Since we went to Asia, we will tell you what “safety” measures we’ve taken when it comes to different diseases in that part of the world.
If you don’t have time or patience to read the whole article for nothing, I will the you here the short version: go to the doctor, he will advise you what is the best thing for you to do, after all he is the specialist.
In our case (quite rarely, especially in Romania) we have made the following vaccines:
- Hepatitis A
- Yellow fever
- Dultavax
I asked almost all the private clinics in Bucharest about as much the vaccines would cost and eventually we went to “Regina Maria” (in October 2018 it was the most accessible option).
When I said above that we are a rare case I was referring to the fact that we will spend quite a long period in Asia, traveling from one country to another. That’s why the doctor strugled a little bet with us. Each country has its “dangers” and its precautions, being quite different from one to the other.
About malaria
The season is also a factor, especially when talking about diseases transmitted by mosquitoes (malaria, for example). From what I understand, in the northern (desert) of India, where we are going, there are not many cases of malaria, especially as we are going to go in the dry season (or the high season).
The next warning for malaria is for Vietnam. We will travel this country from south to north, so there will be a great chance to be in a regions with higher risk.
From what I recall the malaria treatment is done with pills, taken two weeks before the risk area, during the stay, and a few days after. As we travel throught different areas, we have decided with the doctor not to take this treatment. Because there is no justification for taking so many pills and treatments for so long. Instead we’ve bouth a stronger mosquito spray (40% DEET concentration) that we’ll use all the time, because besides malaria, you can have all sorts of problems from mosquito and insects.
About hepatitis B
What we’ve also learned on this occasion is that when we are young we do a hepatitis B vaccine, but it expires in about 10 years. We are on the limit with this vaccine, expiring this year or the next, so we didn’t have to do this one. We’re probably going to do it next year when we get back to Romania.
Vaccines
The three vaccines we made two in the left arm and one in the right. Although Adriana is afraid of vaccines, she was lucky that the assistant lady had a “soft hand”. Apart from the slight discomfort experienced for 2-3 days, we didn’t had any other symptoms.
However, prior to “injection”, each vaccine was presented in a sealed box. We were also given the leaflet of each one, but with the request (condition) not to read the possible adverse effects. 😁 Now we have a yellow notebook in which are noted what vaccines we have done.
Our luck is that in the countries we are visiting now, there no obligation on vaccines, all of them are optional and / or recommended.
How to find cheaper accommodation > click here
What we packed for our trip in Asia > click here
2 comments