Shots for Vietnam, cambodia?
 

Taking a O.A.T. Tour of VN and Cambodia.....what shots should we get? And do we need to take malaria pills.....tour hasn't given guidelines. Thanks.

I think you'll find better info from the center for Disease Control than from a tour operator: http://www.cdc.gov

Was in Cambodia two years ago. You definitely need the Typhoid vaccine, Hep A and B, polio, tetanus and malaria pills. Have a great trip.

This question gets asked and answered with some frequency. A search here will turn up lots of posts.

Take a good look at the cdc recommendations. If you still have questions, come back and ask.

And of course, always consult with a travel medicine professional.

BTW, tour companies are renowned for not giving info about health issues - they don't want to scare you away.

www.mdtravelhealth.com

Review health info carefully for each country

Most do usual immunizations and Hep A

Hep B(if planning intimate contact)

and Typhoid(sually if eating lots of street food.

Malariahotspots.co.uk preventive wise in risk areas

Usually Doxycycline for me cheap at Wal Mart generic.

Food and water precautions are essential

Ruie of thumb bake it peel it boil it leave it

to avoid the Angkor Waddle to the toilet...

istm.org good travel professionals if needed

Happy Travels!

Typhoid - yes (pills last longer than innoculation. I think it's 5 years vs. 3 years)
Hep A - yes
Hep B - why not (good for life)
Polio and Tetanus (well, of course, but you should have those anyway)
Malaria - NOT necessarily needed, depends where you're going.

One thing I'm not going to buy this time is malorone malaria pills. Malorone will not save one from a dengue mosquitoe bite.

Might just as well slap on the deet and take care of both types of nasty mosquitoes with one remedy.

I didnt have malaria shot last time I was in Vietnam. Just buy a good insect repellent from home and apply every late afternoon, you will be fine. Especially if you are not in the rural areas, malaria shot is not a big problem.

Catlady, there is no such thing as a malaria shot.

Some parts of Cambodia and VN are malarial risk, some are not. Look at the cdc website and fitfortravel to determine whether the areas you are visiting are malarial risk.

For some people, if they apply (and reapply) an effective repellant (deet or picardin) they can avoid almost all bites. For others, they are so tasty, they get bitten no matter how conscientious they are.

Also, the idea that if you apply repellant every late afternoon, you'll be fine is naive at best.

Mosquitos that spread malaria breed in rural areas and are most active at dusk and dawn. Mosquitos that spread dengue breed in urban areas and are most active during the day time.

So make an informed decision as to whether to take anti-malarials, hopefully in conjunction with a travel medicine or tropical medicine professional. No matter what you decide about anti-malarials, do everything you can to prevent mosquito bites.

I've given this a second look and one bad mosquito bite is not worth the risk.

I've already previously had all hep shots as well as polio and tetnas.

recently added...

Doxycycline for malaria ( much cheaper than malarone)
Got the Typhoid shot, because we love street food
Oral Cholera and Diarrhea vaccine called dukoral
And.... Azithromycin in case the diarrhea vaccine doesn't work
Plus deet

All of the above reccomended by my doctor.

I just figured WHY take this risk, even though theodd are extremley low. We will be venturing into a lot of rural areas as well as urban areas ,so I want to be fully covered.

My wife will reluctantly go to the doctor tommorow for her prescriptions, but thinks its a total waste of money. Bottom line is I worked really hard for this holiday and wouldn't want either one of us to get sick and ruin it for the other....that would be a total waste of a lot of money.If $300 of meds can solve that dilemna, then in my opinion it is money well spent.

Malarone is now available in generic.

Do be aware that for doxycycline to be effective, it must be taken every day at about the same time, and must be continued for four full weeks after you leave the last malarial risk area.

Also, check to see whether your health insurance will cover malarone. Mine does (a Blue Cross/Blue Shield Plan).

Thanks Kathie....

I have a Blue Cross plan here in Vancouver Canada, however, I'm not sure if I'm covered.

I also found 15 old malarone pills with an expiry date of 2013, so I bought 30 more for a complete cycle.

My wife will use up the Doxycycline and I the malarone.

I love to bake in the sun and I found out that Doxycycline isn't good for that. My wife prefers the shade.

$500 spent in total....very expensive, but now we are more safe.

I've heard over in Asia there are a lot of inferior and even fake products on the market.

Call your insurance and ask - or have your pharmacy call. Doxy can cause vaginal yeast infections for some women, another disadvantage of doxy.

Yes, in many parts of Asia counterfeit or expired meds are a big problem.

OMG...vaginal yeast infections, malaria or spend another $200....the choices aren't good!

Or....

Maybe I'll settle for the sunburn and spare my wife some potential grief!

or check on whether u can get a script for generic Malarone thru your insurance. Cost me $10 thru BC/BS

My Medicare drug plan has a $310 deductible which fortunately I have not reached. However, if I had reached it, the drug plan would cover the brand Malarone for less per pill than the generic by about $1 per pill. And the cash price for the generic is also only $1.50 less than the brand. So it is still very expensive, but well worth the $200 to me for the protection.

SORRY for my last two posts....I got carried away with my frustration and did a little (sarcastic) venting. I'm OK now.

Anyways....

I just spent $600 on various vaccines at the advice(almost insistence) of my home doctors office.

What gets me is....

I told her "I LOVE to bake in the sun" and she gives me Doxycycline and says I'll be allright with some sun block. Then I get to the Pharmacist to pick up the prescription and he says no no no DON'T use Doxycycline if you want to do a lot of suntanning....go figure!

So then I figure no problem....

I've still got 15 Malarones left from two years ago (expiry date still good), I'll just add 30 more and give the Doxy to my wife, who aviods the sun like a plague....then someone here tells me it's not good for women, AND the same doctor makes no mention of any potential problems, when I told her my wife's now getting the Doxy....go figure again!

Lastly....

All along my wife thinks I'm crazy to buy any of it......go figure some more.

LOL LOL Freakin' LOL!!!...

To think a little teeny weeney, itsy bitsy, freakin little, mineute,miniscule mosquito(and a scitzo Doc) can cause such BIG drama....go figure!!!!

If our actual trip has as much drama as this vaccine trip's been, we're in for a real adventure.