Vaccinations

Lucifer-0

Hi.

Apologies in advance, I'm sure this has been asked before but I wanted to ask for specific countries.

I'm going to India, SE Asia, Oz and NZ in October.
Are you meant to get the vaccinations within a certain time e.g. a month, before travelling?

Thanks.

Awesome-O

This is a helpful website

http://www.tmb.ie/

Pop into and Tropical Medical Bureau with the list of countries you are going to and they will advise what you do or don't need.. The sooner ou get them the better I think.

keenan110

As far as I know it usually takes about 2/3 weeks for your body to become fully immunised after once off vaccines, such as Hep A and Typhoid etc.
For Rabies you need to get 3/4 injections within one month. Hep B Usually takes 3 injections over 6 months, but you can get a sped up programme which takes only a month, with another injection after about 6 months.
If you're leaving in October you should start getting them very soon!

Stinicker

the TMB are quite expensive, you might find your GP will do it cheaper.

lc180

I am going to Thailand next month and got my vaccines today with my local GP, thought I'd share with everyone encase anyone is getting it soon and wondering how much it's gonna be.

I went to my Doc (€50) who prescribed Malarone malaria tablets and 2 vaccines - Revaxis (Diphteria, Tetanus, Polio), Viatim (Hep A, Typhoid).
I went to McCabes pharmacy to collect these before going back to get the shots. The prescription cost €231.70.

So in total my vaccinations and meds cost a wooping €281.71

F#CK ME I knew it was gonna be expensive but I wasn't expecting that!
I didn't research it so maybe it's cheaper elsewhere so my tip to everyone is research and price around beforehand

Stinicker

lc180 wrote: »

I am going to Thailand next month and got my vaccines today with my local GP, thought I'd share with everyone encase anyone is getting it soon and wondering how much it's gonna be.

I went to my Doc (€50) who prescribed Malarone malaria tablets and 2 vaccines - Revaxis (Diphteria, Tetanus, Polio), Viatim (Hep A, Typhoid).
I went to McCabes pharmacy to collect these before going back to get the shots. The prescription cost €231.70.

So in total my vaccinations and meds cost a wooping €281.71

F#CK ME I knew it was gonna be expensive but I wasn't expecting that!
I didn't research it so maybe it's cheaper elsewhere so my tip to everyone is research and price around beforehand

Wow that was expensive, my GP vaccinated me with Boostrix for diphtheria, (pertussis - whooping cough) and tetanus, he also gave me a second vaccine of Hepatyrix (Hepatitis A and Typhoid) all for around €110 including his fee back in January of 2011. Your doc was very expensive and even though the TMB is expensive I'd say they'd have beaten that price, it was outrageously expensive.

Best bet is ring your GP and the TMB to compare prices.

lc180

Stinicker wrote: »

Wow that was expensive, my GP vaccinated me with Boostrix for diphtheria, (pertussis - whooping cough) and tetanus, he also gave me a second vaccine of Hepatyrix (Hepatitis A and Typhoid) all for around €110 including his fee back in January of 2011. Your doc was very expensive and even though the TMB is expensive I'd say they'd have beaten that price, it was outrageously expensive.

Best bet is ring your GP and the TMB to compare prices.

I was shafted I know that. I would have upped and went to another gp or service when the pharmacist told me the cost of the meds but at that stage I had already been charged the non-refundable €50 for the doctor.

I looked it up briefly on boards before going and didn't see any estimates on how much it will be so hence the reason I'm sharing my story to warn people!

Shop around folks, needless to say I've learned my lesson.

Todd Gack

lc180 wrote: »

So in total my vaccinations and meds cost a wooping €281.71

It's the Malarone that costs a fortune, it's over €4 per tablet or at least it was. It is supposed to be the best out there but there are cheaper alternatives like doxycycline but most others have some side effects (I've not had problems but some do). It's also available in Boots in Bangkok for a fraction of what you'd pay here, and in other pharmacies but there are a lot of counterfeit drugs in circulation over there.

The consultation fee for vaccinations is what drives up the price here, €50 or so is a joke, e.g. here are the individual prices for some of the vaccines which vary from place to place http://www.d2medical.ie/travel_vaccine_centre.asp

Yamanoto

I got my Malaria Meds at the Medical Centre in Singapore airport.

Prior to travelling, I got my shots at the Travel Health Clinic on Dawson Street. Consultation was thorough and excellent - Dr. Simon Collins is a specialist in Tropical Medicine and from memory the visit cost about €150.

http://www.travelhealth.ie/AboutUs/

lc180

The Malarone tablets I was prescribed were indeed ridiculously expensive at about €120 for a months supply.
I hope I can claim some of this back from Aviva healthcare.

leverarch12

What I cant understand is how you somehow managed to pay over 200 euro for a prescription given the max limit you have to pay for prescriptions a month is about 130.

Your major mistake was going to a doctor who didnt have the vaccinations in the first place. I got my hep a and typhoid for 60 and the 3 in 1 vaccination for 25. Luckily I got to get mine through college.

Naid23

I just got my first round of Vacinations done on Thursday. Have 5 more to go between now and March.

Going to Bali in 5 weeks so needed to get my booster shots for Hep A/B and then my BF convinced me to get the rabies one as well - when I say one, i mean 3 shots! Least i'm covered for my year of travels next year so.

So by the end of all the needles im gonna be paying approx €200 for everything- isnt the worst I know just hate the needle part.
Plus I'm being sparred the expense of Malerone as I'm allergic to them so have to get the cheaper option which is effectively an antibiotic - cheaper too.

carnie

Started my vaccinations yesterday with travel health.. Have another 2 more rounds to do.. Yesterday cost 170, the next will be 80 and then 105 for the last.. I'm getting a few extras vaccinations for the likes of rabies, hep b, yellow fever and pneumococcal on top of the usual hep a, typhoid, polio etc.

Now i need to decide on the Malaria pills... Looking at doxycycline because they're cheaper.. Anyone any experiences with them?

leverarch12

I never understand why people get the rabies vaccination. You have to get 2/3 vaccinations before you go and if you get bitten you still have to get 2 more. Whereas if you never got it in the first place its 4 vaccinations after you have been bitten. I hear it gives you 24 hours extra to get to a hospital but any country with rabies is going to be fairly well prepared and the chance of being 24 hours away from a hospital are fairly slim. Why do people get it???

carnie

You get 3-4 days if you are vaccinated.. Those few extra days could be handy if you're in rural India and the nearest hospital is a couple of days away.

When i was planning my trip i wasn't going to bother with the rabies shots but then i read this a few months ago http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9296113/Rabies-case-British-woman-dies-in-hospital.html... Granted she only got it looked at 7 weeks after been bitten but that's enough for me to get them

leverarch12

In fairness if she waited 7 weeks then having the vaccination in the first place still wouldnt have helped her.

Ok I understand if you are travelling somewhere really really remote but most people who get it are travelling to places like Thailand where you are never going to be more than a couple of hours from a hospital never mind 3 days.

Daisies

My opinion with the rabies vaccine was that for the extra 150 the peace of mind that if I got bitten while in the Amazon I had the extra time to get treatment was worth it for me. Also I have now gone on 3 trips that these vaccines (including all the rest) have been in use for so in the long run it's not THAT expensive if you plan on multiple trips.

As far malaria tabs, I'm currently using doxy in Africa as Malarone can't be used for longer than 6 months. No major side-effects so long as you don't take it on an empty stomach.

carnie

Righto.. Just started a trial on Droxycycline and already I'm feeling a tad nauseous. I'm hoping it could be due to being on the beer last night and that i didn't eat enough this morning before i took it. I only had a 2 plums, 2 bananas and a slice of bread.

We'll see how it goes tomorrow

Daisies

carnie wrote: »

Righto.. Just started a trial on Droxycycline and already I'm feeling a tad nauseous. I'm hoping it could be due to being on the beer last night and that i didn't eat enough this morning before i took it. I only had a 2 plums, 2 bananas and a slice of bread.

We'll see how it goes tomorrow

I had doxy on an empty stomach once, not nice. If you can eat it with a meal or shortly after a main meal. I've been on doxy for 3 months now and apart from that one incident with the empty stomach, no problems. Hope you feel better soon

carnie

The weirdness went at lunch time so I'm thinking that I just didn't eat enough.. Gonna pop todays one in about 5mins

cbyrne11

carnie wrote: »

The weirdness went at lunch time so I'm thinking that I just didn't eat enough.. Gonna pop todays one in about 5mins

Sorry to bump an old thread but looking for where is cheapest place to go, tmb, your GP or travel health on dawson street, going to Central/South america in two months. Whats people experience, it was hard to tell by the conversation as some people seem to have been ripped off!

Lucifer-0

cbyrne11 wrote: »

Sorry to bump an old thread but looking for where is cheapest place to go, tmb, your GP or travel health on dawson street, going to Central/South america in two months. Whats people experience, it was hard to tell by the conversation as some people seem to have been ripped off!

I found they were all similar prices, I didn't actually try my GP because I was working in the city and would have to take a day off work and lose days wages to make an appointment.
I was limited to places in Dublin city.
Best thing to do is phone them and get quotes, the clinics will probably be different prices though.

cbyrne11

Lucifer-0 wrote: »

I found they were all similar prices, I didn't actually try my GP because I was working in the city and would have to take a day off work and lose days wages to make an appointment.
I was limited to places in Dublin city.
Best thing to do is phone them and get quotes, the clinics will probably be different prices though.

thanks for your reply, I decided to go with travel health, have an appointment Saturday morning, not sure if they are cheaper but their website was more informative about prices than the rest of them. I contacted them and they said 145 for the required vaccinations and that if we are spending time in rural areas they will advise us of other vaccines we might need. I assume rabies is going to come up, probably worth getting just in case.