Due to a lack of basic research I turned up at my doctor’s for a quick tetanus booster. Simple enough, I thought.
Wanna bet?
It turns out that your local doctor’s surgery here in the UK will give you a free travel consultation. It also turns up that if you turn up without telling them you need this the nurse involved will roll their eyes a lot and mutter naughty stuff under their breath.
It could have been worse, I could have been leaving in less than three weeks…
Fortunately the risks in the countries we’re visiting (Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam) are all pretty much the same:
- Tetanus (booster)
- Typhoid
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B (you need six months to do this properly – it also costs, even at the doctor)
- Japanese Encephalitis (twenty-eight days apart – you have to find an expensive travel clinic to do this for you).
Obviously I couldn’t do Hep B fully but with 4 weeks you can get 60% protection (week 1, week 2, week 4). Japanese Encephalitis is rare anyway, rarer to cause serious illness and is confined to rice fields and pig farms. We’re going to avoid walking in those, just to be on the safe side. I mean, I can look at rice and pigs at home. Often on the same plate.
We’re not going anywhere there’s malaria but you need to check carefully (at the time of writing it’s still around in eastern Indonesia and Cambodia which we’re avoiding). Anti-malarials are to be avoided (says Nurse Nikki) but so is malaria. Mosquitos are everywhere (more on deet later).
And of course, rabies is a concern. Local cats and dogs may look cute, but there are risks. Any kind of bite needs immediate access to local healthcare who can assess the risks properly. Once rabies hits the central nervous system there’s no cure, so don’t bugger about if the cute kitty claws you. Saliva kills, OK? (You have a week, don’t wait).
It’s all precautionary, but best to avoid the major risks. We want to enjoy the trip, not obsess over every mosquito bite!
My lovely, slightly exasperated, nurse took me through all of the above. I ended up looking and feeling like a pin cushion. I leaked from my arms when I drank. But still, I’m as protected as I can be.
But if you’re planning to go away start thinking about jabs six months in advance …