5 Valuable Lessons for Practical Travel Immunization - Do it NOW!
Obligatory disclaimer: This list is based on our experiences. We are not doctors and are not qualified to give health care advice in any way! The list of what we ended up with for immunizations and prescriptions is at the end. This is what I wish we would have known when we started getting ready for our trip.
Lesson 1 - Start Early! This applies to all travel vaccinations, but yellow fever in particular. We started over 2 months before we were scheduled to go, and it was still a little nerve racking to get everything in (literally!) on time. Some vaccines, like rabies, need several injections over time. Some, like yellow fever are difficult to get. You wouldn’t think that it would be that difficult to get a vaccine for yellow fever; after all, a good portion of the world is affected by it. Wrong. We had to drive two hours to get to a place where we could get a yellow fever vaccine, and it took the entire day to get it done. Are you thinking about going somewhere in the next several months where you will need to get several travel vaccines? Start now!
Lesson 2 – The CDC maps on their website are not super accurate. I was not aware of this until we went to the Travel Clinic at Mayo in Rochester, MN. The CDC shows that you are safe from yellow fever if you are in Baños (Baños de Agua Santa) – it looks like it is right on the edge. However, when we went to Mayo, they had a different map that they showed us, and Baños was included in the danger zone! I mentioned the discrepancy, and they told us that they pay a lot of money for super accurate maps. The scary thing is that we almost didn’t get yellow fever shots because of the CDC map. We had finally decided to go for it because we were going to be so close to the Amazon Basin that we thought we might go down into it for a day. We were spending a quarter of our time on the mainland in and around Baños though, so I am so glad we decided to get the shots. I am sure the chances are low, but with something like yellow fever, we thought it was best to be protected.
Lesson 3 – Be prepared. I found out that I was much better informed than my local doctor about what to expect and what we needed. This was a very frustrating and disappointing experience, and they charged us a lot for it too! It was obvious that they had not done any of their homework in spite of my calling ahead and giving them detailed information about where we were going and what we were doing. Unfortunately, you need to be responsible for protecting your own health. We wouldn’t have been given the vaccines and prescriptions that we needed if I hadn’t researched it ahead of time.
Lesson 4 – Make sure that you are up to date on your immunizations. Some vaccines must either be given together, or several weeks apart. Some cannot be given together at all. This can all draw out your preparations significantly. Sometimes your doctor won’t notice that you are not up to date on everything (this happened to us). Sometimes your immunizations didn’t get recorded correctly and someone needs to go back into the records to find it – again this can be a big waste of time. Can this be a frustrating, time-consuming experience? Yes! Is it worth it to travel to cool places? Absolutely!!
Lesson 5 – Bring immunization and applicable health records with you when traveling. Be aware that some countries won’t let you in without proper immunization records. For example, if you try to get into Ecuador from Peru, you need proof of yellow fever vaccinations. They won’t let you into the country without it - or a medical exemption certificate. Keeping applicable health care records with you is a generally good idea wherever you travel. Sometimes the unforeseen can occur, and you want to be able to supply health care providers with the necessary information.
The Vaccines and Prescriptions we got for Ecuador
This is basically the list from the CDC website. Of course, everyone is different – so talk to your doctor about all of this. This is only what worked for us in our specific circumstances. Also keep in mind that traveler’s diarrhea can be very serious -be prepared!
Rabies – This is not a normal travel vaccine and we had to talk them into it but given the amount of time we were going to spend around wild animals, we felt it was worth it.
Typhoid – This can be given either as an oral dose, or a shot. Be aware that the oral dose is good for five years, while the shot is only good for two. We didn’t know that going into our appointment, and we really wish we would have!
Malaria – This is a preventative pill. You take it just before, during and after your trip. Get enough but be aware that it is expensive (not terribly – about $370 for the four of us).
Yellow Fever – Currently (2019) in very short supply in the US. Plan way ahead if you need this!
Hepatitis A – Can be transmitted through contaminated food or water, and since you need to eat and drink – probably a good idea to look into getting this one.
Routine Vaccinations – There were a few that were either coming up soon or had been missed or needed to be researched and updated.
Ciprofloxacin – Oral prescription in case of traveler’s diarrhea – for adults. It is good to be prepared!
Azithromycin – Oral prescription in case of traveler’s diarrhea – for children.
Some people recommend a prescription for altitude sickness. We’ve spent a lot of time at altitude and never had any problems, but it is probably something else to talk to your doctor about!
