Preparations for an exotic trip: HEALTH

1st October has officially passed, therefore we can say that summer and holidays is officially behind us… All the May, June and August long weekends are gone, all of them spent is a great company, sometimes well planned, other times with people met by chance 🙂 (saying hello to our friends we met by chance in May while visiting Georgia! :)) We’ve said bye-bye to the Polish seaside, waffles with whipped cream, cold beer with juice,  running on the beach with Maks and crazy clubbing in Władysławowo (don’t even ask ;)). We also spent a wonderful, sunny week relaxing on Gozo,visiting the island in an old car and eating loads of seafood. But what’s still to come?

Of course autumn… with cold wind, a bit of rain but also some melancholy caused by the falling and rustling leaves. I actually love rustling leaves and they always make me think about a poem by a very famous Polish poet, Julian Tuwim, where he mentioned how happy and lucky he was in his life but one thing he did miss was the crackling snow and rustling leaves. I am lucky to have such beautiful leaves all around me but still autumn is more of grey and dull days, which are a perfect excuse to just jump under a blanket and watch one’s favourite series on TV while sipping a coffee or a hot chocolate.  We, however, have something more to wait for this time as on 31 October we’re going to wave Warsaw bye-bye and go to Asia for a month! To Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos!

Therefore our October agenda assumes intense work (although we are planning to go here and there for a few days) and a lot of preparations – visas, packing, buying all the necessary things, preparing everything, doctors and vaccinations.

That is why today I’ve decided to write a few words about how to get ready for an exotic trip in terms of probably the most important issue, i.e. HEALTH. This is even more disturbing when we’re travelling with a small child. We didn’t prepare in any special wa for our earlier exotic journeys (to Mexico and Thailand), as it was the second time I was going to Mexico (my first one was a package holiday with a travel agent’s) and I wasn’t really afraid of anything, not were any particular vaccinations recommended, and in terms of Thailand we have a friend who goes there on a regular basis, so we knew exactly what to expect…

This time, however, I felt a bit panicky after reading announcements and recommendations on the website of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I advise you to read the “Pole abroad” section, where you’ll find the description of the country you’re planning to visit, as well as information regarding visas, traffic and customs regulations, obligatory vaccinations and update on the current situation. This is where we usually start our preparations.

So I keep on reading about vaccinations and come across contradictory information: one source recommends getting vaccinated against dengue fever, another says there is no such vaccination and only spray repellents that work in this case. The more I read about what we should do, have to do and can do, the more confused I become!

Next step: I’ve decided to make an appointment with the travel medicine doctor for the first time. Is it really worth it? To be honest, I’m still not so sure… The doctor did resolve some of my doubts but was the visits worth paying PLN 150?? I don’t think so! But maybe it all depends on a particular doctor. Mine only asked about the age, the aim of our trip, the way we’re planning to travel, chronic diseases and the child’s age and weight. She also checked what I and Maks had been vaccinated against before and all in all she said our situation is quite good and we only lack typhus and meningococci vaccination (which we were planning to do in a couple of days anyway).

The doctor didn’t mention two diseases that I read about on the website of the Ministry – rabies and Japanese encephalitis. I had to ask about them myself, which I didn’t really like. I was hoping that the doctor would explain everything to me and leave me feeling like as if I had just been properly informed by an expert 🙂 Well, I didn’t feel like that at all…

However, I won’t tell you not to go to any doctors because it all depends on the destination and on the doctor, and I actually think sometimes it is worth making such an appointment – and even better to make it 6 to 8 weeks prior to the departure as some vaccinations require 2-3 doses (e.g. rabies).

VACCINATIONS

This is an individual decision of each one of us. We always get vaccinated because we don’t like to risk. We got Maks vaccinated, we gave umbilical cord blood to be stored at the cord blood bank, we get ourselves vaccinated and try to stay cautious. What does it mean to stay cautious? It means to take care of the hygiene conditions while travelling, we don’t sleep in places with cockroaches or other nasty insects, we don’t eat in suspicious places, we just don’t risk. Each journey is also a holiday for us so we don’t want to come back home sick, dehydrated and in an urgent need of a doctor. Nor do we want Maks to suffer from diarrhoea or something even worse instead of running on the beach and having fun in the November sun. We just don’t want to waste after precious time afterwards, so we prefer to prevent unexpected surprises!

Vaccinations during travels:

If you’re planning to go somewhere further, to a more exotic destination, you’ve most probably noticed the division of vaccinations into obligatory and recommended. Don’t let this mislead you 🙂 “Obligatory” vaccination is for the local people and it’s meant to protect them from all epidemics that might be brought into their country by tourists. “Recommended” vaccinations are for us — the visitors. So don’t think that is something is not obligatory, it doesn’t concern you! It’s not a school 😉

Vaccinations definitely worth taking into consideration:

(of course again: everything depends on our destination, way of travelling and current threats so always look for updated info before your trip. This list is based on our experience and may simply help/ inspire you :))

–  tetanus, diphtheria, polio  (once every 10 years) – usually given in childhood and then repeated around 19 years

– typhus (typhoid fever) – once every 3 years, recommended also for Maks

– hepatitis A – immunity built for many years; before we went to Thailand it was the only vaccination our GP recommended for Maks

– hepatitis B – immunity built for many years

– meningococcal infection – depending on the vaccine:  I get it every 3 years, Maks will soon get his first 🙂

We’re also thinking about getting vaccinated against Japanese encephalitis, transmitted (similarly to malaria and dengue fever) by infected insects. But here again we’re getting contradictory information and most sources recommend getting two doses within over one month and for that we already don’t have time 🙂

Another thing to consider is rabies…

Get vacinnated or not? When we were going to India in 2010, we didn’t do it and only when we got there it turned out that maybe we should have done it as there are lots of hordes of homeless dogs in the streets.  This vaccination is recommended for some people going to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia but GUESS WHAT? Rumour has it (but I still have to check it!) that in Warsaw this vaccination is really hard to get as all stock was bought out by… the Army going to Afghanistan! This is what I’ve heard at my healthcare facility. Therefore I’m still investigating this issue 🙂

MOSQUITOS…

Fortunately we can’t complain when it comes to mosquitos in Poland, but in exotic countries this is a completely different story. Here we should really be careful when it comes to those annoying insects because they are something much more than itching and badly looking legs and arms.

Here mosquitos are mainly about malaria and dengue fever. There are no vaccinations for neither of the diseases. To protect yourself against malaria you should take Malarone – and start taking it one day before the departure. In case of protection from dengue fever there are repellents, best of all containing DEET, such as Mugga. They are crucial and we’re definitely taking them with us  — they work well as they block mosquitos’ olfactory receptors.

We’re planning to buy Malarone both for us and for Maks, as it can be given also to children. Only the dose has to be smaller (just a part of the pill). We still don’t know, however, if Maks will be willing to swallow his part – keep your fingers crossed for us!

We’re also planning to take a mosquito net, especially for Maks as yes — we are a bit oversensitive when it comes to Maks and mosquitos together… Do you remember the story of his encounter with those insects and his 50 bits in Mexico? No? Then have a look here.

DIARRHOEA

The least serious of all health problems mentioned here, still a big nuisance and a very frequent one among travellers.

It’s worth mentioning it as it MAY appear, although it doesn’t mean it WILL. This is maybe the key message for all the people who mock and undermine our travelling with Maks: NO, our son NEVER suffered from diarrhoea. On the other hand, we did — mainly in India and Mexico. We now know that it was most probably the result of disobeying some rules we had actually come up with ourselves: we started having some cocktails with ice (on Goa) and some delicious coconut cocktails in Campeche (Mexico). In Thailand, however, we never had any problems, neither health nor with stomachs, even though we drank freshly-squeezed juices in the street, Łukasz ate street food, we had drinks with ice and we generally didn’t worry about everything as much as earlier.

In Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia we’re planning to follow these rules before we get a bit more familiar with the local customs, and I recommend each one of you to take them into consideration before every exotic trip: 

– drink only bottled softs, don’t buy freshly-squeezed juices in the streets (although I’m sure Łukasz will break that one :)), don’t eat fresh fruit bought in the streets either — simply be cautious, but maybe not to such extent as Charlotte from Sex and the City, who — while on a trip to Mexico — ate yoghurt instead of a delicious dinner 😉 do you remember this episode? If not, you can watch it here – the moment of “loosened rules” 🙂

– don’t drink cocktails with ice of unknown origin — this is exactly how I got sick in India and in Mexico

– use bottled water for washing your teeth — it’s recommended in India and not the travel medicine doctor told me to do the same thing; we’ll see whether we’ll finally stick to this or not

– wash hand very often and use an antibacterial gel, such as Carex — I recommend taking the kids version with you (Splash Penguin or Splash Dolphin)  and have one at hand all the time!

– if you really want to eat fruit — wash them thoroughly before (although as much as I know myself, I won’t risk at the beginning :))

– choose rather “safe” dishes without raw meat, eggs, etc.

– also choose safe places for eating — preferably crowded and where meals are freshly prepared for all guests

There you have it: these are our basic rules which, so far, have allowed us to enjoy our trips. Another thing is the first-aid kit, both for adults and the child. This is one thing that will definitely prove useful both far away in Vietnam, as well as on Malta or in Spain. Soon I will tell you what our first aid kit contains 🙂

Now that we have our vaccinations, recommendations and the first-aid kit, all there’s left is to be happy about our journey, have fun, do some sightseeing and explore all you can!! 🙂