The Capsule that Cares: Musings on Immunization
At the moment, I am looking at a pamphlet entitled “Vaccine in a Capsule.” On the cover of said pamphlet, there is a capsule. The capsule is sitting on top of a refrigerator with its legs, yes, its legs, hanging over the side. The capsule’s arms, you heard me right, are outstretched as if to say “let’s get vaccinated! Come on down!” The capsule, or is that Mr. Capsule to me, is smiling and it (he?) has googley eyes. Oh, and he’s wearing white gloves — you know, to be sterile.
“Mr. Capsule” is only one of several vaccines I took today. He’ll protect me from Typhoid. The others (although not personified) will protect me from Yellow Fever and Hepatitis A. Woot.
I traveled over to the Public Health Building down by the Civic Center where there is an Adult Immunization and Travel Clinic. When I arrived, I filled out some forms and was told that I should eat something so that I wouldn’t be getting my immunizations on an empty stomach. They sent me upstairs to a very small, teachers-lounge-esque, quite depressing little cafe which, although located in the San Francisco Public Health building, served only particularly fattening foods. Go figure.
So I spent the next hour trying to eat my incredibly large chocolate croissant while being lectured on horrible diseases and how to prevent getting them by a very nice and quite pretty nurse. I’m glad she sent me away with a lot of reading material because instead of listening to her, I spent the whole time worrying if it was rude that I was eating while she was talking — but she did tell me to do it — so — if it was rude, it’s her fault really.
Behind my nice and pretty nurse, there was a picture of a little raccoon. He was incredibly cute until my nurse started talking to me about how rabies is 100% fatal and if any animals lick or bite you, basically you’ll die if you don’t fly yourself to a hospital immediately. The raccoon stopped being cute very quickly and I started thinking that the picture placement at the Adult Immunization and Travel Clinic was more than a little manipulative and perhaps even morbid.
So that was my day. Now I just have to decide if I want to take the Malaria pills that might make you go crazy, the ones that will cost almost a thousand dollars, or the ones that will make me incredibly sensitive to the sun, give me yeast infections, diarrhea, bouts of vomiting, and a fever. I think I’m going with option C. Thoughts?
-Sarah
Tags: Central America, Health, Immunizations, Preparations, shots, South America, Travel
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So malaria vaccines are a necessity? I thought that was just for rural areas.
The doctors recommend anti-malarials for a bunch of the countries on our itinerary. You only need to take them if you’re in a high-risk (mostly rural) area, but you should have them around for when you go trekking or wildlife watching. And I’m totally psyched about the jungle. The psycho side effects are the ones that worry me the most, so I’ll be taking the pills that make my pale skin fry in the equatorial sun. I’ll have to bring along plenty of sun block.
-Megan
I can check with our Infectious Disease Dr. and see what he recommends if you like. I have a feeling that you and Sarah are very thorough in your research however, and whatever I recommend will be redundant. These are the things that concern me the most: bugs and disease. This is going to e a long 6 months for this mamma.
Welcome, Mom! I’m glad you’re here. And don’t worry, we’ll be extra safe. I’m getting all my shots on Monday.
The only real question to answer is which malaria pills to take. I only know of three. The cheapest, easiest one is the weekly pill that happens to have ‘psychotic break’ as a side-effect. The other option, a daily pill with very few side effects, is very expensive. And the last option is a cheap daily pill that has a long list of bad side-effects. If anyone at your hospital knows of other pills that are cost-effective and safe, that would be really helpful.
-Megan
Hey Sarah and Megan,
Lariam: Don’t take it. It will make you crazy, as you’ve said.
Chloriquine: I think that mosquitos in CA are not chloriquine resistant, which is good because it’s super cheap, available in pharmacies world wide (read, buy it there) and doesn’t have a lot of side effects. Have you thought about that one?
Malarone: I’ve always taken it. It’s worked fine–in India and in Cameroon. I don’t have malaria. It is uber expenisve, but you can just buy a smaller quantity and not take it the entire time you’re there, only as a curative or when you are in liklier areas.
Doxycycline: I took this in India when I went for 3 weeks in HS. I got terrible yeast infections, which, when you have other nasty belly stuff is the last thing you want. I also got a bad sunburn despite my best efforts at 50 spf every day. Also, it’s supposed to be bad for your body to take it more than a month as it really taxes your liver.
My personal plan is to bring a small amount of Malarone, buy Chloroquine when I’m in Guatemala if I need it, and not take antimalarials unless I’m in a crazy mosquito area.
According to the cdc website: Malaria in Guatemala: Rural areas only at altitudes lower than 1,500 meters (4,921 feet). No risk in Antigua or Lake Atitlán
http://www.cdc.gov/travel/regionalmalaria/camerica.htm
hope this helps.
also…bought my tickets today. yippee.
Hi Zil. This is great info. Mucho congrats on the ticket purchase — it’s the best and biggest step.
-Megan