Travel Health

This afternoon I visited a University of Washington Travel Health Clinic to make sure that all of my immunizations were up to date for my trip to India.  The staff made several recommendations and provided some useful travel advice.  I had a buffet of immunizations to choose from but all were not needed for India.   I decided on four immunizations (see the photo on the right) and rolled up my sleeves for these shots:

1.  Tetanus, diptheria, pertussis Vaccine (Tdap)

2.  Polio Vaccine
3.  Typhoid Vaccine
4.  Hepatitis A Vaccine

I did NOT get a vaccine for rabies, yellow fever, japanese encephalitis or hepatitis B.  Although malaria is a problem in many areas of India, the places I will be going have a low risk for malaria.  Therefore, I did not get any antimalaria medicines, but I will bring some insect repellant.  We also discussed water and food safety (drink only bottled water, make sure foods are cook completely).  I was also warned against petting any dogs and be on the look out for monkeys.   Finally, I received a prescription for azithromycin that I can use if I have gastrointestinal problems ("Delhi Belly").

The shots did not hurt, but my arms are a litle sore right now.  It's not really too bad.  A little arm soreness is much better than getting one of those nasty bugs!