Travel Medication
 

I am going to South Africa for my honeymoon & require injections, malaria pills etc etc... Has anyone had these done in Dubai before ?

Re: Travel Medication
 

yes. which ones do you need?
you can get them on prescription from american hospital and welcare.
get yellow fever vacc if needed from cedars jebel ali. might be able to get the other vaccs from there, could be cheaper..

Re: Travel Medication
 

Why on earth would you want vaccinations to visit South Africa, you pussy?

Re: Travel Medication
 

Yes i am a pussy

Re: Travel Medication
 

Apparently you need diphtheria, hepatitis A, H1N1 & malaria pills.... all this just to go safari !

Re: Travel Medication
 

dont know about diph but you can get the others from the private hospitals mentioned. can probably get them from the govt hospitals but there is no sense of customer care so the nurse will probably just yank your sleeves up and jab you.

Re: Travel Medication
 

who told you that, that's rubbish.... Been to SA twice on Safari and never had any of those jabs or malaria pills????

Re: Travel Medication
 

u only need malaria pills if you are going to kruger otherwise dont need anything specific.

Re: Travel Medication
 

You need yellow fever cert if you have come from some parts of Africa or other places - not really specified but it is a good thing to have.

Re: Travel Medication
 

Red wine..that'll cover everything.

Re: Travel Medication
 

I've been to Kenya over 20X, Tanzania 3X, Ethiopea 3X and South Africa and never once had any injections or taken any malaria pills. Up to you! A Yellow Fever certificate may be requested if you visit (say) Thailand following a trip to Tanzania, but generally only when there has been a published epidemic. Right now there is talk of rampant cholera in Nigeria but RSA should be ok. They usually provide mosquito nets on safari anyway.

Re: Travel Medication
 

Did a safari to Tanzania end of last year and needed a Yellow Fever jag which I got done at a private hopsital in Abu Dhabi - Gulf Diagnostics. Was never asked to show the certificate.

I had to make sure that my tetanus was up to date and was advised to take malaria tablets which I did. Malaria is a risky business, and as my cousin died of it in Venezuala a couple of years ago, I am super cautious.

For malaria tablets, the best ones, in my opinion, are Malarone as you only take a short course but they are not easily available in the UAE. Cholorquine does not work in Africa so I end up taking doxycycline which can send you a little loopy.

Re: Travel Medication
 

Visited Nairobi from Ghana in 2004 and had to produce my Yellow Fever vaccination certificate then. The Ghanaian I was travelling with had not been immunised, so no certificate, and they gave him a jab on the spot.

In general it is if you are travelling from a yellow fever area that you need the certificate, not if you are travelling to one.

The only time I got malaria was when I was taking the pills (larium). Never got it when I wasn't on them. Big debate, but for short visit anti-malarials worth it where needed; long term visit/living debatable due to side effects. Best to cover up and avoid getting bitten in the first place. They say vitamin B is a good antidote - so plenty of beverages will help;)

Good advice to be found on the FCO country travel advice website, which links to the NHS website on travel health.

Re: Travel Medication
 

Oh yes, I forgot about vitamin B - especially B12. I have injections of this every 10 weeks for something else, and have been told that this protects me from getting bitten - which seems to be true. Last time I was away with a friend, she took B12 supplements, and for the first time in al ong time got away with not getting bitten. Worth a try.

Re: Travel Medication
 

Only need yellow fever if you are going outside SA