My doctor's vaccination recommendations

Peyompian

Wave your hand in front of your face. Do you see trails?

notyouraveragedame

I HIGHLY recommend Hep A and Hep B series. In the group I travelled with, one person did come down with Hep A (the only Indian we were traveling with, ironically) and it had him out of commission for a couple of weeks after we got back to the States. Everyone else in the group had had the vaccine, so who knows how many of the rest of us would have gotten it. I also got a polio booster and typhoid vaccine and made sure my tetanus was current. No one ever mentioned getting a rabies vaccine or anything else, and I do think that's going a bit overboard unless you're going to be in very remote areas or unless you're going to be there for a long time. Honestly, it's a good idea even to have the Hep vaccines at home to protect you from mishandled food in restaurants, etc. :-)

Just my 2 cents...

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Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. - Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain

reddragon

I think the essential things for general travellers are: Hep A (get the second shot then you’re covered for 20 years), Typhoid, polio, MMR (Measles, mumps and rubella), tetanus and diphtheria. Plus anti malarial meds (Doxy or Lariam)
As a person that gets food poisoning very very easily I highly recommend Dukoral. The first time I went to Asia (Thailand) I got sick 3 times in 12 days effectively being sick for my whole trip. I ate very carefully and followed all recommendations. On my second trip to Asia (Cambodia, Laos and Thailand), I took the 2 doses of Dukoral and wasn’t sick at all, and I was very lax with the eating rules!
Furthermore if you are spending more than 3-4 months in India or that area I highly recommend the following:
Hep B – make sure you are sero converted before you go– just a quick blood test after the course. Otherwise it will not work and you have just wasted all that money.
Meningitis – it’s a different vaccine for the overseas version. If you have been vaccinated in Australia for Meningitis, you won’t have protection for the foreign strain of the disease, unless you were specifically asking for meningitis as a travel vaccination.
Japanese B Encephalitis – you don’t want this one guys – if you are going to be in a rural area (mosquitos that bite pigs and birds that carry this disease, will transmit it to you if bitten, so preventing bites is a good idea) during transmission season (I think it may be after monsoon season off the top of my head) its highly recommended. That said some people experience anaphylactic shock after this inoculation so really weigh up the benefits against the possible side effects, any good doctor should get you to wait ½ and hour after this injection to make sure you don’t get any major side effects. I have had the 3 shots and I didn’t experience any nasties.
TB – this is important if you are going to be spending a lot of time with the locals. It is a droplet spread bacterial infection. You best ask your doctor where to get this done. In Australia every major city has a chest clinic at one of the major hospitals. They test you and give you the shot for free.
Rabies – Especially important if going to Nepal. Its 3 shots but it doesn’t mean that if a dog bites you or animal you’re safe. It just means that you only need 1 booster shot after a bite and it will probably give you some more time if an infected animal bites you.
I have had every jab possible as I am working in Bangladesh in the health care field, it has cost a lot for money, but I believe it is worth it. For short trips don’t get too paranoid, the risks are minimal for most of the conditions even if you are there for a long time. Just get the basics as I mentioned up the top.
I hope this helps some!!!!

amogasiddhi

Your ego is a barrier to your ability to comprehend things clearly. Aggression sarcasm and cynicism all in one sentence. You see qualities of yourself in your enemy.

Peyompian

Oh, I see master. And your pretending to be without ego in random threads on the internet message boards isn't because you have a... really big EGO, or anything is it? Look in the mirror. You are the donkey riding the donkey.

amogasiddhi

Don't involve me in your rantings. Why did you immediately assume that my posting was directed at you and why hasn't anyone else done the same? Look within. I am not your master though you are a slave.
Now, as I said before, this is a specatator sport and I am a spectator, so please continue playing your games while I watch. An opponent has already appeared though you fear them as much as you do yourself. While you are trying to attack the onlookers, you are being beaten with your own words and actions. Thank me for pointing that out for you.

Peyompian

Maybe keep your preaching to yourself? Your ego is massive. You have not conquered it. You get off on reading what you type.

Seriously. You're the anti-buddha.

amogasiddhi

ECHO....ECho....Echo....echo.. ...echo.

Seriously. This is only happening for as long as you think it is.

Theon

I got the Typhoid and Hep A shots today. I already had the Hep B shots awhile back. I was also prescribed Dukoral. For malaria, I was prescribed Larium.

Peyompian

I'm going to be in India for at least six months. It doesn't sound like Larium is much fun to take for that long. I certainly wouldn't want to be on doxycycline that long, or to take a pill every day. I guess I'll just be careful about the mosquitos. I had Yellow Fever, Hep A and B, and all the childhood vaccinations.

My friend just got back from 6 weeks in India, in the south. One day he watched a mosquito bite him... he won't kill anything, so he didn't brush it away for fear of snapping off its stinger-sucker-nose-thing. He got Dengue Fever from it. Doh! His was mild, though. He was down for a week with flu-like symptoms. Too bad there's no Dengue vaccine available

Definately gonna get some Dukoral though...

reddragon

I would highly recommend taking anti malarial tablets. One of my friends in Thailand decided not to take anything and got it, nearly died too. I was not to sure about taking Larium at first so I did a trial of it before I left. I took it for 4 weeks and found that I had a few nightmares in the 1st week, I did not experience any other side effects so that’s now what I take.

Peyompian

I'm supposed to pop a pill for a year?

reddragon

I'll be taking it for at least 8 months. I believe its better than being dead. But thats just my oppinion.

amogasiddhi

Not everyone has negative side effects or psychotic episodes when taking Larium or Malarone though those that do, don't have many positive things to say about their experience. Some folk are fine with it and it is recommended that you try it before you go.
Doxy isn't recommended for extended periods as it's an antibiotic.
I suggest that you read as much as you can and examine the overall risk involved. If you're going to be at altitude eg Himalayas, Nepal etc then the risk is minimal to non-existent. I still argue the point that the risk to short-term visitors who don't go to rural areas is low, though for peace of mind, take em if you're unsure. Always talk to a medically qualified person before deciding. I will take Homeopathic stuff as I know that Homeopathy works for me, some argue the case against homeopathy, some argue the case against doctors prescribing pills which treat symptoms and not cause. I too know many people who have never taken an 'anti-malarial' and who have never contracted Malaria. Prevent yourself from being bitten with as many 'repellants' as you can and you significantly reduce the risks of contracting Malaria. Bed nets, plug-ins, sprays, DEET, burning coils, long sleeves/ trousers/ skirt, impregnated clothing etc etc etc is the way to go. A pill is only somewhat effective once you have been bitten by a Malarial mosquito so it's in addition to the other stuff you should also be doing to prevent them from biting you in the first place.
Read up on things which could affect you.

wandering_kat

How many people actually have this one? I wasn't even considering it but I'm going to be in East India after monsoon season and apparently i should consider it - I dunno if i'm being scaremongered or if it would be sensible.....

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