South East Asia - Vaccinations

pencil

Hello all,

I'm off to south east asia (Thailland, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam) for 3 months.

I called into the Tropical Medical Bureau (www.tmb.ie) off grafton Street to check out vaccinations. They can do it alright but they almost want the price of plane ticket to do it!!

I'll need a series of injections, 7 in total, which will set me back €217.

Surely this is run of the mill, bend over needle in the ass stuff. How the Fu@k can they charge €217.

Does anyone know of anywhere that charges a sane amount? or have any recommendation?

Reyman

Sounds expensive!

And it probably doesn't include the anti-malaria gear, which will set you back another whack!

Try Mercer's Clinic around the corner, --- past Sinnots.!

Let me know how you do!

pencil

Reyman - where abouts is this Mercer's Clinic ? can't find it on the interweb

cheers

Reyman

You go past Sinnott's on S. King St. and it's the big stone building on the left. It used to be Mercer's hospital!

By the way what are you doing about malaria down there? There's some quite resistant strains in SE Asia (since the Vietnam war) and 3 months is quite a stint.

Chloroquine is not a great help and Mefloquine (Lariam) is a tricky drug to take for any length of time! Serious problem rate is 1:140 , which is quite high

Ref.

"Over the past decade, there has been increasing documentation, from medical case reports and anecdotally, that both the frequency and the seriousness of debilitating side-effects of this drug are under-estimated. Perhaps most troublesome, is that serious adverse events can persist for years after the end of dosing (see the medical research references listed on the lariam bibliography page)"

http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/larrefs.html#research
http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/larrefs.html#media

pencil

Thanks!

Originally posted by Reyman
By the way what are you doing about malaria down there? There's some quite resistant strains in SE Asia (since the Vietnam war) and 3 months is quite a stint.

Chloroquine is not a great help and Mefloquine (Lariam) is a tricky drug to take for any length of time! Serious problem rate is 1:140 , which is quite high

Ref.

"Over the past decade, there has been increasing documentation, from medical case reports and anecdotally, that both the frequency and the seriousness of debilitating side-effects of this drug are under-estimated. Perhaps most troublesome, is that serious adverse events can persist for years after the end of dosing (see the medical research references listed on the lariam bibliography page)"

http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/larrefs.html#research
http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/larrefs.html#media

Holy **** - your sacring me - I just want to go on holidays ;-(.

Is there anything you would suggest yourself (reading links / what would you do)

Reyman

No real answer to how to deal with Malaria! The drug companies have never bothered researching a vaccine for it . Only 3rd world people get it and they can't afford to pay big prices and generate nice multinational profits!

Myself - I've worked in these places a lot of years, mostly short stints of a few weeks. I rarely take any drugs but cover myself with those protective creams just before dusk. That works pretty well --- my no. 1 rule is "don't get bitten"

Plus sleep under a net if possible. And relax you'll have a good time!!

HarryD

Malaria is only an issue in Northern Thailand, or Cambodia or Laos..
Southern Thailand, Mayaysia and Singapore are OK..

The tablets can have weird side effects though..
My ex had her finger nails turn black with em :-s

Also HepA & B vaccinations are worth considering,
but yer unlikely to be exposed to it unless you
plan sleeping with some Roger Moore's.

Borzoi

The Tropical MEdical Bureau tend to over emphasize things, you'd be better off checking what the World Health Organisation have to say for each country.

Try WHO Travel Vacinination site

BTW this drubbing of the TMB was based on what they have to say about Australia versus what the WHO and the Aussie Govt say. Really you're comparing a set of recomensations (TMB) versus minimum requirements (WHO)

But that WHO site is the win

Lex Luthor

don't forget SARS and that deadly chicken disease

Reyman

There's an online site based in Canada -- www.my-drugs.ca where you buy those anti malaria drugs at about half the Irish price.

I have'nt tried the company but they seem a good bet --- the drugs for a 3 month holiday could cost €550 in a chemist here.

jorg

wouldn't recommend Lariam. It can have some funny side effects. I had some vivid dreams and found it difficult to sleep when I returned home (you have to take it 4 weeks after return). I changed to Doxycycline which is every day and that was OK. I know people who have used Malarone and it seems to be relatively free from side effects also, you only have to remain taking it for a week on returning. I was with a guy who stopped taking Lariam because of the side effects - mainly nausea. 2 weeks after coming home, he felt tired and feverish. he had level 3 malaria. On balance, i'd rather the side effects than malaria! Its not worth the risk - get some form of anti-malarial tablets