Medical Info, especially for UK

[p&w 0]

Just thought I'd share my experience of the medical exam. I am from the UK, have travelled a bit and am healthy. I searched for a medical examiner in the US and found the nearest one was 200 miles away, so I used it as an excuse to go a little further to Las Vegas and drove 270 miles. I wanted to do it in one day, so I went to my local Dept of Health to have my TB test, as I needed to have it "read" 2-3 days later. It reacted and I had to pay for a chest xray. Apparently if you are from the UK, NZ or Australia and had a BCG jab (which I think all teenager girls have) you will react to the TB test. Then I went to my medical which was ridiculously easy - a look in my eyes, ears, mouth, nose, a listen to my chest and pulse and that was IT - oh, apart from more vaccinations. Now I don't like to have more vaccinations than I need so I had got my UK doctor to fax over that I was more than up-to date with my Tetanus at least. However, I still had to have ANOTHER tetanus because in the USA there is no seperate jab for Dipthera, and this is not included in the jab in the UK. Then there was the MMR. Again I didn't want it as I had had the jabs as a child, but after 25 years in the UK your childhood records are destroyed (yes, I did try) So I paid for a seperate blood test to show I had MMR immunity. It showed 2 of 3 were high enough but not Measles. Waiting 3 days for these tests I had gone back "home" in the US. Now I phoned round in a 200 mile radius to find the single vaccine. It was impossible. I did find one place that said they had it - after waiting 2 hours and seeing 2 physicians they just checked I really did want German Measles - NOOO!!!! It is different. Now I'm being charged for that appointment even though I only saw them because they said they had the (wrong) vaccine! The only option I have is to have the combined MMR (which is not recommended, and can lead to joint problems in adults) or drive the 270 miles again to Vegas. Apparently the single vaccine is expensive and only ordered in batches of 10.

So if you have the option, make sure your vaccinations are done in the UK. As this is only the first hurdle in my application process and it has already been a headache, I don't feel confident about the rest of it!!

Good luck

[Kez/JWolf 6]

I had MMR and I have had no promblems.... and I am 43...

if you turned down every vaccination because of a possible but small risk you would not have any of them....

Kezzie

[Kajikit 65]

My doctor told me there was NO DANGER in having the MMR vaccine when I only really 'needed' part of it. When I was a kid they didn't have a mumps vaccine yet so I was missing that third. They don't do mumps seperately any more so I just got the shot and had no problems... I know that nobody likes having extra vaccinations but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and let them do it.

[mrswooten4ever 0]

Me too MMR no probs and I'm 42 and the Tetanus jab you get in the UK is the TD which includes Diptheria it's a basic booster for your school leavers DPT.

Adele

[Mark Collard 0]

ive just turned 25, i had all my vaccinations as a child, hope they havent quite destroyed them just yet

i happen to work in medical records though, and what they do is scan them onto a computer so if you do happen to need them they can print them off for you, well they do at least in my local health authority

Edited March 21, 2006 by Mark Collard