I am about to go to Burkina Faso, where yellow fever vaccine is mandatory. When I went to get the shot, they were very keen to jab me with every concoction on offer for every possible disease around.
I have never been fond of the idea of so many vaccines, just something about introducing foreign anitbodies and provoking an imune response by making me sick that makes me uneasy.

I might be ill informed, maybe it's just a really good idea to get vaccinated for everything under the sun and there are no ill effects to it.

What do you think?

I'm not a doctor and I didn't play one on TV, but I did do almost 22 years in the Marines and went to 32 countries outside the USA. Navy medical tends to err on the side of caution. Basically, if it said "might be needed on leap years", the navy corpsmen, who enjoy inflicting pain upon Marines, interpreted that to mean "absolutely, positively, without a doubt, mandatory". Bottom line, I received A LOT of vaccinations. At first I was a little leery of getting all the shots, but after a while it just became routine. I'd walk in, tell them where I was going, and then just roll up my sleeves. To my recollection, I never had any reactions outside the norm and I definitely never had any negative reactions. More importantly, I never got sick while out of country... well, there was that restaurant in Thailand, but that doesn't count. :-)

I've been vaccinated for just about everything you can be vaccinated for and it's never bothered me other than a little local swelling and pain, and maybe feeling like I had the flu for a few hours. Far better to get the shot rather than the disease in my book. I've known people that came down with some of the stuff you get vaccinated for and it wasn't much fun.

Check the CDC website for reccommended vaccinations. Find an immunologist. Luckily, mine is Nigerian and he knows...

I have worked extensively and traveled and hunted in Africa. I have the Yellow Fever vaccination, which is mandatory for almost all international travel worldwide, Hepatitis A&B, typhoid, a current Tetanus within one year of travel, updated polio. I carry cipro for intestinal problems and a variety of other drugs, including oxycodone or percocet, Immodium, a gentle laxative, sterile syrnges in case I have to be vaccinated or administered an antibiotic or morphine in Africa.

I'll tell you this: you get a case of Hep A and the least of your worries will be bugs that you injected into your system.

I almost died twice from an unknown tropical fever and an intestinal problem, dysentery, I contracted there. Also take along some sterile strips, alcohol wipes, and a good topical antibiotic such as Neosporin. Hydrocortisone ointment is also nice to have. A slight scratch can turn into a nightmare.

Also keep in mind that very few American physicians have ever seen some of the bugs you can easily pick up in Africa.

BTW, TB is rampant in Africa. I caught it. It remained benign, but I had to have the treatment to prevent it from manifesting itself.

You are going to visit one of the most septic places on earth. Take every precaution you can.

I got shots for Hepatites and Tetness The first Shot is good for my life time and the second shot is good for 10 years. So I'm good to go

quote:

Originally posted by EXPRESS:


What do you think?

Have you ever seen a case of small pox?
How about polio? Any recent polio patients in your town?

Ever wonder why?

Some good replies on here already. I might that you should go to a travel clinic. My personal doctor did not have a clue as to what to give me and looking on the web (including the CDC site) only confused me. A travel clinic that deals with foreign travel all day/every day is the way to go in my opinion.

I'm another retired military (Air Force) who had to travel to sites around the world twice a year. Some were nowhere near "garden spots." The shots ensured (endured?) I would be OK and the only one that gave me any problem was a plague shot that made my arm seem to fall off for about an hour. No pain, just couldn't move that arm!

It's always better to err on the side of caution, a few minute of pain sure beats months or years recovering from something you can easily be vaccinated for.

Just a follow up on the tetanus shot...the Volusia County Health Department, (Daytona Beach, Deland, etc,) recommends a tetanus injection yearly for international travelers, particularly for those traveling to primitive areas/third world.

The travel clinic is a great idea, if you can find one.

If you should encounter plague, cipro will kill it, so said my old tropical medicine specialist from the Africa years, Dr. Caroline MacLeod.

quote:

Originally posted by jetdrvr:
Just a follow up on the tetanus shot...the Volusia County Health Department, (Daytona Beach, Deland, etc,) recommends a tetanus injection yearly for international travelers, particularly for those traveling to primitive areas/third world.

The travel clinic is a great idea, if you can find one.

If you should encounter plague, cipro will kill it, so said my old tropical medicine specialist from the Africa years, Dr. Caroline MacLeod.

That's ridiculous. They must have a surplus of TT in South Florida. A yearly TT injection is absurd. The minimum protection provided by a proper TT injection is at least 5 years and probably more like 10. Getting vaccinations is a good idea, getting over vaccinated just helps the vac sellers and the doctors, not you.

I'm a little behind in my shots as well, but I've also opened up umbrellas indoors so I don't mind taking chances.

Get the yellow fever, the small pox, the tetanus, the hepatitis, and the polio, at least.

By the way I caught hepatitis while living in Burkina Faso. My future wife didn't seem to mind because I lost about 30 pounds and couldn't drink alcohol for 6 months. In fact I suspect she would still like me to be 30 pounds lighter and a non-drinker. Fortunately she can adapt.

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:


That's ridiculous. They must have a surplus of TT in South Florida. A yearly TT injection is absurd. The minimum protection provided by a proper TT injection is at least 5 years and probably more like 10. Getting vaccinations is a good idea, getting over vaccinated just helps the vac sellers and the doctors, not you.

I agree.

I am a dr. and I can assure you that it is better getting vaccinated than getting the disease itself. Where to get vaccinated I have no clue because in spain the state pays for it and you have to go to certain places to get your vaccination done, However better getting the shot than having some terrrible tropical disease. One thing I want you to know is that with antipaludics (specially with Lariam and Malarone you may have some nasty nightmares but better this than malaria fever

I've traveled much of Africa and South America, no shots, no trouble. I only take the manditory shots if any and malaria prophalatics if needed. The rest of them are just a generic list put together by CDC when going to any second or third world country. The Pharmasutical companies love it. Fear factor works every time. Save your money and have a good time.

Life is an adventure or not life at all.

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:

quote:

Originally posted by jetdrvr:
Just a follow up on the tetanus shot...the Volusia County Health Department, (Daytona Beach, Deland, etc,) recommends a tetanus injection yearly for international travelers, particularly for those traveling to primitive areas/third world.

The travel clinic is a great idea, if you can find one.

If you should encounter plague, cipro will kill it, so said my old tropical medicine specialist from the Africa years, Dr. Caroline MacLeod.

That's ridiculous. They must have a surplus of TT in South Florida. A yearly TT injection is absurd. The minimum protection provided by a proper TT injection is at least 5 years and probably more like 10. Getting vaccinations is a good idea, getting over vaccinated just helps the vac sellers and the doctors, not you.

Tell them, not me. You an MD? I'd bet their number is in the book. BTW, it's Central Florida, 175 miles from South Florida.

jetdrvr:

I don't have to tell them. They know. If they don't know, they should have their licenses lifted. It's the great uninformed who believe everything they're told that need to inform and protect themselves. Doctors are human and are often wrong, whether deliberately or accidentally. Just so you can start to inform yourself:

From the Center for Disease Control site: (my emphasis)

Everyone needs protection from tetanus. If you have not had a booster shot in 10 years or more, you should receive a tetanus shot. If you never had the initial childhood tetanus vaccines, you should receive a series of three tetanus shots.

End quoted text:

Another good example from the other side is the scads of people who have the flu or a bad cold and go to the doctor DEMANDING a shot to make them better. They often get a shot of antibiotics and it ABSOLUTELY will not affect the course of their flu or cold.

In regard to the need for a tetanus booster, I checked with my local health department. They are extremely well versed in international travel health recommendations as our small city is the headquarters for a Fortune 50 international company with frequent travel all over the globe.

I was told that in the US, a tetanus injection is considered good for a period of 10 years. However, even in the US, if an injury is received beyond the 5 year mark, the practice is to give a booster injection just to be safe. They recommend a booster shot if it has been more than 5 years since your last one if you are traveling to the less well developed parts of the world. This is to preclude getting a booster injection in an area with questionable needle sterilization practices.

Exactly and a summation of what I said in my first post.

In fact, tetanus shot protection MAY last much longer than 5 to 10 years, there are records of some monkeys that maintained protection for over 20 years, their whole lifespan, but to be on the safe side, the common rule of thumb used is 5 years.

I could truly care less.

I'm not getting caught up in some argumentative BS with you. Do what you want to do. Life is just too damned short for this sort of stuff.

YHMCWSWGAS.

No arguments here, I don't care how many unnecessary tetanus boosters someone gets and pays for, at least some people in here are now armed with the facts and can make decisions for their vaccination programs with them in mind.

I'll put it to you like this: I have traveled professionally to some of the most septic, disease-ridden areas of the world for over 40 years.

I repeated what I was told by the immunization nurse at the Volusia County Health Dept. I have visited well over 100 countries and all seven continents professionally. I've seen the absolute worst conditions one may imagine. To wit: Sudanese refugee camps with a cholera epidemic raging and Ethiopian refugee camps with children dying horribly with flies in their eyes.

I have had professional advice from tropical disease specialists all my life. One advisor authored a book on malaria. I acquired TB in Africa.

When the nurse who gave me the booster told me that, I was a bit surprised, because I was well aware of the shelf life of a tetanus booster. I passed this along with good intentions.

For some unknown reason you seem to disagree vehemently with my post. If you have a problem, here is the phone number of the Volusia County Health Department. 386-424-2056. That's the immunization number. Either you are a microbiologist or an MD. If neither, you have so far stated no qualifications for your statements, other than personal experience. I simply passed along information I was given in good faith.

If you have a problem with my information, I suggest you contact the source. You may be a fat cat, but it is also possible that you have been misinformed, just as I may have been.

In any event, prior to visiting Masailand in '09, I will return to my immunologist, a Nigerian MD who is a stone expert on African communicable diseases, and ask him what he thinks. I will take his advice over yours.

The information is out there. I am no neophyte off on his first plainsgame safari. I spent years working in Africa and I know what I'm talking about. If I was misinformed, I will take advice from qualifiied professionals, not from a layman like you. I suggest anyone else reading this do the same.

Who's arguing now? Do you think the Center for Disease control is wrong about something so elementary as the period of immunity provided by a tetanus vaccination? You may have had too many vaccinations, your judgement is impaired.

YHMCWSWGAS!