The Travel Medicine Business is Booming
Travel medicine is important to plenty of people, especially as traveling is easy and popular in today’s society. More people are aware of the importance of vaccinations and the demand for travel medicine is high, as backpacking trips and visiting parts of the world like Asia and South America are fairly common activities.
The Importance of Travel Medicine
Traveling to different parts of the world comes with risks, one of which is the exposure to different illnesses and diseases. Whilst most of North America and Europe is fairly safe and the spread of disease and sickness has been countered by standard immunizations, given from an early age, other parts of the world do not have the same standards of hygiene and are affected by disease-spreading mosquitoes. Whilst we can control our own hygiene, it is hard to know if everyone else is doing the same. It is also difficult to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes, no matter how many repellents you use! For most people, the standard procedure before traveling is to make sure your vaccinations are up to date and you are fully immunised and protected from the most common diseases and illnesses.
Whilst not every person makes this conscious effort, through spreading awareness, it has become a much more common procedure to get immunized before travel. Vaccinations against Typhoid, Yellow Fever, Japanese Encephalitis, Hepatitis A and B, Cholera, Rabies, and Meningitis are all highly recommended for people traveling to different parts of the world. Whilst vaccinations do not yet exist for Malaria, this can still be prevented through different medications and is also recommended as part of your travel medicine package. As these diseases carry strong risk factors, including incurability and fatality, it makes sense that most people opt to get vaccinated.
The need for vaccinations makes travel medicine very important and business is booming for travel clinics. There is lots involved in setting up a clinic, but the increase in numbers of people traveling to at-risk areas makes it worthwhile.
Why Travel Clinics are So Popular
Why are travel clinics, like this one based in downtown Ottawa, so popular and successful? In most cases, travel clinics are easier and more convenient for people. With traveling being so popular, including backpacking across rural areas and volunteering in poverty-stricken areas, vaccinations are a must-have. Backpackers and people traveling and staying in rural areas are more high-risk, especially when they are spending longer durations of time in these places. Having access to a local clinic makes getting vaccinated easy and people are more likely to do so if they have one nearby.
Whilst it is possible to get vaccinated through hospitals and other health care providers, travel clinics are the preferred option. This is because they offer all of the advice, consultations, and treatments in one place. Hospitals and other healthcare facilities must treat a variety of things in their practices, so having the availability of other options is worthwhile for both patient and doctor. Travel clinics make it easier to reduce the number of patients seeking help from busy hospitals and surgeries, which frees up space. If everyone relied on one hospital for everything, it would cause huge waiting lists and put a strain on the hospitals. Clinics providing advice and treatment for specific areas, such as travel medicine, makes it much easier for everyone. Travel clinics are hugely successful because of this.
For low-cost, professional treatments and advice, seeking a travel clinic is your first step. Every traveler should be vaccinated against preventable diseases and illnesses, as it really just isn’t worth the risk.
