Hi,
Thanks for putting together your website. It’s very informative! I have a quick question I’m hoping you can help me with. I’m about to do some long-term travel either in Eastern Europe or Latin America or perhaps both. My problem is that I really don’t know my adult vaccination history (I’m 38). I noticed that you mention a blood test that can tell if you’ve been immunized against Hepatatis B. Are there other tests that can tell what other vaccines I’ve had?
Thanks in advance,
Ed
Thanks for the kind words, first off! This is a very common problem and easy to take care of. Either the records got lost, misplaced or destroyed, some people don’t have copies of their childhood immunization records.
Blood titers can be drawn by your doctor and can tell if you have immunity to a certain disease, either through exposure to the illness or a vaccine. Some common disease titers include:
Hepatitis A and B
Varicella (chicken pox)
Rubella
Measles
Mumps
There are others on the list, as well as these. If you are unsure of your “level of protection” with respect to a certain disease, before you get the vaccine, check your titer. It may save you an un-necessary shot!