We are heading out next month for our 6 month trip Asia trip including Thailand Vietnam Malaysia. I know there are the recommended vaccines but overwhelmed with the amount of different ones we need. I know no one would ever say not to get them but wanted to know which ones you got?
This is an impossible question to answer as some people will have had them in the past, others not. Also things change all the time. The best thing to do is get advice at your local travel clinic or travel nurse at GP surgery. Don’t worry about what others may or may not have. Have you got time to get all the recommended ones?
5 Likes
Please consult a medical professional. That’s what we did and we took what was advised and had zero problems for our 6 mo in Asia.
3 Likes
During all our years of travel, our time in that region has probably added up to about 3 years total. We have never received any vaccines, and have never contracted any illnesses there save for a few cases of food poisoning. This is not to suggest totally forgoing any of the treatments. I just wanted to share our experience of not encountering any health issues in case that puts your mind at ease at all, especially if you don’t have time to get certain shots,etc…
2 Likes
I’m with @KC1102 . We are in SEA now, and I’m embarrassed to admit that it never even crossed my mind to look at vaccine requirements…oops. In saying that, we’re not venturing outside capitals and major cities this time so probably why it didn’t cross my mind.
2 Likes
Typhoid and polio are the main ones we always check on. In some areas you might need malaria tablets, but as everyone else says, consult a professional. We would never go to Asia without vaccines . Been travelling to Asia since the 1980,s, and heard some right horror stories, some cases of malaria affect you for life.
2 Likes
We have lived in Asia for over 10 years. Tropical diseases are no laughing matter. Take the advice of your medical professional and if you are in heavily infested malaria dengue areas take appropriate precautions
6 Likes
I once got typhoid in Cambodia and ended up in a local hospital on a drip for four days. But I was well out of city/built up areas and contracted it probably from the local area. Open toilets with just a bucket and ladle to flush away and no soap or anything to wash with. Got VERY sick in India from eating ice one night (dumb me) and took six months to recover.
Basic hygiene and common sense is a top priority and I had Hep A and B, typhoid, and a few other injections prior but even they aren’t guaranteed, as was my case in Cambodia. Wash, wash, and wash again, your hands all the time. Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia are pretty good unless you are going to mosquito borne areas where I would definitely take malaria tablets. And don’t go anywhere near monkeys or anything a tout may try to get you to hold, particularly in Thailand. Monkeys are THE worst and do carry rabies.
Get the vaccines recommended, you will just feel safer that way, and try to avoid what I have mentioned. Thailand has some of the best medical facilities in the world as does Malaysia so don’t be overly concerned. Lots of information I could suggest but take the advice of everyones suggestions on here I would say and probably get the vaccines. Doesn’t hurt a bit 
1 Like
@botvot We like to live on the edge 
2 Likes
@ziggy today, I’ve been on the phone and researching all of the vaccines we’ve received over the last 10 years for my family of 5 and my dad. I think I have a good grasp of what we need and made an appointment for my father to go to his local travel clinic. I’m petsitting in Seattle so I went to Walgreens and they told me they do have travel vaccines but I have to tell them what I want instead of them telling me what’s recommended so I’ve been on the cdc website. Thanks for your input
2 Likes
@IHeartAnimals No worries, glad you have sorted things out. Enjoy SE Asia, my favourite destination. Take plenty of sunscreen, it is really expensive there!
I recommend keeping a list of the vaccinations you’ve had when you’ve had them.
Whether to take vaccines or not is a very personal decision. You have to go with your instincts after taking all relevant advice. It also depends where exactly you travel and whether you in more remote or disease-risk areas.
Whatever you decide its extremely important to take care about what you eat & drink. We always drink bottled water everywhere in Asia or India. We rarely eat street food unless highly recommended but do eat in popular locals restaurants sometimes. But mostly we shop in the markets and cook for ourselves. In 20 years of travelling together in Asia/India (and many years separately before that) including around 10 years overall in India we have never been sick, at least not from any tropical diseases or Delhi belly. Just the odd cold, and once we both had flu/bronchitis at the same time, but that can happen anywhere.
We have also never taken any vaccines or any malaria pills.
Personally I feel if you are in good health and take all obvious precautions with food and personal hygiene you’ll be fine. Wash your hands frequently! Take Covid like precautions & all will be well!
1 Like
@Lokstar oh no! don’t break my heart, I’ve been watching streetfood videos on youtube and want to eat to my heart’s content
@IHeartAnimals Sorry!!! You can definitely eat street food if you wish but just take care! If the stall is crowded with people its probably a safe bet! Just go with your gut- You will learn as you go! Most important is the bottled water!! And be careful with ice cubes and icecream! Just take all the obvious precautions and then have fun!
1 Like
I don’t vaccinate. Instead I use homeprophylaxis, which works quite as well and is much safer.
1 Like
Go to see your GP or local travel clinic and they will advise you what you need. It depends on your lifestyle, we live here and travel extensively so more at risk than someone who visits on/off for a month per year.
We have ALL of the recommended vaccines such as diphtheria tetanus polio, Hep A Hep B, typhoid, TB, Rabies etc.
Malaria prevention might be necessary in certain areas. They will advise you.
Put it this way - I’d rather not be at risk and potentially die from an entirely preventable disease.
Stray dogs and monkeys are common in Indonesia where there is rabies. I live in Kuala Lumpur at the moment and there was a big sign saying there had been 3 cases of rabies in the last 6 months at the vets.
A lot of people are just unnecessarily gambling with their health - many of the countries here are classed as developing for a reason.
3 Likes
Just want to add to this thread a warning about rabies. If you are traveling through many of these developing countries resist the urge to pat dogs and cats. I have seen several people bitten/scratched when we lived in the Philippines and the treatment is expensive and something to avoid. Getting rabies will put a bit of a dampener on your visit.
As others I’d recommend you consult with a local travel clinic. I spent a week at an elephant sanctuary in northern Thailand during the SARS outbreak in 2003 or 2004 and because I was going to be rural I got some shots.
And I did a few earthwatch volunteer activities which had me in rural areas in Estonia and Kenya. Being current on tetanus was important for both of those. And taking a weekly anti-malarial pill was important for Kenya (and if you take an anti-malarial, pay attention to the warning to take the pill early in the day - the one time I took it in the evening I had a vivid nightmare about anti-semitic hippopotami coming into my room while I was asleep!
tom
2 Likes
@toml , Lynda Shuster, the author of Dirty Wars and Polished Silver, the first book we read in the THS book club, had to stop taking anti-malarial medication because she couldn’t deal with the nightmares it triggered.
1 Like