Travel Shots, do I REALLY need them?

fionny

Hey all,

I'm not the greatest fan of vaccinations (please don't flame me this is just my own opinion), we are planning our honeymoon for July this year and are going to:

Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia
Island of Java in Indonesia (Yogakarta, Mt Bromo etc..)
and lastly Bali (Ubud and Seminyak)

Is there any reason why I absolutely should get shots for this trip?

Thanks,

mrsoundie

Personally I would always ensure being vaccinated. Don't do it, and just sit there while going through the particularly painful disease you picked up, could have been averted with a quick trip to the doctors.

Having said that, you could be knocked down, mugged or stitched up and end up in prison, then none of it matters. Whatever you decide enjoy your trip.

Wexy86

For all the money and planning gone into your honeymoon it would be horrible to pick up something you could have avoided and your honeymoon ruined, Just my two cents though :rolleyes:

Well jealous of your itinerary, sounds great, best of luck with the wedding and honeymoon!

fionny

Thanks chaps I get where ye are coming from but I have never been vaccinated for a single thing and am slow to start now so unless there is a massive risk there id be hesitant.

Tails142

Was in the amazon jungle there last year and got stung by two wasps. Little b*st*rds would just land on you and sting for no reason. Was glad I was on the malaria pills even if the risk was low and there hadn't been a reported case of malaria coming from the area in years.

Other people were plagued with mosquitos that seemed to just zone in on them but they didn't take any notice of me.

If I was you I wouldnt risk it, get the yellow fever jab or whatever is reccommended and take the malaria tablets if you're going to a area where it is recommended.

Del2005

fionny wrote: »

Thanks chaps I get where ye are coming from but I have never been vaccinated for a single thing and am slow to start now so unless there is a massive risk there id be hesitant.

They advise you to get vaccinated against diseases that are present in the country your going to. There may not be a massive risk but a debilitating disease is one thing I wouldn't want to bring back from a holiday. If your spending the whole time in 4 or 5 Star hotels eating in Michelin star restaurants you should be fine, if you are travelling on a budget sleeping in hostels and eating with the locals the risk increases.


Check with your doctor if there are other options to injection. Be aware that some people have bad reactions to the vaccine.

spurious

fionny wrote: »

Thanks chaps I get where ye are coming from but I have never been vaccinated for a single thing and am slow to start now so unless there is a massive risk there id be hesitant.

You've never had a vaccination for anything? Even the standard ones they give here to babies?
I'd check out whether that alone leaves you open to some nasties.

fionny

spurious wrote: »

You've never had a vaccination for anything? Even the standard ones they give here to babies?
I'd check out whether that alone leaves you open to some nasties.

Nope none, zip, nada, and I deffo aint getting them now. Ive had most of the usual things like mumps etc...

We arent sleeping in dodge places its a honeymoon and its costing a fortune :P

ProudDUB

OP, a friend of my sister got yellow fever when she in Ethiopia. Her life has been absolute hell ever since. She has not been able to work in over a year. There is no way I would go somewhere, without doing all I could to make sure that the trip did not have a negative long term effect on my life, my health or my ability to earn a living, which a lot of these third world diseases can do.

I know how you feel about injections/vaccines. I almost left a job when the company tried to bring in mandatory flu shots. I have never had the flu in my life, so I looked on being forced to inject the flu antibodies, as a gross invasion of my privacy and my body. But there is a very, very big difference in getting a gloried case of the sniffles (sorry flu sufferers :P ) in a first world country, where you have access to the best possible medical attention, as does every one else; and a disease that can kill you in a very short space of time, especially as you will have limited or no access to proper medical treatment. So in summary, get your shots.

Sheldons Brain

spurious wrote: »

You've never had a vaccination for anything? Even the standard ones they give here to babies?
I'd check out whether that alone leaves you open to some nasties.

Exactly. I'd sort things like Polio in any case.

People who don't get vaccinated are basically relying on everyone else to do so. This may work in Europe, where most people are responsible, informed and have good heath systems, this is not the case throughout the world.

spurious

fionny wrote: »

Nope none, zip, nada, and I deffo aint getting them now. Ive had most of the usual things like mumps etc...

We arent sleeping in dodge places its a honeymoon and its costing a fortune :P

It would be more diphtheria, TB and the like I'd be worried about.
Worked with a man once who had a bout of malaria while working in Africa - he still regularly suffered from relapses. I'd get the shots.

killbillvol2

There's a major risk of Hep A and Typhoid from contaminated food and water in Indonesia.

It doesn't matter where you're staying or eating.

Travelling without at least those two is idiotic.

Sheldons Brain

killbillvol2 wrote: »

There's a major risk of Hep A and Typhoid from contaminated food and water in Indonesia.

It doesn't matter where you're staying or eating.
.

It is an oversimplification to say that it doesn't matter where you are eating. It does. But if you are going to go about and see some stuff (otherwise why bother going) you come into contact with possibly variable conditions and also possible contact with other ailments. The prudent thing is to get the jabs.

steve-o

fionny wrote: »

Nope none, zip, nada, and I deffo aint getting them now. Ive had most of the usual things like mumps etc...

Your apparent complacency has not harmed you in a country with high rates of public inoculation where most nasties have been eradicated but it won't help you in the third world.

Nonoperational

You'd want to be an absolute complete and utter head-case to go on that trip without vaccinations and malaria prophylaxis... If you want anyone with any scrap of common sense at all to come on and tell you you don't need anything, well no. It's not going to happen.

lisasimpson

im not surprised to see a thread like this. had a conversation a few years ago with someone at work who was heading off to central America and when I asked did they need many shots the response was why would I waste my money on stupid injections. its surprising the amount of people that are careless about these things. make sure you tell your doctor that you never got any of your childhood shots too coz its not just topical illness you need to worry about there is also the likes of tb, polio etc.

coylemj

fionny wrote: »

Thanks chaps I get where ye are coming from but I have never been vaccinated for a single thing and am slow to start now so unless there is a massive risk there id be hesitant.

Your success in dodging several potentially lethal or debilitating childhood illnesses is more down to the 'herd immunity' you benefited from than your cuteness in avoiding getting jabs. What I mean is that the immunised children you went to school with and that you hung around with effectively protected you from those diseases because the fact that they had immunity inhibited the transmission of the viruses.

You will have no such protection in far-flung countries where your body will be ripe territory for assorted bugs and viruses being carried by the locals and for which your body will have no defence.

You say you did get the mumps which suggests you never got the MMR vaccine - are you aware that a dose of the mumps could easily have left you permanently deaf or rendered you infertile if you're male?

kerry4sam

Fionny,

I have closed your thread here as tbh I do not know why you would not just consult your own GP over something as serious as vaccinations, you know, since, well, they know your medical history and all.

Please consult your GP with this issue.

Thanks,
kerry4sam