Saturday 12 November 2011

Ouch - immunisations time

Yesterday afternoon, the four of us got our immunisations in anticipation of going to India in seven (7!) weeks. The shots themselves didn't hurt much, as the needles were very fine and the nurse, Anne, very competent. Jos and Ky calmly stated "ow" two or three time for each, but didn't flinch, setting the standard rather high for us. Afterwards we went out for a delicious but way-too-much-food Indian meal. 

This morning, however, we are all sooking and groaning. I feel like I've been given a not-friendly-at-all shoulder punch on both sides. Lifting my arm up to shoulder height (to get a teabag out of the tea caddy, for example) has me making faces and muttering "ooof". The others are feeling equally worse for wear.

Nevertheless, I'm glad I got these done this weekend, as next weekend I'm swimming in the MS Megaswim (a pool-based Relay for Life type thing, raising funds for Multiple Sclerosis research) - my hour-long slot starts at midnight next Sunday morning. I don't think I could lift my arms up over my shoulders repeatedly this Sunday! And the weekend after that, we have our TKD grading. And the one after that is our infamous work Xmas party.

For those interested in the nitty gritty details (like my sister El, who is joining us a week into our India trip), the shots we got were:
  • Adacel - combination diptheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) booster
  • Vivaxim - combination Hepatitis A and typhoid (a HepA booster in 6-36 months will give lifelong immunity)
  • Menveo - broad-spectrum Meningococcal vaccine (C, W-135 and Y)

The kids have already had their Meningococcal vaccines (given to them as pre-schoolers), and are not yet due for a DTP booster, so they only had two shots:
  • Havrix Junior - Hepatitis A vaccine, and
  • Typhim Vi - a typhoid vaccine (there's no kid-suitable combination vaccine, for HepA and typhoid)
All four of us will also be taking malaria tablets, starting two days before we leave, and finishing two weeks after we return. The doc prescribed a slightly lower dose for Ky, on the grounds that it might stunt his growth. Given he weighs practically the same as his brother, and is only a couple of inches shorter than him (despite the 2.5 year age difference), and is the tallest yet youngest in his class, I don't think stunting his growth is a significant issue.

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