your child is feverish, has bloody stools or seems dehydrated.
Here is some advice from the Government of Canada about oral rehydration solutions for travellers.
Tips for travelling with children
Talking to your children about taking care of their health while travelling may make them more likely to go along with things like insect repellent and sunscreen. It can also help to explain that the rules around what you can eat and drink are different when travelling.
With formula-fed babies, plan ahead to ensure you can feed them the milk they are used to. You may need to bring a supply from home for your entire trip as baby products vary across international markets. Also consider how you’re going to get safe water to make up formula, and how you will sterilize bottles and equipment.
We’ve got some more tips for family travel in our advice article.
It's natural to be a little cautious with your children’s health – but we hope that your travel health appointment will give you some peace of mind so you can enjoy your vacation.