What shot do i need to get before i leave to vietnam?

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MojaveDan

You have some pretty good advice so far, but I think everyone is getting a little too complicated with their explanations and there are obviously lots of opinions on the malaria pills.

You DONâ€™T NEED ANY SHOTS to travel in Vietnam. No one is going to check you at the airport to make sure youâ€™re vaccinated and youâ€™re not going to get kicked out of the country if you donâ€™t have certain shots or vaccinations. It is a very good idea to get vaccinations for certain things because it totally sucks to get sick while traveling. Iâ€™ll break down what I have as vaccinations and why:

Hepatitis A, Typhoid â€“ Keep from getting sick from the things I might eat there.

Tetanus â€“ Keep from getting sick or infected from things that scratch me or if I have an open wound.

Flu Shot â€“ Keep from getting the flu regardless of being in Vietnam or not.

Most important - You should consult your doctor about this stuff instead of relying on a bunch of people you donâ€™t know on Yahoo Answers. My doctor was very thorough about the side effects of taking malaria pills as yours should be when you discuss this with them.

Have a great trip!

rick m

You should probably make sure that your tetanus shot is up to date. It's easy to get cuts and scratches here and combined with the climate, you could be at risk.
As Izzy and Stevie noted, you can get anti-malarial pills if you are wooried about malaria. I don't think Vn carries that high of a risk compared to other places. I have never taken them and I live in the "boon-docks". Another problem associated with the pills is that you cannot donate blood for three years after taking them. They produce a false positive when your blood is screened at the Red Cross.
Bring bug repellent, it works fine over here.
Enjoy your trip!

Charlie

No shot's needed and the Malaria one you talk about is still experimental . It's only if you go of the beaten track that you are at risk of Malaria so have a good repellent with Deet in the compound . Always spray regularly especially at night any exposed skin(all Moi Moi bites) are uncomfortable . The Drug that "Izzcool" refers to is Lariam and it's side effects are not pleasant , as i experienced . What i found was my main problem out there was the bugs you can get in the water , always drink bottled and buy the "Expensive Ice" as tap water is also frozen and sold . At one time i had trouble with parasites from the river which i had been swimming in , the locals immune system is obviously more in tune than ours .

Izzy_Cool

First of all, there is no such thing as a "malaria shot." If anything, you take anti-malarial pills as a prevention. Word of advice, if you're staying in the big cities, you won't need it, but if you go to the country sides, then yes.

The problem with anti-malarial drugs is that they're psychotropic drugs, they work on your brain and can give you amazing mood swings - which is why the US Embassy guards aren't allowed to take them,..they have guns and if they go nuts...well. Not good.

The Hanoi Family Clinic is the best in the country. All expat doctors, highly experienced. Here is their website -

http://www.vietnammedicalpractice.com/medical_services/vaccination.html

THESE are the guys to listen to....nobody else.

STEVE - no, it wasn't Lariam, they had me on Mephaquin...same nasty effects almost as bad as the malaria itself (which truly sucked). You suddenly laugh during a tragic news story and start crying while watching a comedy. You have to literally hide from people until the side effects wear off...about a week.

Jon J

i would say definetly the malaria shot along with a couple others probably

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