View Full Version : Vaccinations... how important are they?
I just got back from a working holiday in NZ and in 18 days I'm off to asia. I need to be vaccinated 10-14 days before hand (depending on vaccination). I can't really afford all of them. Thing is I need hep b, typhoid, tetanus, polio/diphtheria and possibly hep a. Now those I can afford, I'll just need to rough it a bit more in asia (ie. I'll be very poor, working holidays don't pay much). The big issue is the Malaria tablets.
I can get one for $26 or one for $340. The $26 has a MASSIVE list of side effects and I was told has a 95% likeliness of giving me photo sensitivity. Being an already very succeptible person to the sun, this would suck major cock to me. The doctor said the side effects, if they kick in, are incredibly nasty. He's my best friend's dad, so I know he's being honest with me. Based on what side effects I've gotten in the past ad my sensitive skin he highlighted a bunch of effects that are more likely than others....and wow. No thanks. But $340 is too much.
I researched malaria and there's only one strain that kills you. I'm a gambling man. What are your opinions on not taking malaria tablets?
Oh and if it makes a difference we're going to Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.
Is a vaccination certificate needed to enter the country? This is sometimes the case. Isn't there a third type of tablet?
Invest in quality mosquito repellent.
Malaria is not a pleasent disease, it has no vaccin, and it kills more than a million people each year.
But sure, if the risk is worth it to you. Go for it. :)
Cowboy of the Apocalypse
2008-11-03, 04:28
I just got back from a working holiday in NZ and in 18 days I'm off to asia. I need to be vaccinated 10-14 days before hand (depending on vaccination). I can't really afford all of them. Thing is I need hep b, typhoid, tetanus, polio/diphtheria and possibly hep a. Now those I can afford, I'll just need to rough it a bit more in asia (ie. I'll be very poor, working holidays don't pay much). The big issue is the Malaria tablets.
I can get one for $26 or one for $340. The $26 has a MASSIVE list of side effects and I was told has a 95% likeliness of giving me photo sensitivity. Being an already very succeptible person to the sun, this would suck major cock to me. The doctor said the side effects, if they kick in, are incredibly nasty. He's my best friend's dad, so I know he's being honest with me. Based on what side effects I've gotten in the past ad my sensitive skin he highlighted a bunch of effects that are more likely than others....and wow. No thanks. But $340 is too much.
I researched malaria and there's only one strain that kills you. I'm a gambling man. What are your opinions on not taking malaria tablets?
Oh and if it makes a difference we're going to Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.
For the Malaria you'll want Doxycycline (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doxycycline). The best plan of attack would be to use the public health system (government medical aid if you have it, Medicaid, Medicare, etc). That is, get prescribed it, so's that your public health system will pay most of the cost for you since you need it instead of want it. Now, Doxycycline has a number of uses, and therein lies your entry point to a subscription. I suggest you head to a sexual health clinic and pick up some Doxycycline after bangin the shit out of a fistful of slutty single mothers, or rig the tests so you test positive.
Definitely get the Hepatitus vaccination, and the rest, if going overseas.
For the Malaria you'll want Doxycycline
That's the $26 one, you can say you have terrible acne and they'll prescribe it, no need for an STD.
wolfy_9005
2008-11-08, 07:00
hep b, typhoid, tetanus, polio/diphtheria and possibly hep a.
Werent you immunized with hep b at school? You get tetanus vaccinations when your 5-6, then just need a booster every 10 years or so. Polio you get when your born and you dont need a booster after that(i think)
Not sure on cambodia or laos, but my parets went to thailand/vietnam and didnt need malaria tablets. The wet season would probably have more mozzies, maybe take a mosquito net to sleep under at night.
Also, only drink bottled water, and check the caps to make sure they arent just refilled. Make sure any food you order is either freezing cold, or piping hot when you get it.(over 75C kill everything from salmonella down, not sure on what might still be alive)
Just use common sense and you'll live to tell the tale(on totse of course)