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Infants and children under 7 years of age are at higher risk of getting sick from travel to tropical and developing countries. Children have unique needs. Speak with your doctor or travel clinic staff for advice before travelling.
Make sure that your child is up to date with their routine immunizations through their regular health care provider. Also visit a travel clinic at least 6 to 8 weeks prior to travel.
Travel vaccines that may be recommended depending on your destination, itinerary, length of stay and child’s age include:
If you are travelling to an area with measles, the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine, which is given in Canada at 12 months of age, can be given to infants as young as 6 months of age. Some vaccines should not be given to infants and young children.
Carry a record of your and your child’s immunizations during travel. Contact your doctor, travel clinic, or public health nurse, or doctor about the risk of infection while travelling.
Malaria
Malaria is a disease caused by mosquito bites and tiny parasites that get into the bloodstream. The best way to prevent malaria is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. If possible, do not take infants or young children to areas where there is malaria. Malaria prevention is very complicated because the medications available for children are limited, and the effects of the disease are more serious for children than adults. Breast fed babies whose mothers are taking medication to prevent malaria must also be given medication, since little of the mother's medication will be in the breast milk.
If you are taking part in outdoor activities between dusk and dawn, use insect repellant on all exposed skin. The most effective insect repellants contain a product called DEET. In Canada, DEET products are not recommended for use with children younger than 2 years of age. However, when children aged 6 months to 2 years live or travel in an area with malaria, the chances of severe illness is higher than the risks of DEET repellant when applied properly. For more information on DEET, see BC HealthFile #96 Insect Repellents and DEET.
Traveller’s Diarrhea
ChildrenChildren younger than 2 years of age who have a lot of diarrhea should receive medical care. Take the child to a health care professional right away if you see any signs of dehydration: your child may be very restless or irritable, have less and darker urine than normal, and be hard to wake up. Take the child to a health care professional if he or she has bloody diarrhea, a fever higher than 38.5ºC (101.3ºF), or persistent vomiting.
Do not give antibiotics or other medications to children to stop diarrhea unless advised by a doctor.
Give your child re-hydration solution or Gastrolyte® by mouth if the child shows signs of mild dehydration, such as feeling thirsty and restless, yet alert.
Give children lots of fluids to drink, and continue breast or formula feeding throughout the illness.
Feed children over 6 months of age thin porridge, rice and soups. As they recover, children can eat their usual foods.
For more information, see the following BC HealthFiles:
