Marhaba! Today, travel medicine specialists Drs. Paul Pottinger ("Germ") & Chris Sanford ("Worm") answer your travel health questions:

• Should I take antibiotics for appendicitis before I sail to Hawaii... or get it removed?
• Is Bilharzia a concern on the Zambezi?
• I'm planning a trip to USA for the World Cup... what should I worry about?
• How can I prevent frostbite in Patagonia?
• Any tips for coping with heat and humidity in the tropics?
• Should I be screened for infections after returning from Peru?
• Where do I need a visa to visit?
• What's up with the new medication to prevent HIV?

We hope you enjoy this podcast! If so, please follow us on the socials @germ.and.worm, subscribe to our RSS feed and share with your friends! We would so appreciate your rating and review to help us grow our audience. And, please send us your questions and travel health anecdotes: germandworm@gmail.com.

Our Disclaimer: The Germ and Worm Podcast is designed to inform, inspire, and entertain. However, this podcast does NOT establish a doctor-patient relationship, and it should NOT replace your conversation with a qualified healthcare professional. Please see one before your next adventure. The opinions in this podcast are Dr. Sanford’s & Dr. Pottinger’s alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the University of Washington or UW Medicine.

Shalom! Today, travel medicine specialists Drs. Paul Pottinger ("Germ") & Chris Sanford ("Worm") answer your travel health questions:

• Traveler's Diarrhea: How to avoid it, and will treatment help prevent complications?
• Can I catch leprosy from an armadillo?
• Rabies: Can I tell from an animal’s behavior whether it is rabid?
• Dengue fever vaccines: is that a thing?
• Is it safe to use loperamide when I get traveler's diarrhea?
• Should I use a condom even if I'm already on HIV PrEP?

We hope you enjoy this podcast! If so, please follow us on the socials @germ.and.worm, subscribe to our RSS feed and share with your friends! We would so appreciate your rating and review to help us grow our audience. And, please send us your questions and travel health anecdotes: germandworm@gmail.com.

Our Disclaimer: The Germ and Worm Podcast is designed to inform, inspire, and entertain. However, this podcast does NOT establish a doctor-patient relationship, and it should NOT replace your conversation with a qualified healthcare professional. Please see one before your next adventure. The opinions in this podcast are Dr. Sanford’s & Dr. Pottinger’s alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the University of Washington or UW Medicine.

Buongiorno! Today, travel medicine specialists Drs. Paul Pottinger ("Germ") & Chris Sanford ("Worm") answer your travel health questions:

• Should I get vaccinated for COIVD-19 even though CDC no longer recommends it?
• What is DARK tourism and should I avoid it?
• Is Chikungunya vaccine right for me?
• What about tickborne encephalitis in Europe, should I get a immunized?
• Travel sounds dangerous... why should I even bother?

We hope you enjoy this podcast! If so, please follow us on the socials @germ.and.worm, subscribe to our RSS feed and share with your friends! We would so appreciate your rating and review to help us grow our audience. And, please send us your questions and travel health anecdotes: germandworm@gmail.com.

And we hope you will join us for the upcoming UW Travel Medicine CME, June 26-27, 2025, In Seattle and online.

Our Disclaimer: The Germ and Worm Podcast is designed to inform, inspire, and entertain. However, this podcast does NOT establish a doctor-patient relationship, and it should NOT replace your conversation with a qualified healthcare professional. Please see one before your next adventure. The opinions in this podcast are Dr. Sanford’s & Dr. Pottinger’s alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the University of Washington or UW Medicine.

Om Swastiastu! Today, travel medicine specialists Drs. Paul Pottinger ("Germ") & Chris Sanford ("Worm") answer your travel health questions:

• Do wearable devices and the internet of things really improve travel health?
• What antibiotic should I take for travelers diarrhea if I am allergic to penicillin?
• How can I keep my tourist dollars in the local economy, and avoid greenwashing?
• What's the deal with vaccine costs worldwide?
• Monkey Bites–can they transmit rabies?
• Is paracetamol the same as acetaminophen?
• Should I get a cholera vaccine?

We hope you enjoy this podcast! If so, please follow us on the socials @germ.and.worm, subscribe to our RSS feed and share with your friends! We would so appreciate your rating and review to help us grow our audience. And, please send us your questions and travel health anecdotes: germandworm@gmail.com.

And we hope you will join us for the upcoming UW Travel Medicine CME, June 26-27, 2025, In Seattle and online.

Our Disclaimer: The Germ and Worm Podcast is designed to inform, inspire, and entertain. However, this podcast does NOT establish a doctor-patient relationship, and it should NOT replace your conversation with a qualified healthcare professional. Please see one before your next adventure. The opinions in this podcast are Dr. Sanford’s & Dr. Pottinger’s alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the University of Washington or UW Medicine.

Doberdon! Today, travel medicine specialists Drs. Paul Pottinger ("Germ") & Chris Sanford ("Worm") answer your travel health questions:

• Are there regulations to protect mountain guides and porters?
• Do Good Samaritan laws protect me when I’m overseas?
• Should I share my malaria prophylaxis when asked by a local person?
• Is insurance—medical and evacuation--mandatory before a remote expedition?
• Regarding mountain climbing: do political and/or financial factors come into play for the companies that set climbing schedules?
• Are mobile health apps of benefit?
• What diseases can I get from drinking unpasteurized milk?
• How may I digitize my Yellow Fever vaccine information?

We hope you enjoy this podcast! If so, please follow us on the socials @germ.and.worm, subscribe to our RSS feed and share with your friends! We would so appreciate your rating and review to help us grow our audience. And, please send us your questions and travel health anecdotes: germandworm@gmail.com.

And we hope you will join us for the upcoming UW Travel Medicine CME, June 26-27, 2025, In Seattle and online.

Our Disclaimer: The Germ and Worm Podcast is designed to inform, inspire, and entertain. However, this podcast does NOT establish a doctor-patient relationship, and it should NOT replace your conversation with a qualified healthcare professional. Please see one before your next adventure. The opinions in this podcast are Dr. Sanford’s & Dr. Pottinger’s alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the University of Washington or UW Medicine.

Annyeonghaseyo! Today, travel medicine specialists Drs. Paul Pottinger ("Germ") & Chris Sanford ("Worm") answer your travel health questions:

• What do I have to do to get through airport security with the new Real ID system?
• I’m climbing mountains in South America. I’m going up to 16K or even 18K feet. Should I take a pulse oximeter?
• When traveling between cities in Europe, which do you think is better—renting a car, or hiring a driver, or taking a bus?
• Does the shingles vaccine have a bad side effect profile?
• What’s the deal with the U.S. Dept. of State’s Travel Advisory system?
• What if I want a vaccine that’s not available in the USA?
• How can I find a good doctor when I’m traveling overseas?
• How do I read labels on medications—and everything else—in languages I don’t speak?

We hope you enjoy this podcast! If so, please follow us on the socials @germ.and.worm, subscribe to our RSS feed and share with your friends! We would so appreciate your rating and review to help us grow our audience. And, please send us your questions and travel health anecdotes: germandworm@gmail.com.

And we hope you will join us for the upcoming UW Travel Medicine CME, June 26-27, 2025, In Seattle and online.

Our Disclaimer: The Germ and Worm Podcast is designed to inform, inspire, and entertain. However, this podcast does NOT establish a doctor-patient relationship, and it should NOT replace your conversation with a qualified healthcare professional. Please see one before your next adventure. The opinions in this podcast are Dr. Sanford’s & Dr. Pottinger’s alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the University of Washington or UW Medicine.

Salaam! Today, travel medicine specialists Drs. Paul Pottinger ("Germ") & Chris Sanford ("Worm") answer your travel health questions about Malaria:

• What's up with the malaria life cycle?
• Are there different kinds of malaria?
• Can you ever be truly cured of malaria, or is it with you forever once you catch it?
• Can I take a self-testing kit when I travel?
• Is there a malaria vaccine?
• Is mefloquine really neurotoxic?
• Is it safe fore me to just watch out for malaria instead of taking medication?

We hope you enjoy this podcast! If so, please follow us on the socials @germ.and.worm, subscribe to our RSS feed and share with your friends! We would so appreciate your rating and review to help us grow our audience. And, please send us your questions and travel health anecdotes: germandworm@gmail.com.

And we hope you will join us for the upcoming UW Travel Medicine CME, June 26-27, 2025, In Seattle and online.

Our Disclaimer: The Germ and Worm Podcast is designed to inform, inspire, and entertain. However, this podcast does NOT establish a doctor-patient relationship, and it should NOT replace your conversation with a qualified healthcare professional. Please see one before your next adventure. The opinions in this podcast are Dr. Sanford’s & Dr. Pottinger’s alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the University of Washington or UW Medicine.

Hello! Today, travel medicine specialists Drs. Paul Pottinger ("Germ") & Chris Sanford ("Worm") welcome special guest Dr. Zachary Rubin who will answer your travel health questions focused on allergies:

• I’m allergic to peanuts, how can I stay safe during my upcoming trip to Thailand?
• Can I trust food labeling in foreign countries? Asking because I have multiple food allergies.
• What’s the best way to find out about pollen counts in foreign cities?
• Can I rely on antihistamines purchased overseas?
• How can I cope with pollen allergies when traveling overseas?
• Can I trust supplements that claim to boost my immune system when I travel?
• Any special tips for people allergic to bee stings when traveling?
• My eczema flares when I travel... help!
• Tips for eye allergy symptoms when I travel?
• Should I use benadryl to help me cope with allergies and jet lag, and if so what doses do you recommend?
• Is there a way to measure the strength of my immune system?

Please learn more about our guest: oakbrookallergists.com, follow him on the socials @rubin_allergy, and check out his new book "All About Allergies."

We hope you enjoy this podcast! If so, please follow us on the socials @germ.and.worm, subscribe to our RSS feed and share with your friends. We would so appreciate your rating and review to help us grow our audience. And, please send us your questions and travel health anecdotes: germandworm@gmail.com.

Our Disclaimer: The Germ and Worm Podcast is designed to inform, inspire, and entertain. However, this podcast does NOT establish a doctor-patient relationship, and it should NOT replace your conversation with a qualified healthcare professional. Please see one before your next adventure. The opinions in this podcast are Dr. Rubin's, Dr. Sanford’s & Dr. Pottinger’s alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the University of Washington or UW Medicine.