Articles from Dr Fox related to travel medicine (information, advice, and treatment options).
Travelling to high-altitude destinations can be an incredible experience, but it also comes with unique physical challenges. Altitude sickness can affect anyone, regardless of fitness level.
Understanding how it works can help you prepare effectively.
Altitude sickness occurs when the body struggles to adapt to lower oxygen levels at higher elevations.
Symptoms may include:
When travelling to certain destinations, malaria prevention is an essential consideration. Understanding your options early can help you prepare effectively.
Malaria is transmitted through infected mosquito bites in certain regions. Risk varies depending on location. Malaria is a serious illness and can be life threatening if caught.
Travel sickness can affect people of all ages and can make journeys uncomfortable. Whether travelling by car, plane, or boat, preparation can help reduce symptoms.
Travel sickness happens when the brain receives conflicting signals from the eyes and inner ear.
This mismatch can lead to:
Jet lag can affect anyone travelling across time zones, often leaving you feeling tired, disoriented, and out of sync with your destination.
Preparing your body in advance can help reduce the impact and support a smoother adjustment.
Jet lag occurs when your internal body clock becomes misaligned with a new time zone. Your circadian rhythm controls sleep, digestion, and energy levels.
When this rhythm is disrupted, symptoms may include:
Travellers’ diarrhoea is one of the most common health concerns for people travelling abroad, particularly to destinations where food hygiene and water quality may differ from the UK. While it is often short-lived, it can quickly disrupt your holiday if you’re not prepared.
Understanding how it happens and what to expect can help you travel with more confidence and minimise disruption.
Travellers’ diarrhoea is typically caused by bacteria that enter the digestive system through contaminated food or water. Because your body may not be familiar with these bacteria, it can react more strongly.
This can lead to symptoms such as:
The risk can vary depending on your destination and local hygiene practices.
February 2019: Public Health England’s antimicrobial prescribing guidance no longer recommends fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin) for standby treatment of travellers’ diarrhoea, due to increasing resistance to these antibiotics in some parts of the world.
National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Public Health England recommends standby azithromycin for patients at high risk of severe illness should they develop travellers’ diarrhoea or those visiting high-risk areas.
As a result Dr Fox has withdrawn supply of ciprofloxacin for travellers’ diarrhoea, and provides the recommended alternative azithromycin only.
Read in full
ASDA is now (September 2018) not the cheapest option to buy Malarone anti-malaria tablets, and it may not be the most convenient option for many people either.
ASDA sell Malarone tablets for £1.25 each and provide the choice of branded GSK Malarone or non-branded generic Malarone (atovaquone/proguanil). Both are medically identical and equally effective (no anti-malaria tablet is 100% effective).
To buy Malarone from ASDA you will need to:
Dr Fox provides a convenient mail order option for £1.09 per tablet (plus small prescription fee and P&P). Read in full
As we’ve seen in recent news, travelling to a country where disease-carrying mosquitos thrive can have lasting repercussions. The Aedes mosquito is responsible for the transmission of viruses like Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika. Malaria, on the other hand, is transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito, and it isn’t a virus.
Malaria is a caused by the Plasmodium parasite, which is picked up from infected people by female mosquitos. When the mosquito bites again, it transmits the parasite, now mixed with the mosquito’s saliva, to the blood of its victim.
There are four types of human malaria, of which the deadliest is Falciparum malaria, which is responsible for close to one million deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa every year.
Malaria symptoms usually come on one to two weeks after being bitten, and are flu-like in nature. They include fever, chills, vomiting and headaches. If the person does not receive proper treatment the parasite can be deadly, killing the host by destroying red blood cells and obstructing the arteries. Read in full
