Tag Archives: immunization

Tips For Healthy Travels (Part 1)

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It is true that you can get sick anywhere as we are constantly surrounded by contagions and contaminated surfaces, but when traveling that risk is increased tenfold with exposure to new bacteria, viruses and contaminants that your system is not used to. That is why it is important to take extra precautionary measures when traveling.

The Importance of On-The-Go Hygiene

  • Unfortunately, not everyone is careful about hand hygiene, but it is one of the most important preventative measures you can take against bugs like the nova virus, gastroenteritis, the flu or hepatitis A.
  • brush your teeth with bottled water, you never know how clean the drinking water is in your new environment. You could be saving yourself terrible illness by sticking to bottled water for drinking, face washing and teeth brushing.

Potential Health Risks in Your Hotel Room

  • A 2012 microbiology study showed high levels of fecal matter and other harmful microbes on hotel lamps, surfaces and door knobs. So try to wipe down surfaces if you can.
  • Bedbugs have been on the rise all over the world, and are often found in hotels. Be sure to perform a diagonal corner check on the bed, look under every layer down to the mattress for any bugs or abnormalities. Be careful where you lay your luggage. Bedbugs can leave small hive-like rashes or even trigger an allergic reaction in rare cases.
  • Allergies can flare up in hotels as there are often harsh cleaners used, down feather pillows and poor air quality. Be sure to take your allergy medication with you when you travel!

Reduce Your Children’s Risk of Travel Illness

  • Children are more vulnerable to germs and contagions because their immune systems are not fully developed and they tend to have germ-spreading habits.
  • Children tend to have poor hand hygiene, not washing hands as often or as thoroughly, and putting hands and other objects near mouth – supervise your child’s hand washing, make sure they are doing it frequently.
  • Carry hand sanitizer to use on your children’s hands when soap and water aren’t available.
  • Ensure your child is up to date on immunizations and vaccines as per the CDC schedule.
  • Try to wipe down surfaces your children will be touching whenever possible such as airplane tray or tabletops in hotel rooms with cleaner or hand sanitizer.
  • Make sure children rinse off before and after swimming pools, they can be full of viruses and bacteria such as giardia and conjunctivitis.
  • teach your child to avoid touching certain highly contaminated surfaces such as those in a public washroom, get them to use paper towels when touching the taps or door handles.
  • Bring your own cuddle materials such as a favorite stuffed animal, small pillow or blanket to avoid using previously used airplane bedding.

 

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8 Reasons To Vaccinate Your Baby

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  1. There is no better way than vaccination to protect your baby against potentially life-threatening (but preventable) diseases.
  2. You may think multiple vaccines in the first two years will overburden your child’s system, but that is not the case. A baby could receive 11 different vaccinations at once and it would only use up one thousandth of their immune system.
  3. Vaccines are extremely safe and pass rigorous research, testing and approval by scientists, doctors and the government before dissemination.
  4. The bacteria and viruses in vaccines are weakened and therefore far less potent than the daily microbes babies have come in contact with every second since birth.
  5. While vaccination has drastically reduced the prevalence of many diseases, vaccine-preventable diseases such as the measles, whooping cough and mumps are still circulating in North America (largely due of travelers from countries with no immunization and unvaccinated people), causing several hospitalizations and deaths of children each year.
  6. When large numbers of parents refuse to vaccinate their babies, these preventable diseases thrive and spread easier causing illness and death especially for the immunocompromised.
  7. Vaccinations help protect babies and toddlers against not only diseases, but their subsequent complications such as amputation, hearing loss, seizures or death.
  8. The World Health Organization, The Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, The American Academy of Pediatrics and The American Academy of Family Physicians all strongly recommend immunization of young children against the 14 vaccine-preventable diseases.

Pre And Post Vaccination Tips

Even though vaccinations are essential to protect your child against harmful diseases, it is hard to watch your baby go through a painful ordeal. Thankfully, there are measures you can take to minimize your child’s discomfort throughout this process:

  • Talk to your doctor about any information they may have to share with you about vaccinations, ask about side effects and what to expect post-injection.
  • Swaddle, cuddle, breastfeed or sing to your baby right before and after the shot.
  • maintain both physical and eye contact while the shot is happening to soothe them.
  • Bring a favorite item such as blanket or toy to comfort and distract your baby.
  • Afterward have a cool cloth or ice wrapped in a cloth to reduce discomfort and soreness at the injection site.
  • Keep an eye on your child for a few days to make sure nothing seems out of the ordinary, and contact your doctor with any post-immunization concerns.

More Information About Vaccination

http://www.vaccineinformation.org/infants-children/

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