Immunizations for Argentina? - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!



Go Back   TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards! > Members Lounge > General Travel Tips, Education, Advice > Health & Safety

Health & Safety Health concerns worldwide, scams, and other safety issues. Don't get ripped off! Also post your safety prevention tips!

Raileurope.com: See Europe by train
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-18-2009, 04:53 PM   #1
AKguacamole
Guac it up!
 
AKguacamole's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 156
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Exclamation Immunizations for Argentina?

I'm outta here in 2 1/2 weeks to Argentina, and I'm a little worried about the immunizations I'll need since it's very possible I'll be traveling to the north. I currently don't have any health insurance (and won't when I'm there either....is this stupid?) which is why I haven't bought any vaccinations.

We plan on making a big circle south from Buenos Aires to Rio Negro, over to Chile, back in to Mendoza and up towards Salta. Iguazu is a possibility if there's time.

For those that have visited, what immunizations did you get, if any? What's recommended? I've done a lot of research, and checked out CDC, but I'm not sure just how vital the vacs are since money is so tight.

I've also been reading about a small yellow fever outbreak in Missiones province in January, but the yellow fever vac is so expensive! Any recommendations??
__________________
Cheers! To friends, to lovers, to warm nights and cold drinks.
AKguacamole is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-18-2009, 07:00 PM   #2
maracle
Rabidly Xenophilic
 
maracle's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Austin Texas, but originally from Ann Arbor!
Posts: 1,223
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Well insurance often wont cover vaccinations anyway...why not look for a vaccination when you get to BA? I would guess it's a bit cheaper there since supposedly everything medical costs more here.
__________________
Flickr!
maracle is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2009, 11:45 PM   #3
SleepIsTheCousinOfDeath
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Cincinnati Ohio
Posts: 190
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Send a message via AIM to SleepIsTheCousinOfDeath
Default

I'm about to do 5 months in central and south america so i've been stuck by every kind of needle. You are luckily going to two of the healthier countries in south america.

This is what I've been vaccinated for:

Hep A
Hep B
TDAP = Tetanus, Diptheria, and Pertusis (Whooping Cough)
Yellow Fever
Typhoid

With that said... I would take some cheap malaria pills (Malarone) and get the Yellow Fever shot and TDAP and Hep A. Typhoid I got because it is "rampant" in peru...However you should already have Hep B from school, Hep A you can get anywhere because it is transmitted by feces- mouth in food. Yellow fever vaccine and Hep A are both good for 10 years...TDAP for 5...Also, numerous countries will be requiring immunization against Yellow Fever for entry (already the case for Brazil). So if you travel a lot, Yellow fever vaccine is a sound investment.

Enjoy Argentina
__________________
Illusions of powerlessness can crumble when no listens and no one obeys...

Where have I been? Well, thus far: Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Japan, The Netherlands...

Where do I want to go? Well...: Central and South America, South East Asia, More of Europe, North, West, and South Africa, and...most places.
SleepIsTheCousinOfDeath is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-22-2009, 05:59 PM   #4
AKguacamole
Guac it up!
 
AKguacamole's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 156
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Thank you!!
__________________
Cheers! To friends, to lovers, to warm nights and cold drinks.
AKguacamole is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-23-2009, 11:30 PM   #5
space virgin
Yoda
 
space virgin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Hell
Posts: 5,506
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

First off, if you're leaving in 2.5 weeks it's almost certainly a little late in the game to be thinking about vaccinations. Typically you'll need to get those done (sometimes in stages) at least a month if not more in advance, except maybe for the Typhoid pill if you go that route. Also keep in mind that vaccinations are quite likely to make you feel like shit for a while... but that's totally subjective for each person.

BUT: I haven't been to S. America but I have been to India 3 times (soon to be 4) and I'll let you in on a little secret... I did not get any vaccines. And aside from the first trip, I did not take any malaria meds. I did not get sick, and I did not get malaria. (knock on wood for the next few times)

Feel free to go ahead and tell me how stupid you think I'm being but I'm sorry, I didn't have the $$$$ for rounds and rounds of vaccinations that are not entirely 100% proven to protect you (read up on them) and almost certainly make you feel crappy regardless.

On my last 2 trips I didn't take malaria meds because I decided that millions (MILLIONS!!) of people live their daily lives without them, and only a tiny fraction of people contract malaria. THAT SAID, malaria is absolutely not something I would want to fuck with, so it's a gamble. (This is why I take mosquito repellant.) But what made me decide not to take malaria meds was this: Doxycycline, the affordable malaria medication, is an antibiotic. Who wants to take antibiotics unless you absolutely have to? And Malarone is ABSOLUTELY NOT CHEAP despite what sleepisthecousinofdeath says (sorry, but it's just not. Unless you're Canadian or British maybe.) I did take Malarone on my first trip because I got some second-hand from a doctor friend who had just come back from Madagascar and had extra. HE PAID ALMOST $5 PER PILL FOR IT HIMSELF. Also Malarone needs to be started exactly 7 days before your trip to malaria-prone regions begins and needs to extend for 7 days after, so you have to buy 2 more weeks than your trip duration. FYI. Also, Malaria medication is a prophylactic and as such it does not prevent Malaria 100%. Generally speaking you absolutely can still contract Malaria, what the pills do is they lessen the symptoms and duration to a certain extent.

So, if that wasn't enough, the other reason I decided to go with mosquito protection instead of malaria medication is that Dengue Fever and Chikungunya are two very common mosquito-borne illnesses (in India anyway--I honestly don't know about S. America) for which there is NO protection and NO cure. So, I could choose to wreck my digestion from Doxy, lose a bunch of money from Malarone and still contract one of those two. Yes, I know, Malaria still sucks... which is why I'm just telling you this as my personal opinion, not a treatise on what is exactly right for you. It's cheesy but your mileage may vary.

Believe me, I've done a lot of research on this (I may end up living in India at a certain point). I hope this helps.
__________________
Various bloggings (Version 2.0)

Last edited by space virgin; 02-23-2009 at 11:37 PM.
space virgin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-07-2009, 02:07 PM   #6
AKguacamole
Guac it up!
 
AKguacamole's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 156
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by space virgin View Post
Feel free to go ahead and tell me how stupid you think I'm being but I'm sorry, I didn't have the $$$$ for rounds and rounds of vaccinations that are not entirely 100% proven to protect you (read up on them) and almost certainly make you feel crappy regardless.
Yup, that about sums up how I feel. I'm not even sure I'm going to make it up to the real danger zones, so I'm probably just being paranoid. Malaria scares me, my grandpa got it. Thanks for all the info though! I'm going vac free this time, fingers crossed.
AND I'M LEAVING TOMORROW MORNING!!!! CheeeeHoooo
__________________
Cheers! To friends, to lovers, to warm nights and cold drinks.

Last edited by AKguacamole; 03-07-2009 at 02:15 PM.
AKguacamole is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-07-2009, 04:13 PM   #7
Sijuki
An Optimistic Realist.
 
Sijuki's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Detroit / Las Vegas
Posts: 3,294
Thanks: 2
Thanked 10 Times in 10 Posts
Send a message via AIM to Sijuki Send a message via MSN to Sijuki Send a message via Yahoo to Sijuki
Default

Best of luck... I'm not a big fan of vaccines either unless they are pretty well proven.
__________________
.~Sijuki~.



2009-2014: February - Mexico (Cancun x 3, Cozumel x 1, Mazatlan x 2

2014 : Europe: Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Czech Rep, Germany, France, England

2015 : US:Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Joshua Tree NP, Salton Sea, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Mt. Rushmore. 20 states. Europe: Stockholm, Barcelona, Madrid, Prague, Krakow, Warsaw, Ireland (month driving around), Northern Ireland, Edinburgh.

2021: Europe?

Need a Railpass for that Trip to Europe?
Or Maybe a Hostel Reservation?
Frog Creek Brewing -- Upcoming Microbrewery

Sijuki@gmail.com
Sijuki is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-08-2009, 07:49 AM   #8
Dig
TPunk Moderator
 
Dig's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Austin Texas
Posts: 666
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

You probably are already on your way, but hoping you have a great trip !!!

This is a great topic. Eventually I will be traveling to less hygenic countries and I will want to take precautions.
__________________
Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary FALL 2012!!!
Dig is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2009, 09:45 AM   #9
mbo108
TPunk. Recognize.
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 1,177
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Quote:
some cheap malaria pills (Malarone)
I just finished taking these...I believe they are actually the most expensive ones. Around US$10/pill and you need to take 2 days before entering and for a week after leaving the malaria-zone (so thats $90 on top of any days you might be exposed).
mbo108 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply






Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 02:35 AM.



 

Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.2.0 (Unregistered)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121