We saw travel doc and ID specialist before S went away, got lots of conflicting info! :ybatty:
Keep in mind, this was a while ago so just going by memory and, given my age :lol:, all I say needs to be confirmed!!
I'm fairly certain Twinrix was okay to give, however, it is given in two or three doses. And there needed to be a minimum time in between doses to obtain full effectiveness, so keep that in mind when planning.
Malaria - ID specialist had prescribed doxy....(not sure of full spelling) which is an antibiotic. It is used as a preventative measure against malaria, you start it one or two weeks before you go and continue with it a few weeks after your return. This is the antibiotic that seems to have some connection in triggering crohns. I spoke with GI and, while he didn't say an outright 'no' to it, in his opinion, he didn't feel the malaria risk warranted it's use. (He suggested bug spray, etc. would be sufficient.) Given what I'd read of it's connection to crohns and the length of time S would need to use it, we didn't go ahead with it.
What I did get, however, was a prescription for another antibiotic (forget which but know it wasn't cipro or flagyl) that S was to take with him and use only if he developed diarrhea PLUS blood (if only d, then not to use antibiotics).
Travel doc also hesitantly considered dukerol; 'hesitantly' because there is also some connection with crohns and/or intestinal complications. Again, GI did not feel it was necessary so we didn't use it.
After multiple, frustrating and contradictory doctor visits, S ended up having no vaccines and only taking the GI's antibiotic prescriptoin with him (which he never needed), a bunch of Boost shakes in case he felt sick and couldn't eat and a million instructions from me on what NOT to eat or drink!!
What I did get from all this was labwork testing S's immunity levels for all sort so things. It's a helpful reference point for future booster shots. This was done by the travel doc.
