questions about vaccines

[Bubblesong]

Consider spraying Deet a on long sleeved clothes instead of the skin, and a perfume-lotion on skin, (Loves Baby Soft has an anti-mosquito reputation) and spray only to exposed skin area the Deet, it does makes you feel yucky.

 

[GlennL]

Is $100 (or $250 or even more) worth it if you get seriously ill for weeks or even months? If you lose your job cause you can't work? Or if you die?

Potentially. I get 6 weeks of non occupational disability (sick leave) where I still get 100% pay. Then I can tell them it's their fault for choosing a plan that doesn't cover vaccines lol. But seriously if I were to die, well then that's the good lords choice to bring me home.

 

[GlennL]

DEET is an effective insect repellant and I know I will bring some of my own, but be careful with it. I have witnessed high strength DEET (100%) melt rubber and plastics, so be careful with it around your dive gear. I am not sure at what level of dilution it becomes safe around rubber and plastics. So all I can really say is be careful with what you touch after you apply your DEET.

Now DEET screwing up my gear is a problem.

 

[RyanT]

DEET is an effective insect repellant and I know I will bring some of my own, but be careful with it. I have witnessed high strength DEET (100%) melt rubber and plastics, so be careful with it around your dive gear. I am not sure at what level of dilution it becomes safe around rubber and plastics. So all I can really say is be careful with what you touch after you apply your DEET.

Thanks Joe for the reminder about this. It's something that should probably be mentioned more often! I melted a plastic watch band and case once with DEET!

Back to the question about Typhoid vaccine. I'm generally in favor of getting every vaccine available. Typhoid vaccine is one of the few I've passed on for my travels to the Central America. The reason is that the efficacy is rather low. It prevents disease only about 50% of the time. With that said, it may be possible that the vaccine reduces the severity of the illness if contracted. When I'm in Central America, however, I'm typically buying food from a grocery store and cooking it myself, so my risk of contracting typhoid in the first place is quite low. If I were to travel and didn't have access to controlling my own food, I would take the vaccine.

 

[GlennL]

Maybe it's just in my own mind. the CDC recommends the vaccine based on Honduras as a whole. If I was going to the mainland then I probably wouldn't question the typhoid vaccine, but I visualize roatan slightly different where dive resorts try to stay in business and bad food/water wouldn't gain them a reputation to keep them in business.

 

[urbaneve71]

I took Malarone when I went to Honduras. No one else I went with took anything. I didn't get any side effects and I chose that one based on the lists of interactions and side effects of all the different anti-malarial drugs.
I found that normal DEET spray did not work against sand flies and thick cream (eg: watkins 28.5% DEET lotion) was excellent

What is Malarone?

I'm going to be blunt here. I think avoiding vaccines is just a stupid way to get sick or die. I've had friends which had far reaching consequences monetarily & healthwise simply because they took the chance. A friend of a friend even died.

Why roll the dice? I previously got my Hepatitis A/B shots. I always make sure I'm up to date on Typhoid & I take Malarone to prevent Malaria. I also got tested to confirm whether I still had antibodies for all the routine vaccinations & good thing I did, cause I needed a measles booster. (Surprise! Sometimes, you do need boosters as adults.)

I also use chemical-based mosquito repellent because while I am extremely eco-friendly, dengue & other mosquito-based illnesses are no joke.

The only common travel vaccine I have so far not needed to take is for Japanese Encephalitis because the areas and/or the timing make it unnecessary. (Japanese Encephalitis isn't prevalent in Honduras.)

It makes no sense to me not to take the CDC recommended vaccines.

Is $100 (or $250 or even more) worth it if you get seriously ill for weeks or even months? If you lose your job cause you can't work? Or if you die?

Agreed

so after doing some extensive research I have found that those with weaker immune systems should get the vaccine if you feel comfortable getting one that's by your choice

I personally will be getting them better safe than sorry

 

[BreeAbyss]

What is Malarone?

It's a malaria prophylactic. It's a combo of two drugs, I had to look it up because it's been a long time, atovaquone and proguanil. I don't know if it would have another trade name in other countries, it's Malarone in Canada. Another plus is that you only have to start it a day or two before your trip rather than a week. It's also good for areas with chloroquine and multi drug resistant malaria. It was a good choice for me, but there are a few options so it's good to look into what may be best for you.

 

[urbaneve71]

@BreeAbyss thanks

 

[NYCNaiad]

Potentially. I get 6 weeks of non occupational disability (sick leave) where I still get 100% pay. Then I can tell them it's their fault for choosing a plan that doesn't cover vaccines lol. But seriously if I were to die, well then that's the good lords choice to bring me home.

The problem is that with some of these diseases, you can be sick or recovering for FAR longer than 6 weeks. I got a bad case of dengue & wasn't even allowed to leave the Philippines to go back home for 6 weeks. When I got home, it took months & months to recover. I was lucky that my job allowed me to work from home, but most people don't have that luxury.

Consider spraying Deet a on long sleeved clothes instead of the skin, and a perfume-lotion on skin, (Loves Baby Soft has an anti-mosquito reputation) and spray only to exposed skin area the Deet, it does makes you feel yucky.

Now DEET screwing up my gear is a problem.

There are 3 other chemicals aside from DEET that the CDC recommends for prevention. There are also other steps you should take for prevention in addition to the chemical bug sprays (e.g., long sleeves). I was a HUGE proponent of perfumed lotion to avoid bug bites until I got dengue. Now, I only use 1 of the 4 recommended chemicals along with all the other CDC recommendations to avoid bites.

Maybe it's just in my own mind. the CDC recommends the vaccine based on Honduras as a whole. If I was going to the mainland then I probably wouldn't question the typhoid vaccine, but I visualize roatan slightly different where dive resorts try to stay in business and bad food/water wouldn't gain them a reputation to keep them in business.

The owners of the dive resorts certainly want business, but sometimes employees just don't give a damn or make mistakes. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Bubblesong]

I spent two weeks in Belize with Deet on long sleeved clothes and on exposed skin and did not see a bug bite. Pants legs tucked into socks etc. The perfumed lotion is only for under the Deet clothes, not instead of.
I have seen brimmed hats with netting