Dear Students,
Study, research, work, and volunteering abroad are not only great ways to enrich your academic experience at Wesleyan, but also transformational means of immersing yourself in a culture different from your own.”
Here at Davison Health Center, we do recommend that any student who is planning to travel abroad (whether it is for study or just for pleasure) come see us.
At these visits, we would do the following:
1) Review your immunization records. Most (if not all) of the immunizations you would need, you have already received prior to coming to Wesleyan (Hepatitis A and B, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Polio, Tetanus just to name a few). Depending on where you are travelling, other vaccines may be needed (such as typhoid, yellow fever, etc.). We will arrange that you receive those immunizations either here or at the Travel Clinic at Middlesex Hospital.
2) Review your health history to see if any accommodations would need to be made for any specific chronic illness (asthma, diabetes, etc.) to insure safe travel and appropriate care during your time away
3) Prescribe medications that you would need for travel. In many countries it is recommended that medications be taken to lower the risk of contracting malaria. We also will prescribe medications needed for travelers’ diarrhea.
4) Discuss disease prevention. This includes everything from safe drinking water and food, sun protection, protection from insects know to carry illness, and sexually transmitted infection prevention
5) Safe travel advice such as going places in groups, avoiding stray animals, avoiding unsafe neighborhoods.
The opportunity to travel abroad again is educational and fun. We would encourage anyone who has this opportunity to make the most of your travel. The above is meant to keep all travelers safe and healthy.
Best wishes, Dr. Tom McLarney, Director, University Health Services