27 replies to this topic

[Solice]

Something to note on Deet insect repellent, the higher the percentage % of Deet the better the repellent is.
The cheaper repellents have a very small amount of deet, go for as high as you can afford otherwise it is useless.


Solice

[jasonbalmer]

Lost In Loei, on 29 April 2011 - 09:14 PM, said:

Dengue is a nasty brain infection that you do not want. ...

I'm not disputing that Dengue Fever is a nasty condition that can make a person very miserable for quite a while.

But it's a systemic viral infection and not a "brain infection" per se.

I believe you may have been thinking of Japanese Encephalitis which is a viral infection of the central nervous system. Of those that contract it about a third die, about a third survive with brain damage and the remaining third survive with modest/no damage. The good news is that it's fairly difficult to contract unless you spend an extended period in rural settings. It requires a series of three somewhat expensive shots for immunization.

[Con]

I had the hep A & B vaccine 3 years ago just before i moved to China. It's called Twinrix. There are 3 shots- 1st shot, then one month later the second shot, then 5 months later the 3rd. You're covered after the second shot for the short term, but the 3rd shot is a booster than covers you from 10 - 15 years.

[Slacker]

nightrider, on 26 April 2011 - 08:13 AM, said:

Hep A you can catch from contaminated food...

Just to expand on this...Hep A is spread using the fecal / oral route and transmitted via contaminated food, water or rimming. You are probably more likely to catch hepatitis this way than the other strains while visiting Thailand, especially if you are drunk and careless. Prevention is by injectable vaccine. An initial dose provides protection starting two to four weeks after vaccination; the second booster dose, given six to twelve months later, provides protection for over twenty years. However, don't take it for granted that you are automatically protected - a follow-up blood test will check if antibodies are present. If not, you may have to repeat.

[cesar67]

slacker you are spot on about the anti bodies, had that test once.
but just common sense prevention is better than cure, get ur jabs.
as for malaria, the nurse said that you do not really need it in bkk or patts, more up north in chang mai.

[nagaraka]

I got the Hep A vaccine because I think if I'm into licking arses I'm high risk.
I'm planning to get the Hep B vaccine again because the first time was very long time ago and I didn't do it correctly.
Besides I'm also getting Gardasil, I was going to have the last injection this week but I went down with a cold so I'll wait one more week.

[Frenchsaluki]

I got Hep A from mussels. they where not clean. my eyes became yellowish. the treatment was easy, I had to stop alcohol for one month. nothing else. since them I am OK and the doc told me that I newer will get Hep A again.

Henri

[toosanuk]

On Malaria - I agree that it's not prevalent in the cities, but if you're going to the provinces, prevention is easier than cure (I've had it a few times, and don't recommend it). Doxycycline is cheap and easy to find, and side effects are usually minor or nonexistent. As a plus, doxy is used to treat syphilis and chlamydia, so you *may* be protected against them (though not gonorrhea).