Saturday, January 21, 2006
Shots and pills
I got my second Hep B shot yesterday, and so far so good. My first round of shots (December 9th) included Hep A & B, yellow fever, tetanus, meningitis, and influenza. 3 days later I was on a flight to Dallas with a bunch of friends, taking a nap. I woke up after a few minutes, maybe 15, nauseous and with cold sweats, and got up to run to the front bathroom. I had to clutch to the seats to avoid keeling over, but I did anyway, maybe a row or two before the bathroom. I fainted onto someone’s lap and spent the rest of the flight under 6 blankets, sucking on ice chips, and trying hard not to faint again. The flight attendants were jerks but luckily I had my husband and lots of friends with me who helped look after me and donated their blankets to keep me from freezing. Lesson learned: if you feel sick, don’t fly Air Tran!
The nurse I spoke to at the clinic told me that my fainting was most likely a result of the yellow fever vaccine, which has been known to have some serious side effects. I wasn’t in bad enough shape to require a trip to the hospital when we landed, but my arm was very noticeably red and swollen for a few days. She took a note of the incident for their records. I’ve been doing all my immunizations through Passport Health LA by the way, and I’d strongly recommend them to anyone in need of travel-related medicine.
Right now I’m taking the Vivotif live oral typhoid vaccine, 4 pills taken over the course of eight days. It lasts 5 years as opposed to the shot which lasts 2, so I figured that for the same price I’d rather have a longer immunity. I do, after all, plan on going back to Africa several times if all works out well on this trip. I don’t see why it wouldn’t!
In any case, my shots are taken care of until six months from now, when I need my third Hep A shot. All I have left to pick up is my malaria pills (I chose Mefloquine, because Lariam has a nasty tendency to make people go crazy), and a supply of antibiotics to ensure I have something to take if I get sick. It’s a pretty routine safety precaution for travel to remote areas. The Passport Health nurse told me the malaria pills are cheapest at Costco, so I’ll have a friend who works there get them for me. I guess this means I’m prepared on the health front. Now I just have to take care of everything else! ¶ 1/21/2006 08:07:00 PM
The nurse I spoke to at the clinic told me that my fainting was most likely a result of the yellow fever vaccine, which has been known to have some serious side effects. I wasn’t in bad enough shape to require a trip to the hospital when we landed, but my arm was very noticeably red and swollen for a few days. She took a note of the incident for their records. I’ve been doing all my immunizations through Passport Health LA by the way, and I’d strongly recommend them to anyone in need of travel-related medicine.
Right now I’m taking the Vivotif live oral typhoid vaccine, 4 pills taken over the course of eight days. It lasts 5 years as opposed to the shot which lasts 2, so I figured that for the same price I’d rather have a longer immunity. I do, after all, plan on going back to Africa several times if all works out well on this trip. I don’t see why it wouldn’t!
In any case, my shots are taken care of until six months from now, when I need my third Hep A shot. All I have left to pick up is my malaria pills (I chose Mefloquine, because Lariam has a nasty tendency to make people go crazy), and a supply of antibiotics to ensure I have something to take if I get sick. It’s a pretty routine safety precaution for travel to remote areas. The Passport Health nurse told me the malaria pills are cheapest at Costco, so I’ll have a friend who works there get them for me. I guess this means I’m prepared on the health front. Now I just have to take care of everything else! ¶ 1/21/2006 08:07:00 PM
