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      Sick during or after travelling

      Latest update: - Authors: Mieke Croughs, Ula Maniewski

      Approximately half of all international travellers experience a medical problem during or after their trip. The most common problems are fever, traveller’s diarrhoea, respiratory tract infections and skin problems.

      Fever can be caused by different illnesses, such as malaria, flu, dengue, ...

      It is impossible to determine the cause based solely on your symptoms.  

      In case of symptoms

      Seek medical advice if you become ill.

      You should always seek urgent medical advice if you develop a fever whilst travelling or within three months of returning, to rule out serious infections such as malaria. Use only paracetamol and not aspirin.

      Call the travel assistance insurance during your trip for advice on reliable medical facilities.

      If you cannot seek urgent medical advice and were given emergency treatment to take with you - for example for malaria - then you can start taking this treatment whilst waiting for the medical tests.

      Try to avoid injections and if they are necessary, ensure that all the materials are removed from new packaging in your presence.

      You can contact your general practitioner or a specialised clinic like ITM (make an appointment) after returning home. Make sure to state in which country you were staying. 

      If you do not have any complaints, it is generally not necessary to consult a doctor after your return.
      However, a medical check-up (screening) is recommended if you ran a specific risk of contracting schistosomiasis, rabies, a sexually transmitted disease or tuberculosis, for example.

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