Getting ready, shots and all, for the annual family vacation

The kids are counting down the days until they’re off from school, and parents are busy planning the annual vacation.

Pay attention to preparations, and the trip may be smoother and healthier for kids. Among the experts’ suggestions:

Visit the doctor. Several weeks before a trip -- or even months -- tell your child’s pediatrician where you’re going and what you plan to do, especially if the destination is overseas or to a developing country.

Update immunizations. For a quick reference on which vaccinations are needed and when, visit the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, vwww.cdc.gov/travel, and click “Traveling With Children,” then the immunization schedule table. The CDC site also has information on precautions you or your children may need to take for specific diseases.

“Most children are well ahead of the game with their [routine] immunizations,” says Dr. Terri Rock, a Santa Monica family physician with a special interest in travel medicine. They may need just a few travel-related vaccines and medicines, she says. Among the possibilities: yellow fever vaccine (but only for those 9 months or older, Rock says) and anti-malarial drugs.

Also pack insect repellent if you are going someplace infested with mosquitoes or other bugs. Use of repellents with DEET is controversial. Concentrations of 10% to 30% are considered safe, the American Academy of Pediatrics says, but are not recommended for children younger than 2 months.

But the CDC advises that children should be older than 2 years to use DEET-based repellents. In late April, the CDC issued new guidance on repellents, saying that those with picaridin pesticide and oil of lemon eucalyptus as active ingredients are also effective. The academy expects to weigh in soon about their use on children.

Vaccines for hepatitis A, a disease that’s spread by contaminated food and drink, can be given when a child reaches 2 years old, Rock says. The CDC recommends immunoglobulin to protect younger children from hepatitis A.

Take along your child’s immunization record or log and your pediatrician’s phone number, says Dr. David Tayloe, another academy spokesman and a pediatrician at Wayne Memorial Hospital, Goldsboro, N.C.

Ask about over-the-counter remedies. For motion sickness, ask your pediatrician about remedies such as Dramamine (dimenhydrinate), says Dr. Mark D. Widome, a professor of pediatrics at Penn State Children’s Hospital in Hershey, Pa.

During takeoff and landing, make sure children, especially those with a history of ear infections, chew gum or suck on a bottle or pacifier to help equalize the pressure between the ear and the atmosphere, advises Dr. Paul S. Horowitz, medical director of the pediatric and adolescent clinic at the Legacy Emanuel Children’s Hospital in Portland, Ore.

Wherever you are headed, don’t forget sunscreen. The pediatrics academy recommends using a sunscreen formulated for children and with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher. Children younger than 6 months should be kept out of direct sunlight, the academy advises.

How to cope with jet lag. If you’re headed to a destination many time zones away, “make some of the adjustments in the sleep-wake cycle before leaving,” Horowitz suggests. If your destination is eight time zones away, four or five days before departure, move up bedtime by an hour or more each night, he says. “That will ameliorate some of the shock to their system.”

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Healthy Traveler appears every other week. Kathleen Doheny can be reached at kathleen doheny@earthlink.net.