Today we went to the travel doctor. Now, I did not exactly put this off until the last minute. We did go several months ago and I made sure everyone got their Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B shots, as well as updating everyone's normal vaccinations.
But, in light of the swine flu and all the nasty reports I've been hearing about the Chinese government's draconian reaction to anyone disembarking the plane with a cough or fever, I thought it would be best to check in again with a travel doctor in case there was anything we could take to alleviate the symptoms. I also admit, that I thought the Utah doctors would be more prescription-happy than the doctors in New York, who weren't particularly interested in prescribing any drugs at all.
However, rather than just telling the doctor what our concerns were, we had to sit down and wait, as the doctor (who was actually very cheerful and kind) began to detail every single known disease that occurs in each and every country we will traveling in. Most of the descriptions sounded dire and fatal, or at least excruciatingly painful.
We were instructed to buy Permethrin (a powerful mosquito repellent) and soak our clothes in it, eat no salads or fresh fruits (except in Hong Kong and Singapore), not to venture out before dawn or after dark for fear of malaria, and that we had the possibility of contracting worms, tuberculosis, typhoid, malaria, and dozens of other diseases I had never heard of.
Clearly, swine flu was the least of our worries.
After a solid hour of disease recitation, the doctor gave us several prescriptions--none of which were for the swine flu--and sent us on our way. Of course, Kinsey was properly concerned. I told her that the worst we would probably encounter was a day or two of diarrhea.
Still, I'm going to fill the prescriptions tomorrow. It will be interesting to see if we're going to need them. I'll pack them right next to the Permethrin I bought. Too bad there's nothing for bed bugs....
Today
8 years ago
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