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.