Post-travel Investigations and Care
Unlike most travel clinics, we offer a post-travel consultation and investigation service at TrExMed. All clients requesting this service are seen by Dr Bond.
Appointments may be made outwith normal clinic times at mutually convenient times. Please call the Clinic in the first instance and arrangements will be made for Dr Bond to call you back.
If you suspect that you might have malaria, and/or are acutely unwell, you should contact your GP, out-of-hours service or local A&E Dept. as soon as possible. Remember to mention that you might have malaria!
For other, less urgent problems, Dr Bond is usually able to see and examine clients at The Edinburgh Clinic within a day or two, and to request further investigations as indicated, e.g. blood tests, stool or urine samples, X-rays etc. Depending on the clinical picture, he may offer to treat you himself, or refer you on to the most appropriate specialist in that field (either privately, or in the NHS).
Schistosomiasis (bilharzia) screening
Schistosomiasis is a disease caught by contact with fresh water in parts of the tropics, e.g. through bathing, wading or swimming. An estimated 200 million people worldwide are infected, mainly in Africa. Schistosomiasis is a leading cause of chronic debility and poor childhood development. Early recognition is also important in order to prevent rarer, but potentially more serious long-term complications.
Often, the infection can go unnoticed in travellers. Even if you have no symptoms, but are worried that you may have picked up schistosomiasis, you should still get checked out. We offer a sensitive and specific blood test for this. If the test is positive, we can offer a single-dose treatment to eradicate the blood flukes from your body. The treatment should ideally be done six weeks after return from an at-risk area.
For a simple Schistosomiasis screening (with no other problems), a 'short' consultation fee of £20 is charged, plus the cost of the test. For those who test positive, a simple, one-dose treatment is available.
TrExMed does not charge for this treatment. Instead, we ask for donation (typically £25) to support the excellent work of the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, which aims to eradicate schistosomiasis in some of the poorest parts of the world with population level treatment programmes.
Responsible / ethical travel medicine
Travelling is an interactive experience, which should ideally be empowering and mutually beneficial to both travellers and local host communities alike. We at TrExMed are very much committed to promoting responsible travel and ethical travel medicine.
