Welcome to Travelturtle, the travel health advice site that provides you with country specific medical and vaccination reports usually only available to registered UK healthcare professionals.
Use this page as the definitive guide for all your information from tips regarding flying with children and all other aspects to consider when travelling with children. Tips include:
- Key preparatory information about child travel including steps needed to be taken before any travel commences as well as the steps needing to be addressed whilst travelling with children.
- Further advice manifests itself as an important section concerning planning for health abroad for children including tips on prevention of illness and treatment.
- Child travel immunization is also covered with helpful hints and guides about how to adequately cover all vaccinated information for children before you travel and in any host country.
- Disease management is a key focus of this page with a comprehensive guide based on malaria and tropical diseases. Prevention and information on how to deal with such areas is summarily addressed.
Children and travel
Children and travel
There are an ever growing number of children travelling overseas and a growing trend for parents to take their children to adventurous destinations. To ensure travel is as safe and stress-free as possible, it is important to take into account children’s specific health and social needs.
Extra planning is needed when travelling with children
- Babies will need feeding. Breast feeding is easiest and best. If bottle feeding, there must be facilities for keeping equipment sterile.
- A sky cot should be booked on aeroplanes.
- When flying with children a dummy helps swallowing and can ease the discomfort to ears of take-off and landing during air travel.
- Plenty of food and drink should be taken on the journey. Familiar treats mitigate boredom and may be a godsend if there is a significant delay.
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Books, toys and games should be taken also.
- Kwells are suitable for travel sickness, but should only be given to children under 2 years on doctor’s advice.
- Parents should be obsessive about pool safety with children.
Health planning for children travelling abroad
Children are more prone to illness than adults. Parents and carers should:
- make sure they are aware of the health facilities on offer
- know how to treat minor ailments such as coughs, colds, diarrhoea and vomiting – and what to look out for when deciding whether to summon medical help
- take basic medications and equipment such as paracetamol, antihistamines, rehydration solution, antiseptics and plenty of plasters
- watch out for sunburn, particularly in tropical or subtropical areas. Use high-factor sunscreen or opaque clothing
- pack calamine for treating sunburn
- make sure all vehicles they travel in have child seats or seatbelts.
Tropical troubles
- There is an increased risk that cuts and sores will become infected, so antiseptic creams should be taken and abrasions should be covered.
- Animals can bite and may transmit rabies. Make sure the child is not over friendly.
- The child’s skin should be kept cool to avoid prickly heat – an irritating rash caused by blocked pores of overactive sweat glands. They should have lots to drink, stay in the shade and avoid oily creams.
- Children are not only more prone to diarrhoea than adults but also more susceptible to its effects. Medical help should be called early, especially if a child is also vomiting.
Malaria
- Malaria is dangerous from birth onwards.
- Chloroquine and proguanil are safe for babies and young children.
- Doxycycline must not be used in children under 8 years.
- Use of other anti-malarial medicines depends on the weight of the child.
- Mosquito repellents and nets are just as important for children as adults.
Vaccinations
- Children should receive their primary course of immunisation and MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine.
- Meningococcal C vaccine will not protect children against meningitis overseas. They need meningococcal ACWY.
- Yellow fever vaccine can be given from 9 months.
- Tuberculosis vaccination is recommended for tuberculin-negative children under 5 years who will be living in developing countries for more than 3 months, and should be considered for children under 16 who will be living for long periods in high-risk countries. (Tuberculin test shows whether the child has previous immunity.)
Parents and carers should consult with a travel clinic before visiting countries outside Europe, North America or Australasia with children.
