Health Issues for Beijing and Shanghai
 

What shots and other pre-travel health preparations are needed for a one week tour of Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou and Hanzhou? We will be arriving/departing via air.

I'm always a bit surprised when people ask health questions on this board. Surely health is too important a matter to trust to hearsay, and too specialist for those other than the properly qualified to give adequate advice.<BR><BR>The brief answer is that all your regular immunizations against tetanus, polio, typhoid, etc. should be up to date, and you would be well advised to get coverage for cholera (if there is currently a reliable vaccine available) and Hepatitis A--in short, protection against easily communicable diseases and those communicated by insanitary conditions. <BR><BR>Your trip is sufficiently urban, and sufficiently brief, that malerial prophylaxis should not be necessary, and nor should protection against other mosquito-borne diseases such as Japanese Encephalitis or dengue fever (but there's anyway no protection against dengue except repellent and nets, and it's still mostly in small pockets further south).<BR><BR>But the situation changes all the time, and I might be talking through the top of my head. Head for your nearest tropical medicine clinic or similar (family doctors are rarely up-to-date on these issues). Failing that, look for guidance to the Center for Disease Control's Web site:<BR><BR>www.cdc.org/<BR><BR>Probably you will sail through your trip with nothing more than the occasional mild rumble from a stomach making itself accustomed to a different diet and slightly dirtier conditions. If you are careful not to eat anything other than hot, freshly-cooked food, to wash your hands frequently and keep them well away from your mouth, you'll avoid anything else. You might care to take a modern antibacterial medicine just in case, such as the now-famous Ciprofen/Ciprofluoxicin, but which needs to be taken in a different, larger dose for stomach problems, so make sure you get a proper prescription. In general, when in difficulties, avoid taking anything except fluids if you can, and certain avoid the antiquated and sometimes harmful proprietory medicines often recommended on this site.<BR><BR>Your other difficulty may be a runny nose and sore throat caused by the pollution. For this you might need something which relieves the symptoms, but not which purports to treat colds or flu, since you won't actually have these. If you favour some particular cough drop or linctus, take a small dose with you, but not something which will make you drowsy during what, from that itinerary and time-scale, will be an extremely rushed and busy week.<BR><BR>Peter N-H<BR>http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html

The correct url for the cdc is www.cdc.gov/travel<BR><BR>It's the best resource on the web for travel medicine info. Read that first, then consult with your travel medicine clinic

I second the precautions to slow trasmittal of germs and pollution. We always take some individually wrapped moistened towels and antibacterial hand cleaner that requires no water. Plus some tablets of Pepto and/or Immodium for the inevitable rumbles. Eyedrops can be helpful. <BR><BR>We always check the CDC site for recommendations for the part of the countries we will be visiting.

Hey world travelers!<BR>Nobody mentioned disposable allergy-germ masks available at your pharmacy.<BR>Would never take a flight without them, especially an overnite itnernational one.<BR>One sneeze from another passenger and on it goes! I hear they are a must for dusty cities like Beijing and Hong Kong.<BR>They also keep your sinuses from drying to a crisp on long flites. Who cares what you look like with one on!!!!!!<BR>Beady red eyes and a runny nose and infected throat make you look weirder!<BR>Get some and use them. You won't be sorry!