In 2010, about 6.8 million short trips were taken from Australia to overseas according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. When planning a holiday, many people forget about their health. I will be discussing travel medicine in the next few blogs, so please have a read while planning your exciting holidays.
When travelling, it is vital that you take enough medication with you for your entire stay. Australian prescriptions only work in Australia, so you will need new prescriptions from countries you visit to access medication. If you need extra supplies of you medication, please consult with one of the pharmacists from UFS who can advise you whether you will need additional prescriptions from your doctor or whether we can sign off on immediate supply for your existing prescriptions.
It is important to take enough medication to cover your whole stay, but not to take excessive amounts which could appear to be liable to be sold overseas which is an offence in Australia for PBS subsidised drugs, and possibly an even worse crime in the overseas country. We can advise the best amount to take if you are unsure of how much you need.
Some people will need vaccines for diseases which can be transmitted overseas and brought back to Australia, but often people will not have up to date vaccinations for diseases in Australia (i.e. Influenza) , in which case it would be a great idea to get up to date first while discussing your vaccine options with your doctor.
