What shots are you Aussies getting?

We are travelling to India in January and getting ready to work out exactly what shots we need - seems to be a lot of conflicting advice on the net though.

Also - can a normal doctor administer these or are there specialised travel doctors out there who we should see instead?

Thanks for any help!

Cheers Whippet

Vaccination Advice...

I'm not sure if that link worked, but basically all you need to do is do a search for 'vaccinations' and you'll get HEAPS of threads full of indiamike goodness! Or just browse the 'Health and Wellbeing' forum.

If you can handle doing some homework, I'd just go to your own doctor to get the scripts then go to your nearest chemist and buy the vaccs yourself, then go back to your gp to administer the jabs! Heaps cheaper than the travel clinics!

I'm only getting 3 injections (Hep A, typhoid, mening.) and will be taking anti-malaria tabs (that's a whoooole other argument there as well ).
Decide for yourself if you'll need Hep B, Jap Encep or rabies ... !!

F.

PS Make sure you're up to date with your tetanus/diptheria and polio ones as well - you should be!!

Hi,

I would suggest you to finish all the vaccinations back in your home town and get into the country. its always cheap and safe. If in case your first destination is one of the metros like Delhi/Bombay/Bangalore/Chennai/Kolkata then you can go to a local hospital/nursing home and get the shots. Be careful about carrying sterilized needles ........ If you are heading towards bangalore i can give you the exact address..........

Hey Whippet,
So many variables on this one.
Where are you going?
For how long? To rural communities? Also, is your doctor able to do them, with lots they are (MMR, Tetanus etc). Others they may not have. In lots of cases (like Japanese encephalitis) they may give you a script and you get the pharmacy to order it and then take it in to be jabbed.

I've been a human pin cushion every time I go India because I work with kids and in rural areas but if you're only going for a short trip to major cities lots of vaccination won't be necessary. One piece of advice is that although they may know more, the 'Travel Doctor' people cost a bomb, I'd do my research myself and then talk to my GP before going to them again (rather than spending hundreds on their visits alone-plus the vaccination costs).
What I've had to have:
HEP A and B
Diptheria
Typhoid
Tetanus
MMR (booster if you only had it as a kid)
Japanese Encephalitis
Rabies
Cholera

But you may well not need all that many.

Padma

I just went to my GP last week, told him I was going to India and that I wanted ALL the vaccinations. Cost me about $200 but worth it (there'll be some medicare rebate but I haven't claimed as yet). I'm also on Doxy for e-coli and malaria. If you're not vaccination phobic, get the lot... then you know you wont have to worry. It only took a few days in a third world country hospital a couple of years ago (they did a great job but it was frightening and certainly a cross cultural experience) for me to figure out that I REALLY dont want that experience again! Have fun - get the jabs and dont worry

whippet
in the end it's up to you, and what you feel comfortable with.

my doctor has done a lot of travel and we decided that i should get
hep a and b
typhoid

i was up to date with polio, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella (something to do with having kids i think). and cholera wasn't available as all the supplies were going to personnel dealing with the aftermath of the tsunami.

malaria meds seem to stir up a huge debate. for my two cents worth if 1 million people per year die of a disease then it's worth taking precautions against. do the research and decide on what you are comfortable with. for me, i went with doxy as it seemed to have a lesser risk of side effects and i don't have a problem with taking antibiotics.

have a great time.

What shots did you have?

Well I got my last Hep A=B shots today, so with those and the Typhoid last year I am ready and rearing to go ~ hope.