Travel Vaccines

brinepacer

Anyone reccomend a doctor for cheap and comprehensive travel vaccines? How much should a full course cost including visits? Headed to asia for about eight months in october, figure i should start now but don't fancy shelling out a tonne for the things...

brinepacer

Anyone?

Japseye

Well I dont know where you will get the cheapest as I didnt bother pricing around . Im headin off to India for 2 weeks in Nov and I got my shots last week . 1 Visit did the job as the 4 vaccines I needed are combined into 2 shots, he gave me both there and then , cost €170, not sure is that a good deal or not ?

Also gave me a perscription for Malarone the tabs you need to take for Malaria. ( These ones don't have any side effects according to my doc )
They cost about €1 each , I have to take one the day before I leave and continue to take one a day up to a week after I return !

Hopefully I'll be dose free when I get BaCK

Drift

I don't know what's needed for where specifically but I needed to get a yellow fever vaccine for south america. Apparently not many doctors can do this one so I went to the "Tropical Medical Bureau" on Abbeygate Street. They were very good and can do all the other shots and stuff too but I didn't need them because I had already gotten them from my GP. Can't help with the price though. I didn't price around.

If you're a college student you'll almost certainly get things cheaper from the college doctor.

biko

Yeah, the one where Augustine meets Abbeygate is your best bet.

brinepacer

That tropical medical bureau - i went to them today and get a bunch of shots and prescriptions. One of the prescriptions was for anti-malarial tablets (mefloquine), but when i put the name into the lonely planet boards, there was tonnes of threads about how they're ineffective in the areas i'm visiting, and that any decent doctor would know this! I've emailed the TMB about it now, will have to wait and see what they say.

brinepacer

They insist it's totally effective, but i've now found docs on the Center for Disease Control's website and the World Health Organisation website that say there's resistance to mefloquine in thailand and cambodia. Oh well!

Drift

I'd trust your doctor rather than listening to the internet.

Its amazing how many people trawl through the net and it makes them think they know more about medicine than a doctor, more about cars than a mechanic, more about building than a builder, etc. etc. *

Its very unlikely you'll get malaria but do the obvious things like wearing long sleeves and trousers to lessen the number of bites etc.


* Exception to the above rule: EVERYONE knows more about soccer than a certain soccer manager from drogheda :rolleyes:

brinepacer

Ah yeah, i agree with you up to a point, the point being when the World Health Organisation gets involved. Besides which, i was just on to the sister who's a pharmacist, she pulled out her medical book which concurred with the bureau about the tablets being useful, but warned that one should under no circumstances use them for more than 12 weeks - whereas i was given a prescription today for 30 weeks straight!! That's actually more dangerous than the blummin malaria!

Wompa1

Could try "Dr." Hugo Escobar, you'd usually find him under the bridge at Dyke Road around 11pm-Midnight

Drift

30 weeks ... thats long term alight. Maybe its second opinion time. Can your sis not recommend a doctor she deals with regularly?

I can't remember what tablets we got for malaria but we were in south america not asia so the resitance thing might be different. Also we were only in the malaria region for a few weeks. Nothing extended.

james keane

go to site www.d2medical.ie free site with info on 180 countries

cohanlon

Kinda sorry I didn't see this thread sooner. I've heard a lot of dodgy things about Tropical Medical Bureau (that they sometimes give you shots/prescriptions you don't need to get money out of you, and that they overcharge big time). Had a few people tell me this before I had my shots to go to Africa. Went to Whitehall Medical Centre instead. They were great and cost me way less than I was quoted at TMB.

Hopefully this might help a bit...if not to you then to others looking to travel in the near future...

Steyr

Whatever you do dont forget your form E111.

testicle

Steyr wrote: »

Whatever you do dont forget your form E111.

An E111 hasn't existed for years you tit. You need an EHIC these days.

Also, the E in both names gives a hint to its territorial coverage - EUROPE.

Dave Joyce

I''ve been to Thailand 3 times and the Philippines twice and I've never taken ANY shots apart from making sure my tetanus was up to date. What I've done is taken high dosages of Echinachea for a couple of weeks before travelling and for about a week after coming back and haven't had any problems. A lot safer and cheaper than getting shots.

Steyr

testicle wrote: »

An E111 hasn't existed for years you tit. You need an EHIC these days.

Also, the E in both names gives a hint to its territorial coverage - EUROPE.

I didnt see the part about Asia, hands up my bad. Also was asked for the "form" yesterday in Spain so chill out they didnt ask for the Card.

Dont be so aggressive son.

Playboy

Steyr wrote: »

Dont be so aggressive son.

There might be a clue to his attitude in his name! (and his avatar )

Steyr

Playboy wrote: »

There might be a clue to his attitude in his name! (and his avatar )

What, he's not getting any??:P

Stevo11

Have always gone to the Tropical Medical Bureau in the past (visits to S.America & Asia lasting from 3 weeks to > 1 year), they've always been nothing short of excellent!

Where ever you end up going, don't feck around when it comes to your shots, don't skimp and get them done properly.