We are trying to plan some time away travelling and would really like to go to nepal amongst other places, however my big problem is the vaccinations! We are choosing not to vaccinate ds3 at all and ds1 &2 whilst having previously been selectively vaccinated will not be having any further vaccines until they are old enough to decide for themselves. HAve just been looking at the lists of vaccines reccomended for nepal and other places and feel really dis-heartened as I just can’t give them and don’t really want them myself either so we are stuck with either just travelling in Europe or travelling further afield and not-vaccinating.

I think i am just after any advice, other peoples experiences etc that can help me to decide what to do.

I really want the children to experience some totally different cultures and this is not so easy within europe but I dont want to take silly risks with their health obviously.

Thanks in advance

Lucy x

Not based on any research or anything - just gut feeling and what I’d do.

But if travelling further afield, then I would be tempted to have the vaccinations because as far as I’m aware, it’s impossible for a child/person to build immunity to germs, bacteria etc that is local to that environment if not also a native… I’m reminded of my degree studies (wrote my dissertation Native Americans), and how many native americans were wiped out by the common cold & flu because they had no immunity, not to mention all the other nasties the Europeans brought with them.

Also like that student who swam in the Gangees and died from all the germs etc in it - yet natives wash, swim etc and are fine.

Joxy.

Oh, and it’s just occured to me that any travel medical insurance might be voided if the recommended vaccinations are not taken up????  Worth checking out, just in case.

Also I think for some countries you need a vaccination certificate (eg yellow fever) to get a Visa. But you should be able to get that info from the Foreign Office.

Also take into consideration the standard of health care in the destination country should you go down with something nasty that you could vaccinate against…...you don’t really want to get yellow fever/malaria/meningitus in a country with seriously sub standard health care options do you?

Personally I would take vaccinations for traveling, but just mho!

We went to India over christmas for 5 weeks.  Rowan has been fully vaccinated anyway, Reu partly vaccinated.  However when it came to planning our trip we decided it was best to get everyone immunised against Thyphoid, as its so easy to catch (could be caught from eating off a plate washed in contaimated water), we were advised to get the boys immunised against Hepatits (cant remember which one), they tired to get the boys to have a new combined hep jab, but I said I would rather have the older single one, which we got.  We were also advised to get the Rabies shot, which is a particulary nasty vaccine (even in the nurses eyes!) and it costs lots, but we declined this as we thought our children (aged 18months and 3 at the time) woudln’t be out of our sight and therefore not go near any dodgy looking animals.  We also stressed the point to the chilodren that animlas were not to be touched whilst we were there.

Yellow Fever is only recommended for parts of Africa and South America, I believe.

Malaria - We looked in homeopathy for this, in case we caught it, as me and DH have prevoiuslyt had nasty reactions to malaria medication and I don’t think it is necsssary (IMO), repellant and covering up is better. there are some quite intensive studies into homeopathy and malaria on line or chat to a homeopath.  However I dont think Nepal has a malaria risk, maybe in the lowlands/jungle area, but I don’t know if you plan to go there.

Travel insurance, as far as I know won’t make any difference if you have been immunised as you are only advised to be immunised.  I have never actually checked this out though, actually travelling with children is the first time I have ever bought travel insurance!

I also made sure everyones tetnaus was up to date.  When travelling in India 10 years ago, I have seen what the hospitals will do to a wound and I could do better!

Hope this helps
Michelle x

I would be inclined to get the vaccinations. I say this because a few years ago a friend’s wife went on a business trip to Eastern Europe and contracted Hepatitis. She died in hospital back in England. She wasn’t aware of the need to have the vaccination. They’d only been married for 5 months.

Hi there - we’re not there yet - we’re having a wee seaside break at Grandma’s house…..fly out tomorrow…..need to re-pack all the blooming bags - bah!

Yellow fever is only for S America and Africa - you only need a certificate of vax if you are arriving from a destination where it is present.
You don’t need anti-Malarials if you stay up high in Nepal. 
We’ve all had vaxes for Hep A (water borne) and Hep B (blood borne but endemic - so if you had a blood transfusion you’d have a risk of contracting it and it’s incurable.  We’ve also had Typhoid vax.

I think you could just have those if you stayed up high in the Himalaya.  But vaxes for TB, Rabies and Japanese Encephalitis are recommended if you are staying for longer than a month.

There’s information ‘out there’ about travelling without vaxes but we vax anyhow, so I was not exactly happy about them all, but obviously noy in the same position as you guys.

And if you do get to Nepal, definitely let me know!!

Also worth mentioning as I didn’t realise - for hep b it’s a course of three injections and for hep a it’s two - then subsequent boosters at 6 or 12 months (depending on age and any other previous vaxes you might’ve had).

purplecavingcat - 30 July 2010 07:51 AM

Also take into consideration the standard of health care in the destination country should you go down with something nasty that you could vaccinate against…...you don’t really want to get yellow fever/malaria/meningitus in a country with seriously sub standard health care options do you?

Personally I would take vaccinations for traveling, but just mho!

Yes, me too.

In addition to this I would consider the fact that You’re not an isolated entity when you travel abroad but a guest in someone else’s country - from what you say you are considering travelling to places with great development needs - they can do without wealthy westerners who have no natural immunity to their diseases going over and getting ill, potentially stretching their already overstretched health services (a lot of their best nurses and doctors are already here supporting our health service) and potentially spreading diseases that are costing them a fortune to try and control, to people that are malnourished and and in poverty.

I’ve travelled extensively across Africa and Asia and had every vaccine going over the last 40 years with absolutely no adverse effects. I would also stronly recommend looking into malarial medication if you go somewhere that needs it. Once you have had malaria you are likely to have regular recurrences of it as you never fully get rid of it so much better to avoid it in the first place. Its a nasty disease. I’ve lived in the tropics and have never encountered an insect repellant that is respected by mosquitoes (and the really strong ones are very very nasty in terms of chemicals, especially with young children) , and covering up is absolutely no protection against a serious mosquito - they get into your clothes and are fully capable of biting through them. Some people are more attractive than others and if you are one of those that is tasty to them repellant will only have a limited effect.

Maysmum - 30 July 2010 09:47 AM

I’ve travelled extensively across Africa and Asia and had every vaccine going over the last 40 years with absolutely no adverse effects. I would also stronly recommend looking into malarial medication if you go somewhere that needs it. Once you have had malaria you are likely to have regular recurrences of it as you never fully get rid of it so much better to avoid it in the first place. Its a nasty disease. I’ve lived in the tropics and have never encountered an insect repellant that is respected by mosquitoes (and the really strong ones are very very nasty in terms of chemicals, especially with young children) , and covering up is absolutely no protection against a serious mosquito - they get into your clothes and are fully capable of biting through them. Some people are more attractive than others and if you are one of those that is tasty to them repellant will only have a limited effect.

Mossies can bite through clothing VERY easily - and as Maymum says do you want to be liberally spraying your kids with DEET every day/evening?? I think this is the only repellent that is even half effective. Besides when the temp is 30 odd degrees and very humid, totally covering up becomes a little less favourable in my experience! We also took mossie nets to Asia when we went - even though many hotels/hostels have them they often have holes in etc so well worht taking your own for night time.

Hi, we have just got back from a 2month trip around Malaysia and Thailand.  Just like you I was not keen on vaccinating the chidren ( aged 4 and 16 months) but in the end I decided to vaccinate them agains Hepatitis B.  Although, I do not like the vaccination system I would never forgive myself if something had happened to the kids and I guess that in a way it’s a price you pay for a peace of mind.
I am not sure what you need for Nepal, your travel nurse at the GP’s office should be able to tell you but I would personally not take small children to a malaria zone as both deet and the antimalaric tablets are hard on adults, let alone children.  Unless, there is a homeopathy solutions for malaria, I have never checked that.

Good luck planning:-)

Just one thing about malaria, see if you can get to talk to someone (forums are usually good) to see what the current risk actually is.  Over our travels we have often been advised that the malaria risk is mid to high and have not even seen a mossie when there. Another good place to check is to see how many cases of malaria have been reperted over the last so many years. 
Also time of year would make a difference

Just to add an alternative POV, I personally would (and do) avoid places with a list of recommended vaccinations, especially with young children.

I’d personally plan trips to ‘traditional’ parts of Europe etc, and avoid places which require several different Hep shots and boosters, tetnus, typhoid etc.

For one thing, it’s an awul lot of vaccine(s) to have in a very short space of time.

I wouldn’t want to risk any of those diseases, because they are pretty serious, but at the same time I wouldn’t want to inject children with so many vaccines either (and sorry if this sounds.. harsh… but, certainly not just for an educational vacation )

There are lots of interesting places and different cultures to visit in Europe. Parts of Greece, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, just avoid very touristy areas. Or you could go to America, Yosemite National park would be a good place, the Grand Canyon.. etc etc. OK, not very different from a cultural POV, but for nature and beauty it’s good. Plus you could learn about the Native American Indians, native wildlife etc.

I dunno, I guess my gut opinion would be to stay somewhere ‘safe’ at least until the children are all older (10+) and more able (hopefully/presumably) to cope with several vaccinations in one go. (And also old enough to decide if going to those places is ‘worth’ having the jabs, and if they are ok with having them).
JMO

Hi seeing this thread linked to today made me re-read & realised that I rudely never thanked people for their helpful replies! they were very usefull and we have decided that we will be sticking to europe & avoiding the whole vax issue, thanks to all all it was all your input that helped us to make our decision.

Lucy x