Even the best of Holidays may have downsides!

Well today was jab day.

So what do I need. This useful Fit for Travel site indicates what you need for each country:

India: tetanus; poliomyelitis;hepatitis A; typhoid
Thailand: tetanus; poliomyelitis; hepatitis A; typhoid
Malaysia: tetanus; hepatitis A; typhoid
Singapore: None normally recommended
Vietnam: tetanus; hepatitis A; typhoid
Cambodia: hepatitis A, typhoid; tetanus.

So with my Hep A still up-to-date from a jab in 1998, today meant the joint Typhoid Polio jab in my left arm and the tetanus one in my right arm. Drew's going for the same on Monday.

Then there is our old friend Malaria. The WHO have some good resources on Malaria. Having taken all three of the types of Malaria drugs in the past it was interesting to see what was relevant for this visit. Again I turned to Fit for Travel for this information.

India: See the map, tends to need Chloroquine together with Proguanil
Thailand: As the map shows the main tourist areas including Bangkok are less prone to Malaria than other parts of the country
Malaysia: Like Thailand the areas we are visiting is relatively low risk - see map
Singapore: Malaria is not normally present in Singapore
Vietnam: The map indicates that Ho Chi Min city is low in effect, but we are now staying overnight in Vietnam, so may be at risk. The recommendation outside of the cities is Mefloquine (sometimes known as Larium) or Doxycycline or Malarone
Cambodia: Is more of a risk (see map), indeed Ankor Wat is mentioned specifically as a highly malarial area, but even the coastal areas are potentially a problem. Doxycycline is usually recommended for western provinces. Malarone is an alternative to Doxycycline

Another site called Preventing Malaria offers a detailed travel report which offers the same conclusion. So for complete cover it is going to be Doxycycline or Malarone. Now given the difference between the 51 tablets (starting 7 days in advance and remembering to take them on return) for Doxycycline and the 30 for Malarone (only needing 2 days before and 7 afterwards).

The fact that Doxycycline has known side-effects which make it unsuitable for some people and that Malarone has less side-effects (apart from people with weak Kidneys) made both the Doctor's recommendation and my choice much easier. The fact that the 30 tablets come to £100 (so £200) raises the cost of the holiday - but what do we work for if not paying for our holidays :-)