Travel Vaccinations 5 years ago

I have unexpectedly had to change my trip to Sri Lanka and now leave in exactly one month. In 2004, I was vaccinated for a trip to Sri Lanka - will these still be active? Problems with my medical registration mean that all my notes have been lost and I have been deleted from my doctor's practice. I know that I definitely was vaccinated in spring 2004. I am able to get malaria tablets from a private clinic. Will this be alright?

Hi Vivia,
I have a little " medical passport "
In there, the jabs that I had free from the national health are listed with the duration they are effective for.

Hepatitis A .booster after 6 to 12 months. then effective for 10 years.
Typhoid. .effective for 3 years.
Diphtheria.. effective fo 10 years.
Polio.. ..effective for 10 years.
Tetanus effective for 10 years.

According to that list, if you had all of those, then the only one you need to worry about is Typhoid.... Maybe the Hepatitis A if you ddn't get the booster.

Malaria,,,,,, The antimalarials have been discussed on here plenty of times with opinion more or less split evenly between those who do take them and those who don't.
Personally, I don't.
The incidence of malaria in Sri Lanka is small and only in a couple of small areas in the country.
The north, around the Jaffna area, Northern parts of the cultural triangle and parts of the south east near the Yala area are the places where there is supposed to be a very small incidence of the malarial mossie.
More to worry about at the moment is the Dengue fever utbreak around the Galle, Matara and Tangalle areas. There several schools have recently been cosed inan effort to contain dengue fever.
No cure or innoculation for dengue, so make sure you use a good insect repellant. I usually use a product called Autan, which I find does me well but recently Autan is getting very dificult to find in Lanka. I'm told that the Si Lankan military have taken over all stocks for their personel up north so buy stock before you go, or choose a different brand..
You can buy Autan quite cheaply on Ebay.
Insect repellant is available in Lanka but most of it is Citronella based and many people reckon thats not too effective.
Rod.

I went to my local doc to see about renewing some of my vaccinations before a trip and local doc said no problem, simple blood test will do to see what antibodies I still have, still had plenty, so no need for more needle jabs and saved heaps on vaccinations and in Oz was bulk-billed so didnt cost me a cent.

Autan is simply one brand of repellent containing DEET - or diethyl toluamide. There are much cheaper versions with the same active ingredient, available in the UK. Just look at the contents label of any insect repellent for either of the above terms. Boots, Superdrug...even Tesco's do their own DEET repellent.

... and having had my luggage (containing my repellent) lost by my airline, I can confirm that it's practically impossible to get DEET in Sri Lanka. And citronella is useless on vulnerable Europeans.

Hi Sarah,
I'm sure that you are absolutely right regarding the Autan just being another deet product.
What I do know is, that I've tried many of the cheaper brands and still got bitten. When I used Autan, no bites. Maybe it's just me but thats why I mentioned a particular brand. I've found buying it from Ebay , much cheaper than buying any of the main brands from stores in the UK.
I do agree with the citronela. It proved pretty useless to me as well.
Rod.

Hi Rod.
I seem to remember you having been minced by unfriendly flying insects at the Kadolana at Tangalle a couple of years ago. I guess the Autan must have washed off .. ?

Never mind, you were a lovely sight with your raw, spotty back exposed and a local gentleman applying a white paste of ground papaya root, lime juice and salt.

You were very brave and the bites had subsided the next day...

Ian

( there are photos to prove this but only to those with more than £5 to bid ... The Daily Telegraph offered £ 4.50 .. ! )

Hi Ian,
You're memory is almost excellent. Only almost though, you're downgraded to very good..
I recieved all those bites , must have been from a marauding tribe of carniverous flying things, with huge teeth and an anti-social atitude, while using the pool at the Coral Sands in Hikkaduwa.
Autan, like anything else, washes off.

You're right about the treatment though.

The local shaman in Nilwella, did his stuff, pounded up his roots and slapped it on, and, hey, it worked. Bites stopped itching immediately and gone completely within a couple of days.
Happy days,
Rod.

Now then, you two! I have changed from the malaria tablet camp to the don't bother camp as the chance of getting it is so slim and I don't like the tablets at all. Quite liberating on my last trip. Autan works OK for me though I get bitten whatever I use. It just reduces the number of bites.

Once bitten I get itchy. I discovered Tiger Balm in conversation with a local. I was not convinced but tried it and it really helped with the itching. It is also great for my blocked sinuses. The jar claims it cures most known ills and I am tempted to believe it - magic stuff. In SL they sell another potion that cures everything from bee stings to being eaten by a crocodile. I can't recall the name, starts off Siddalpa...something. I think it can also help with the ubiquitous "fever" that everyone in SL gets from time to time.

Now I thought the cure for being attacked by a crocodile was to carry a short stick.
You jam it vertically between its jaws as it tries to bite you... I suppose you could always chuck the glass jar of ointment at it as you stroll off watching the crocodile struggle to get the stick out of its mouth ......

Tiger balm is good at relieving the itch from bites. It is no cure but works for a while. I imagine that its also good at preventing infection by sealing the bite off and probably sterilising it too.