Your regular medicines
Check supply, storage, time-zone dosing, original packaging and whether documents or destination permission are needed.
Medicines for travel
A travel kit built around real clinical need.
Plan enough of your regular medicine, check destination rules and prepare for common problems without collecting unnecessary antibiotics or treatments.
A travel-health consultation does not guarantee a vaccination, prescription, certificate or medicine. Please do not email medical details.
GMC-registered doctorsIndividual clinical assessment
CQC-registered serviceCare within a regulated setting
30+ years combined experienceExperienced GP-led care
At a glance
The details that change the plan.
Safe travel-health advice joins current destination information with the person, timing and activities behind the journey.
A proportionate travel kit
The contents should reflect destination, access to care, activities and your health—not a generic shopping list.
Traveller's diarrhoea
Hydration and food-and-water precautions come first. Standby antibiotics are considered only for specific higher-risk circumstances.
Clinical review
One journey, assessed properly.
Advice is updated for the itinerary and then filtered through your health history, previous protection and the time left before departure.
Destination guidance informs the decision. It does not replace an individual assessment.
01
Supply and records
Plan sufficient medicine and carry a current prescription or medication list where helpful.
02
Border and airline rules
Check official destination, transit and airline rules, particularly for controlled drugs, injections and refrigerated medicine.
03
Common travel illness
Discuss hydration, diarrhoea, nausea, allergies, motion sickness and other issues relevant to the journey.
04
When to seek care
Know the warning signs that should lead to local medical assessment rather than self-treatment.
Before the appointment
Bring the journey into focus.
Accurate dates, destinations, records and medicines help the clinician give advice that is useful and safe.
Have ready
- A complete medicine and dose list
- Travel dates, destinations and transit points
- Any controlled, injectable or refrigerated medicine
- Medical conditions, allergies and previous treatment reactions
- Expected access to pharmacies and medical care
Important limits
- Do not decant prescription medicines into unlabelled containers for travel
- A GP letter does not override another country’s import law
- Antibiotics do not prevent most traveller’s diarrhoea and are not routine
- Anti-diarrhoeal medicine is unsuitable in some situations, including bloody diarrhoea or high fever
- Severe illness, dehydration or persistent symptoms need medical assessment
A simple route
From itinerary to action.
Each step should leave you clearer about what to arrange, what remains uncertain and what to do if plans change.
List
Review every regular and occasional medicine.
Check
Confirm destination, transit, airline and storage rules.
Tailor
Agree a small, appropriate kit and written instructions.
Escalate
Use local care for red flags and arrange review after returning if symptoms persist.
Useful answers
Before you travel.
The right answer depends on the journey and the person taking it.
Can you prescribe extra regular medicine for my trip?
Supply depends on clinical responsibility, records, medicine type, duration and destination rules. A private prescription may be considered but is not guaranteed.
Can I get antibiotics just in case?
Not routinely. Traveller’s diarrhoea often settles without antibiotics, and unnecessary use can cause harm and antimicrobial resistance. Standby treatment is reserved for selected situations after assessment.
What matters most for traveller’s diarrhoea?
Prevent dehydration. Follow food-and-water precautions, carry oral rehydration products when appropriate and seek help for blood in stool, high fever, severe pain, dehydration or symptoms that are not improving.
Do I need a medicine letter?
It depends on the medicine, amount, route, destination and transit rules. A letter may support travel but does not itself grant permission to import a medicine.
Can medicines go in checked luggage?
Important regular medicines are usually safer in hand luggage, subject to airline and security rules. Consider temperature, needles, liquids and a backup supply.
Travel Clinic appointments
Start with your itinerary.
Email your name, contact details, departure date and the countries you plan to visit. Do not include symptoms, medical history or medicine details in ordinary email; the team will provide a secure route for clinical information.
Allhours GP Travel Clinic
Personal advice before travel and the right clinical route after returning.
Emailinfo@allhoursgp.com
Address22 Oxford Court,
Manchester
Manchester
TimingAim for 4–6 weeks before travel
Official guidance used for this page:
TravelHealthPro: medicines and travel ↗TravelHealthPro: travellers' diarrhoea ↗GOV.UK: foreign travel advice ↗
Travel requirements, outbreaks and entry rules change. Check current official destination guidance close to departure. Individual clinical advice takes priority over general website information.