No doubt you have been looking forward to it for months, if not years: your internship abroad or “just” a faraway trip. An indispensable item on your college bucket list that you will think back on for the rest of your life. To make sure your trip will only be unforgettable in the right way, you will need to make some preparations. When it comes to your health, we will help you on your way from start to finish.
Make sure you know what preparations to make
Once you know where you are going, it is time to find out what health precautions you need to take. What diseases are prevalent in the country you are travelling to? How can you best protect yourself against them? Does the company where you will be doing your internship or the country itself have certain requirements that you have to meet? When you map this out well in advance, you know where you stand and you can make the necessary preparations on time.
Do you need to undergo a medical examination?
When you go abroad for an internship, the company where you will do your internship may require you to undergo a medical examination. Sometimes you will have to do this again when you travel back home. A medical examination may include measuring your height, weight and blood pressure, a urine test, checking for visible physical abnormalities and discussing your travel plans. If, for instance, you plan to go diving, mountain climbing or any other extreme sport, this will also be discussed during the medical examination. When you undergo this examination at vaccinatiecentrum.nl, you will of course receive the necessary travel certificates afterwards.
What travel vaccinations do you need?
Travel vaccinations are recommended and not compulsory in most cases, except for the yellow fever vaccine. For a number of countries, having this vaccination is a prerequisite for entering the country. In this case, the vaccination must have been administered at least 10 days before arrival. For many of the recommended travel vaccines, it takes several days before you are optimally protected or you may need multiple vaccinations with a certain time between shots. For this reason, we recommend making an appointment at vaccinatiecentrum.nl well before departure for personalised travel advice.
Do you need to take medicines with you when travelling?
If you are already taking medicines prescribed by a doctor, you may need to bring a medicine declaration. This is mandatory for all medicines covered by the Opium Act. These include sleep medication and sedatives, heavy painkillers and ADHD medication (Ritalin, Concerta, etc). In some cases, you will also need certain papers for medicines not covered by the Opium Act. The embassy or consulate of the country you are travelling to can best inform you about this.
Besides the medication you already take yourself, you may sometimes need additional medication while travelling. In some cases, for instance, it is advisable to take malaria pills with you. If your personal travel advice states that you need this, vaccinatiecentrum.nl will provide the prescription.
Know what to expect during your trip
By being well prepared, you have already reduced your chances of getting sick by a lot. However, it may still happen that you become ill or need help for some other medical reason, such as being injured. It is therefore wise to check in advance whether adequate medical help is available in the country you are travelling to and to what extent this help is covered by your health insurance. This is also a good time to check whether your current travel insurance offers the right cover (or to take out travel insurance at all, if you don’t already have it).
If the availability of medical help cannot be guaranteed during your trip, it may be wise to take extra vaccinations. For example, consider a rabies vaccination if you are doing an internship that involves working with animals or if you will be going on long bicycle rides or visiting remote areas during your trip. During your appointment at vaccinatiecentrum.nl, you will map out the risks of your trip together with a travel nurse and, based on this, you can decide whether you want to be vaccinated against certain diseases.
Enjoy your trip and return home safely!
The most important thing is that you experience the trip of a lifetime and enjoy your time abroad. Once you have made the health preparations, you can get back to other preparations, such as finding fun things to do during your trip and packing your bags. With vaccinatiecentrum.nl’s personalised travel advice and all the appropriate precautions, you can travel safe and sound.
Do you have a kick-ass internship abroad or faraway trip on your mind? We would be happy to help you on your way. You can make an appointment via our website or by calling us on 085 90 20 303.