Traveling Safely with Infants & Children

Ari Prayitno

Nowadays communication and transportation are growing increasingly sophisticated which

causes the world without limits, humans are free to move and explore the world easily and
quickly. This leads to the consequence of the easier transfer of disease from one place to another.
The number of children who travel or live outside their home countries has increased
dramatically. Although data about the incidence of pediatric illnesses associated with
international travel are limited, the risks that children face while traveling are likely similar to
those their parents face. The traveling preparation is important if someone will travel from one
place to another, with the aim of protecting against contracting or transmitting the disease. Travel
preparation is a preparation before and after finishing the traveling. Pre-travel consultations will
be performed by carrying out a complete physical examination, consulting about the destination,
activities while traveling with risk of infections and completing the necessary vaccinations. For
international traveling, pre-travel consultation must be done 4-6 weeks before traveling. In this
consultation, it must be explained closely related to the risk of carrying babies and children on a
traveling, including when traveling by plane. In addition, travel with babies and children must be
accompanied by complete travel documents, medical records (KMS) and first aid kit. When
traveling with a baby and children by airplane, It must pay attention to the health of his airway,
food and drink while on the plane, air pressure, humidity and temperature of the aircraft's cabin.
It is also important to pay attention to special seats for babies or children while on the plane. The
possibility of jetlag and motion sichness must also be anticipated. There are several drugs to treat
motion sickness such as dipenhydramin and dimenhidrinat. Post-consultation consultation is
important to find out if there is a disease that is brought from a tourist area visited or not, so there
is no transmission of infection and outbreak.