what immunizations do I really need to travel to India?
Asked by
Sandeep (
76
)
December 5th, 2006
they say all that is necessary is malaria pills but some people recommend the whole cocktail (polio, tetanus, hep A, B, typhoid, etc) which can cost up to $600 that I don't have.
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8 Answers
when i went, i got the whole cocktail... and it didn't cost $600. It really depends on where in India you're going... when it comes down to it, you might as well get the works. I mean, why not?? it just takes one mosquito with bad blood... and depending on where you go and where you stay and how you travel and the weather... you just might as well have your bases covered.
you'll get different advice from different people... some people don't worry about it the shots and go... how long are you going for? where are you going? when are you going? these are all important questions... i took malarone (the daily anti-malarial) and my insurance helped somewhat with the cost...
you'll also want to bring along some cipro and other antibiotics because it's very easy to get a stomach bug-- it's almost a prereq for traveling in India.
Hep A, Typhoid, Yellow Fever, Japanese Encephalitis if you're going for >1 month or your going to be in very rural/endemic areas. Malarone has less side effects than larium for malaria prophylaxis but is more expensive. And bring some antibiotics like Cipro.
All I took when I went last time was Hep A, and both my parents are doctors ;) I dunno if that's helpful at all or if it means my parents were trying to kill me. Quick piece of advice here- whatever you do, don't take Larium. The side effects make you go totally batshit crazy.
cool thanks. i'm going in late december to late january and i'm travelling around the south gao to kerela to banglore then up to Baroda to meet up with family.
huge
make sure to get them all well before leaving – I put some of mine off until a week before, and had to change my travel plans when I had a bad reaction to one or all of them
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