Last month Allen and I had to get our required immunizations for Kenya. We met at the travel clinic to watch an important but highly cheesy video about packing for an overseas trip and what foods to avoid. Parts of the video left us laughing out loud due to the fact that it must have been filmed in 1973. The main character was a 70 year-old woman packing her cute little suitcase with sensible walking shoes.The best part of our visit to the travel center was learning which immunizations we would need. It turns out that Polio is now on the rise in countries other than America. Pertussis is also a major concern here and abroad. We knew that we would require Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Yellow Fever and anti-malaria meds to take while in Africa.
So the bottom line was I required the following: Diptheria, Pertussis, Tetanus (all in one shot), Yellow Fever, a Polio booster, Hepatitis A, Typhoid pills, anti-Malaria medication. It was 4 shots in all, two in each arm. Believe you me-- my arms literally hurt for the next 3 nights, especially when I rolled over in bed trying to get comfortable. My husband said that his arms didn't hurt much at all. Figures!
Today, I took my first dose of the live Typhoid vaccine on an empty stomach. This lovely box contains 4 capsules, one taken every other day. Side effects include fever, headache, abdominal discomfort, nausea, vomiting or rash. I'm feeling fine now, but the day is still young.
1 comment:
I was just happy that they did not require sticking a needle in my butt!
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