Hep A & Hep B

[Guest guest]

Hi Andrew

I am going to visit a village in Mexico for my holiday this year. It

is being recommended to me that I have Hep A/B combination before I

go. What is your opinion of these immunizations? Do you think it is

necessary? I have been going to Puerto Vallarta for years and have

never had a shot. I will be staying in a village 1 hr north of PV in

a place called Rincon de Guayabitos. It is a small resort town. Let

me know what you think. Thanks,

Barb

[Guest guest]

Barb, Good Morning!

 

Thank you for your post.

 

I have been to Mexico many times. I especially enjoyed Puerto

Vallarta.

 

My opinion on immunizations such as these for travel, for children is

still an opinion I am still forming.

 

As an acupuncturist and life student of , the belief

in immunizations is not a favorable one.

 

Yet, because I am in a profession that works with blood borne

pathogens due to the fact that I work with needles, we have always

been recommended to get a Hep B shot, which I do get every 5 years.

So I believe in it enough to take steps to have it done.

 

As far as for traveling, Hep B is a blood born and sexually

transmitted liver disease caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). HBV

is spread much like HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. HBV, however, is

easier to catch than HIV because it is over 100 times more

concentrated in an infected person's blood and it can exist on

surfaces outside the body.

 

Hepatitis B vaccination is a six month process. It is one shot a

month for 2 months and then you wait 4 months to take the last shot.

 

Hepatitis A and hepatitis C are different diseases caused by

different viruses. Hepatitis A occurs often from contaminated food.

There is a vaccine for hepatitis A. Often you can receive the hep A

and hep B vaccine together. There is no vaccine for hepatitis C.

 

So I have given you the facts. The choice is truly yours.

 

In Happiness,

 

Andrew Pacholyk, MS, L.Ac

Peacefulmind.com

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