Advice on vaccinations
 

For travelers from the US the www.CDC.gov/travel website has an interactive page where you can put in country of travel and other specific facts that might be relevant to you and then it shows the recommended vaccines. For example for Thailand it indicates that cholera vaccine is not among those recommended. Some vaccines they recommend the disease is spread by mosquitos but others not. How it is transmitted is also shown on that www.CDC.gov/travel website.

I doubt that anyone would recommend special vaccination for Bangkok.
You should rely on official guidance, e.g. from the US State Department.
https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...ion-Pages.html

I'd make sure that I had my tetanus shots in order - which is not really a matter of Cambodia or Bangkok but just a general precaution regardless of which destination.
Cambodia is a fairly large country, and it depends if you stay in cities or plan a 2 week long trek through the hinterland.
Aside from DEET (and no other bug repellent, by the way) the best way to protect against mosquitos (dengue and malaria) is to wear loose but covering clothes. In Bangkok proper, malaria is not an issue.
In addtion, I would not pet or touch any cat, dog, monkey etc.

Please consult a physican! Preferably your physician and/or a travel specialist. We are not physicians, nor can anyone provide medical advice without knowing you and any specific conditions you might or might not have. The CDC web-site is an excellent starting point for your research and for your discussion with a physician.

BTW, the last I read, Picaridin is in general considered as safe and effective as DEET, if used properly, and many of us strongly prefer it.

Advice on vaccinations
 

It's important to get vaccinated at least 4 to 6 weeks before you travel. This will give the vaccines time to start working, so you're protected while you're traveling. It will also usually make sure there's enough time for you to get vaccines that require more than 1 dose.

#4 plus one - consult your GP or a travel clinic. No one here is a medical professional and you may well get erroneous information.

As the bare minimum, I would make sure your standard childhood immunisations (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Measles, Mumps and Rubella etc) are up to date as well as vaccinations against the food borne diseases of Typhoid and Hepatitis A which are as important for Bangkok as Cambodia.

Take it from one who has had Malaria, you don’t want it! Neither do you want any of the many other insect borne diseases, like Dengue, Zika etc. A friend recently contracted dengue in Thailand and is still feeling the effects many months later. it took her much longer to get over it than it did me malaria. DEET or any of the other repellents never seem to work well for me, even if I do reapply rigorously, so covering up is the only option which reduces the probability of getting bitten. Remember, it only takes one bite from an infected mozzie.

Only you, in conjunction with you doc, can decide what is appropriate.

Hi,
It is a decision that only you can make. I would consult a travel clinic and check if, in the areas where you will be going, certain vaccines are needed. Don't just check the country but also the regions where you are going. Research online the pro and cons of those vaccinations and then make the decisions what you find important to you.
For mosquitos, take some light cotton pants to wear in the evenings. As soon as the sun goes down, they will start to bite.
I always use those electrical repellents from Baygon. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Electric-Ba...-/172679277308
I buy them in Asia in the supermarket. These are good for at night! I hate the buzzing at night...

Again, please consult a physician! There may be risks or benefits in light of your personal health or circumstances that will be difficult (if not impossible) for you to judge from on-line research.

The Canadian web site is great.
the 2 places to get advice on travel health are from such Govt web sites or a doctor who specialises in Travel medicine.

People on the net give all sorts of weird advice based on personal experience which is the worst possible source for medical advice.

However from a more general perspective, you might bear in mind that vaccines last a long, long time and as such aren't really just for one trip....the right vaccines will protect you when travelling for years to come and all over the world.

PS - At present you can pretty much discount any vaccines for Malaria or Dengue

No sorry, my fault I think I was not clear enough, I did mention go to a Travel Clinic and take their recommendations. Then check online the pro and cons. I am saying this from experience. A few years back, I just got everything they suggested. And this was also Malaria tablets (I went to Manila). I had nasty side effects, but I thought it was to protect me. Then I discovered on internet that Manila does not have Malaria, so the tablets were not really needed.
Vaccinations are really a personal decision you can only make yourself. You gather all the info (including seeing a doctor or a visit to a Travel clinic) and then you decide.

I would suggest that people should do their online research first, so one is prepared to discuss any recommendations and questions when with the travel physician. I agree that it's a personal decision, but I would not personally want to make a decision based on on-line research that I had not vetted with a trained medical professional who knows -- or can ask -- about my personal health.

Travel clinic is a good idea, many people's regular GP or physician may not be up to speed on tropical diseases and vaccinations - it is a specialist area.

I can only speak from a U.K. perspective but there are pros and cons of visiting both GPs and Travel Clinics. Travel Clinics tend to operate in major cities only, at least in the U.K. so may not be an option for the majority of travellers. There are good and bad GPs and Travel Clinics and both will usually just follow the NHS, CDC guidelines and in the case of the U.K., much of which is researched by the London and Liverpool schools of tropical medicine.

There is a popular misconception that Travel Clinics are staffed by specialists knowing all there is to know about the issues but in reality, many are staffed by locums, newly qualified docs or final year students, in itself not a bad thing as at least they haven’t had the time to forget what they have learnt. One key advantage of using one’s GP is that they will have access to medical records which could be important, especially in the case of older travellers.

I have used both options. A private travel clinic prior to volunteering in Africa (paid for by VSO) which was excellent, a travel clinic in a Superdrug store, which was hopeless and a various GPs which were generally good ( and free!) .

Not wishing to make assumption re forum members here but I read a good article recently on travel health issues for older travellers @
https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/facts...der-travellers

Thank you so much crellston! I might not be quite there yet, but I read some interesting fact there, that I didnt know before. Like "The immune response to vaccines can be reduced and the length of protection shorter". That is good to know!

You are welcome Jessica.
I am not there yet either - at least I keep telling myself that! In my mind I will forever be 27 and always have been since - well when I was 27, a long time ago. Sadly my body often disagrees!

I know, in my mind I still feel young....But my body more often says: "you are not that young anymore!". I guess everybody will get there at one point.... It will not stop me from travelling though!;)

Shots
 

It would seem that you have been lucky.
Personal experience and anecdote are never a substitute for scientific evidence.
Good luck with your future travels!