Forgotten Costs of Travel

Besides those pesky hidden costs that the airlines are now sucking our blood for, there are other not so insignificant chunks of change that are required to travel far and wide. Today, Ron and I went for our Yellow Fever vaccines. The ones we had years ago expired last year when we were safely in Australia. This years is Kenya and Tanzania, so we needed to get shot up once again.

Budapest has quite an efficient, if not inexpensive World Health Travel Clinic. Doctors are trained in communicable diseases in every part of the globe. With our immunizations records in hand, we entered the waiting room with twenty people who already beat to the door and took a number. With thoughts that we should have packed our next meal, shock is not superlative enough to describe the fact that we were in the doctor's office within fifteen minutes. After looking over our records, Ron needed more shots than I did. How did that happen? Anyway, we received our Yellow Fever, Tetanus booster, and Typhoid or was it Jungle Fever? I am not sure, but it was one mama of a needle that took a good long time to empty out into my bloodstream.

She discussed Malaria treatment options. The last time we were here, the doctor was more than willing to share homeopathic ideas and we have gone that route more than once. This doctor insisted on telling us of a new medication that has less side effects, but costs 20,000 Huf a box and we would each need three boxes. Let me see, 20,000 x 3 for each of us equals 120,000 Huf total at today's exchange rate is $668.00 or 448.80 Euros or 49,582.83 in Kenyan shillings. No, we will go the homeopathic route, thank you very much for the information.

This little outing to the doctor is not of course covered by the health insurance, because once you leave the country and the EU, they are not going to cover you anyway. Our hour of in and out set us back 43,355 Huf or $241.30 or 162.16 Euros or 17,911.19 Kenyan shillings. 

The next set-back is the travel insurance. 

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Eye Can Almost See You

My first follow-up eye exam after the surgery yesterday was this morning. Again, I was examined by the computer and then by the doctor. She said it looks perfect. Eye drops five times a day for a week, four times a day next week, and so on until they are all gone and I will be fine. She did schedule me for another visit on Monday.

My vision is clearing. I am able to get around fine; there is still some blurriness, but that will clear up over time. The improvement thus far has been dramatic. I am sitting closer to the screen than usual, but that should improve too, according to the doctor. I do need to invest in 100% UV protection sunglasses and will have to wear them outside regardless of the weather for the next three months. Since we are going to be in Africa for a month, they will be good to have anyway.

Tomorrow, we will get a Swine flu vaccination, recommended by our local doctor and seconded by the Kenyan government. Our travel agent there said it would be good to have it listed on our medical cards. We may have to get Yellow Fever too, if our last one has expired.

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