IM injections are the pits!
February 19, 2007
The travel nurse recommended three injections for my trip that the shot clinic nurse said won’t even become effective until 10-14 days after I get the injections. Which, as it turns out, does me practically no good whatsoever. So, as long as I get hold off contracting tetanus, typhus or hepatitis A until the latter half of my trip when the vaccines start working, they will have been worth the pain.
I discovered that Kaiser offered this rather nifty service called the travel nurse. Basically, you call them up and they prescribe the recommended immunizations which are administered at the shot clinic (ow). The shots are free of charge. Wise decision ’cause I think paying for the shots would have just added insult to injury. My arms hurt!!
The travel nurse also makes recommendations about medications you should take with you, and those DO cost something. After spending about fifty bucks on RXs, I’d better come out of this trip hale and hearty.
If you have to travel to a rural area, you should definitely check with your health insurance provider for such a service. They’ll pay for preventative measures, in this case, which is far more economical and prudent than waiting until you actually get sick because most health insurance won’t pay for very much health care provided out of the country.
